I spent the majority of this day sleeping. It was like I was too lazy to get up. I even set my alarm for 12:00pm but I still didn't want to get up. I eventually got up around 5:30pm. That is a really bad time to get up considering I am supposed to be on holiday.
I met up with the other guys in the house to see what they were doing. Like me the were all pretty lazy that day. They told me that they were going to go to Life to pick up some supplies. I decided to go with them because I wanted to buy a little note book which I could use to plan what I wanted to do whilst I was in Japan.
We all went to Life to pick up some stuff. Ebz had this big bottle with him that he could get refilled with filtered water for free. I told Ebz that I was going to look for my note book. I asked at one of the counters and they told me I can find it on the 2nd floor. After I had found they type of notebook I wanted in Life I met up with the other guys inside the shop. Ebz told me that there is one cashier that strokes your hand when she gives you your change. I thought to myself, that sounds pretty weird but I was curious to see it for myself. I went to buy something and then went to that cashier. It was just as Ebz had said she stroked the bottom of my hand as she gave me the change. I still kept thinking that was a pretty weird but not necessarily in a bad way ha-ha.
Once we got home I decided to fill in my note book with places I wanted to visit and how to get there. I knew once I did this there would be no reason why I can't go anywhere by myself. While using Japan-Guide to help plan stuff to do/places visit I realised that I needed to buy the tickets for the Studio Ghibli museum in advance from Lawson convenience stores. Lucky for me I knew exactly where there was a Lawson and that was in...Ikebukuro.
I just happened to find many Lawson just by chance as Jordan and I wondered around Ikebukuro getting lost. I went to a Lawson once I got to Ikebukuro and luckily the cashier in there was friendly and knew exactly what I wanted when I said Studio Ghibli. He helped me buy the ticket because the Loppi machine is totally in Japanese. After I had finished buy the ticket for this Friday I decided to check out Ikebukuro: Bed again now that I knew exactly where it was. This time I took a picture of the timetable outside the club so that I could remember when things were. I noticed that this Thursday (07/01) was a Reggae night so I decided not to go in that day because it was just a Hip-Hop/R&B night and I would rather go to the Reggae night. That is after all one of the main reasons I am in Japan.
When I was going back to the station I noticed a lot of people running around which mad me think "shit, they must be closing!" so I quickly started to run to the Seibu line. The guard there was lowering the shutter which was about 3ft from the ground but luckily one guy shouted out and the guard stopped the shutter so I seized this opportunity to dive under too ha-ha. I was lucky to get on otherwise I would have ended up at the club after all waiting until 05:00am to get the train again.
5 January 2010
4 January 2010
3rd Day: Ueno with Friends and Ikebukuro Mission
Well for the first few days I didn't get up to much, except stay at the Guesthouse. The main reason for this was the fact that everyone in Japan was still pretty much on their New Years holiday.
It wasn't until Monday came that I actually ended up doing something. One of my friends from Facebook told his girlfriend that I would be coming to Japan and that she should take me out if she has time. I told Yumiko on that Monday that I was in Tokyo through Facebook. She later informed me that she was going out for dinner with her friends and that I should come if I have the time. I responded saying that I wasn't doing anything that day and that I would love to come.
Later on that day I realised that I would not be able to contact Yumiko once I leave the Guesthouse due to my lack of a Japanese mobile or any other internet device. I asked the other guys if they wanted to come but only Jordan was interested. It was good that Jordan wanted to come because at the time I was not too familiar with the train system.
When we got to Hibarigaoka station we were running a bit late. Yumiko had told me to be at Ueno station for 19:30 but the time was already 19:00. While I was in Ikebukuro I decided to purchase a Suica card which is similar to the Oyster card in London but does not give you any discount on the fare. However having this card makes things much quicker whilst travelling.
We eventually arrived at Ueno station at about 19:50. I followed Yumiko's instructions from the email and left the station via the central exit. Just as Jordan and I got through the barriers there was Yumiko smiling whilst saying "DORIAN!!???" and I said "Yea thats me!", that was when she gave me a big hug and breathed a sigh of relief as she said she was worried she would not be able to contact me whilst I was travelling and didn't want me to get lost.
With Yumiko there were about 6 of her friends. We went round to each of them introducing ourselves. They all seemed like nice people from first the impressions. One of her friends had accidental left his keys on the train and so went back to look for them. The rest of us proceeded out to Ueno towards to the restaurant. On the way Yumiko's friend met up with his other friend who he had also invited to the restaurant.
Once we arrived at the restaurant I realised it was going to be Japanese food. Me personally am not a big fan of Japanese food so was a bit worried about what they would order. The restaurant was pretty cool, it was a standard Japanese restaurant where we had to take off our shoes before we sat down at our table. Everyone seemed to just order a lot of food from the menu, Yumiko asked Jordan and I what we would like but we didn't really have a clue what to order.
After about 10 minutes the waiter started to bring the first of the dishes that everyone had ordered. Everyone then began to start sharing the food they had ordered, this was kinda interested because Jordan and I got to try things we may not have normally ordered. The most interesting thing I had on the night was fried Tako (Octopus) which was quite nice but a bit chewy.
We left the restaurant around 11:30, we all walked together to the station before saying goodbye to everyone as we all parted ways. Yumiko, George, Kazuki, Jordan and I were all going towards Ikebukuro which was cool, so we all went together. It was interesting talking to George because he was a foreigner like us and gave a different perspective on what life is like in Japan. He sememed to be interested when I told him about my life in China and some of the challenges I faced whilst being there.
Once we got to Ikebukuro we said bye to Yumiko and the others. I felt it was a good idea that I decided to meet Yumiko for dinner because she and her friends were very friendly and welcoming which is good for someone who is out of their comfort zone.
When Jordan and I were in Ikebukuro I had the urge to go to the club. I asked Jordan if he wanted to go and he said sure why not. There was a specific club in Ikebukuro called Bed that I was looking for. We went all over the place looking for this club, we asked countless police men for help but still we couldn't find it. In the end we were lucky enough to ask one set of police officers who knew what Bed was and could direct us a little better. We finally managed to get there but when we did it was closed! Outside the club was a timetable which happened to be different from the one that was on their website.
We decided to walk back to Ikebukuro station but as we were approaching there were all closing the exits. It seems we were too late to catch the last train back to Hibarigaoka. We had to wait until 05:00am until we could get the next train. We walked the street for a little while trying to find a place we could stay until 5:00am because at the time it was only about 02:00am. We managed to find one bar near Sunshine city where we could play some games like Darts, Table Football, Jenga and Golf. This place was pretty cool however we had to pay a service charge which was 530yen. When they first told us about this cost I could have sworn they said it included 1 free drink. But when it came to pay I saw on the bill that we had be charged for the drinks we ordered. I queried it but they couldn't really understand what I was saying but it seems that we just had to buy at least 1 drink plus that service charge to stay there.
We then made our way back to the station which was finally open again. I was so glad to get home but I wasn't even that tired to be honest. I think it was because I was still on UK time. But overall the night was good and I got meet some nice people as well as find some interesting places in Ikebukuro.
It wasn't until Monday came that I actually ended up doing something. One of my friends from Facebook told his girlfriend that I would be coming to Japan and that she should take me out if she has time. I told Yumiko on that Monday that I was in Tokyo through Facebook. She later informed me that she was going out for dinner with her friends and that I should come if I have the time. I responded saying that I wasn't doing anything that day and that I would love to come.
Later on that day I realised that I would not be able to contact Yumiko once I leave the Guesthouse due to my lack of a Japanese mobile or any other internet device. I asked the other guys if they wanted to come but only Jordan was interested. It was good that Jordan wanted to come because at the time I was not too familiar with the train system.
When we got to Hibarigaoka station we were running a bit late. Yumiko had told me to be at Ueno station for 19:30 but the time was already 19:00. While I was in Ikebukuro I decided to purchase a Suica card which is similar to the Oyster card in London but does not give you any discount on the fare. However having this card makes things much quicker whilst travelling.
We eventually arrived at Ueno station at about 19:50. I followed Yumiko's instructions from the email and left the station via the central exit. Just as Jordan and I got through the barriers there was Yumiko smiling whilst saying "DORIAN!!???" and I said "Yea thats me!", that was when she gave me a big hug and breathed a sigh of relief as she said she was worried she would not be able to contact me whilst I was travelling and didn't want me to get lost.
With Yumiko there were about 6 of her friends. We went round to each of them introducing ourselves. They all seemed like nice people from first the impressions. One of her friends had accidental left his keys on the train and so went back to look for them. The rest of us proceeded out to Ueno towards to the restaurant. On the way Yumiko's friend met up with his other friend who he had also invited to the restaurant.
Once we arrived at the restaurant I realised it was going to be Japanese food. Me personally am not a big fan of Japanese food so was a bit worried about what they would order. The restaurant was pretty cool, it was a standard Japanese restaurant where we had to take off our shoes before we sat down at our table. Everyone seemed to just order a lot of food from the menu, Yumiko asked Jordan and I what we would like but we didn't really have a clue what to order.
After about 10 minutes the waiter started to bring the first of the dishes that everyone had ordered. Everyone then began to start sharing the food they had ordered, this was kinda interested because Jordan and I got to try things we may not have normally ordered. The most interesting thing I had on the night was fried Tako (Octopus) which was quite nice but a bit chewy.
We left the restaurant around 11:30, we all walked together to the station before saying goodbye to everyone as we all parted ways. Yumiko, George, Kazuki, Jordan and I were all going towards Ikebukuro which was cool, so we all went together. It was interesting talking to George because he was a foreigner like us and gave a different perspective on what life is like in Japan. He sememed to be interested when I told him about my life in China and some of the challenges I faced whilst being there.
Once we got to Ikebukuro we said bye to Yumiko and the others. I felt it was a good idea that I decided to meet Yumiko for dinner because she and her friends were very friendly and welcoming which is good for someone who is out of their comfort zone.
When Jordan and I were in Ikebukuro I had the urge to go to the club. I asked Jordan if he wanted to go and he said sure why not. There was a specific club in Ikebukuro called Bed that I was looking for. We went all over the place looking for this club, we asked countless police men for help but still we couldn't find it. In the end we were lucky enough to ask one set of police officers who knew what Bed was and could direct us a little better. We finally managed to get there but when we did it was closed! Outside the club was a timetable which happened to be different from the one that was on their website.
We decided to walk back to Ikebukuro station but as we were approaching there were all closing the exits. It seems we were too late to catch the last train back to Hibarigaoka. We had to wait until 05:00am until we could get the next train. We walked the street for a little while trying to find a place we could stay until 5:00am because at the time it was only about 02:00am. We managed to find one bar near Sunshine city where we could play some games like Darts, Table Football, Jenga and Golf. This place was pretty cool however we had to pay a service charge which was 530yen. When they first told us about this cost I could have sworn they said it included 1 free drink. But when it came to pay I saw on the bill that we had be charged for the drinks we ordered. I queried it but they couldn't really understand what I was saying but it seems that we just had to buy at least 1 drink plus that service charge to stay there.
We then made our way back to the station which was finally open again. I was so glad to get home but I wasn't even that tired to be honest. I think it was because I was still on UK time. But overall the night was good and I got meet some nice people as well as find some interesting places in Ikebukuro.
2 January 2010
1st Day in Japan
I have just arrived at Tokyo's Narita Airport. Overall the journey was quite quick. Once I got to the airport I had to buy a train ticket from Narita airport to Ikebukuro. My friend Ebz had told me the previous day that it would only cost around 2,200 yen. However once I was ready to pay the lady told me it would cost 3,300 yen. Luckily I had the money because I wasn't expecting to pay just 2,200.
I waited around 20 minutes for my train to arrive. The train was actually the Narita Express that would take me straight to Ikebukuro station where I would have to change there to get on the Seibu Line. It took around 1hr40min to get to Ikebukuro station. When I got off the Express Train and actually went in to the station I was slightly overwhelmed by all the signs and people rushing around.
I walked around the station a little bit until I found the signs for Seibu-Ikebukuro line. At first I was a little confused about where I was supposed to buy my ticket. It wasn't until I saw a crowd of people gathering around a set of machine's that I realised that was where I was supposed to purchase my ticket. Unfortunately for me there were no instructions as to how to buy my ticket.
Luckily I was able to figure out that the number (station) on the train line map related to the number on the machine which in this case was 260. After I had bought the ticket I was a little confused where to go because on the electronic timetable I did not see Hibarigaoka. I had to ask for some help, this was when my Japanese started to actually come in handy.
I asked a mother and her children for help in Japanese. I told them I wanted to go to Hibarigaoka but I didn't know where to get the train from. The daughter went to look at the timetable for me and realised what platform I needed to get the train from. They told me you need to get the train to Hana but the mother then said to me it is the 2nd stop, that is Hibarigaoka. I thanked them then proceeded to platform 5 to get on my train. It only took around 10 minutes to get to Hibarigaoka from Ikebukuro because it was the express train.
When I arrived in Hibarigaoka I recognised the area from looking it up previously on google maps street view. I followed the map I had previously printed off of the Tatami Guesthouse's website. The walk was not very far from the station but I did feel tired after a little while because my suitcase was slightly heavy and I was carrying two of them plus a bag on my back.
After about 20 minutes I got to the area I thought the guest house was according to the map but I couldn't find it. I also didn't have a phone to contact anyone to ask them where I need to go. While I was wondering around lost I bumped into an old couple, I asked them for help in Japanese and thankfully they were more than happy to help although neither of them spoke English however. I told them I wanted to go to Tatami/Hibari Guesthouse and they phoned their daughter to ask her for help. The mother then passed the phone to me so that I could speak to her daughter. The daughter asked me in English were it was I wanted to go and I told her. She then asked me to pass the phone back to her mother. The mother then realised where this place was and told her husband. They then told me to follow them as we walked back up the road. Eventually we ended up at the Tatami/Hibari Guesthouse, I thanked both of them and bowed and they simply said while smiling you're welcome.
When I went inside, the place was empty. On the side near the office was a letter and a key, at the top of the letter was my name. The letter simply explained where my room was as well as other amenities. I proceeded to my room and unlocked the door, I was so happy to be able to sit down at last. I quickly plugged in my netbook to see if either Jordan or Ebz were online to inform them I had arrived. I waited about 30 minutes then Jordan came online, I told what number my room was and then he said he will meet me in a minute. Jordan came down and greeted me, I then asked him where the others were and he told me still sleeping, I laughed because it was around 2pm now. He said that he was just about to have a shower and would see me again shortly.
Later that day I met more of the people who are staying at the guesthouse in the common room. I met a guy named Adam who was also from London, this guy was pretty cool and very welcoming. He told me some useful things about the Guesthouse which I appreciated. He then told me he was going to the local Super-Market called Life and asked me if I would like to tag along so I thought why not.
Inside Life there was also a MacDonalds, at first I didn't want to eat that but I then thought I'm hungry so I might as well get something I am familar with. Adam ordered me a new pork burger with some tangy sauce as well as a "shakin' chicken" or something. It was a piece of chicken fillet that came in a bag which you sprinkled either lemon or black pepper on then shook the bag. Once I had finished my lunch I did a little bit of shopping. I just bought some crisps and bread with some ham and cheese which I could use to make a sandwich.
When I got back to the Guesthouse I ended up falling asleep as I sat in my room. I woke up later that evening with so much energy. Because another one of the guests staying at the Guesthouse was leaving soon everyone decided to go out to wish him farewell. We ended up going to a local bar which one of the guys went often. The guy that owned the place was nick named Master. This guy was very friendly and kept giving us free food. We stayed at this bar until about 4am.
When we left the streets were practically empty void of any people except ourselves. A few of us were feeling hungry and decided to eat some curry so stopped of at a local restaurant in the area. This place was pretty cool because you make your order outside using a machine then take your ticket inside and hand it to the waiter/chef for him to cook it for you.
After we had finished our meal many of us couldn't decide what we wanted to do so just decided to walk back to the Guesthouse. When we got in it was around 5am. Because I was so awake it was difficult for me to get to sleep. I woke up the next day at around 8am but then went back to sleep at about 11am. I then woke up at 3pm. I think my sleeping pattern is slowing fixing its self....maybe!
I waited around 20 minutes for my train to arrive. The train was actually the Narita Express that would take me straight to Ikebukuro station where I would have to change there to get on the Seibu Line. It took around 1hr40min to get to Ikebukuro station. When I got off the Express Train and actually went in to the station I was slightly overwhelmed by all the signs and people rushing around.
I walked around the station a little bit until I found the signs for Seibu-Ikebukuro line. At first I was a little confused about where I was supposed to buy my ticket. It wasn't until I saw a crowd of people gathering around a set of machine's that I realised that was where I was supposed to purchase my ticket. Unfortunately for me there were no instructions as to how to buy my ticket.
Luckily I was able to figure out that the number (station) on the train line map related to the number on the machine which in this case was 260. After I had bought the ticket I was a little confused where to go because on the electronic timetable I did not see Hibarigaoka. I had to ask for some help, this was when my Japanese started to actually come in handy.
I asked a mother and her children for help in Japanese. I told them I wanted to go to Hibarigaoka but I didn't know where to get the train from. The daughter went to look at the timetable for me and realised what platform I needed to get the train from. They told me you need to get the train to Hana but the mother then said to me it is the 2nd stop, that is Hibarigaoka. I thanked them then proceeded to platform 5 to get on my train. It only took around 10 minutes to get to Hibarigaoka from Ikebukuro because it was the express train.
When I arrived in Hibarigaoka I recognised the area from looking it up previously on google maps street view. I followed the map I had previously printed off of the Tatami Guesthouse's website. The walk was not very far from the station but I did feel tired after a little while because my suitcase was slightly heavy and I was carrying two of them plus a bag on my back.
After about 20 minutes I got to the area I thought the guest house was according to the map but I couldn't find it. I also didn't have a phone to contact anyone to ask them where I need to go. While I was wondering around lost I bumped into an old couple, I asked them for help in Japanese and thankfully they were more than happy to help although neither of them spoke English however. I told them I wanted to go to Tatami/Hibari Guesthouse and they phoned their daughter to ask her for help. The mother then passed the phone to me so that I could speak to her daughter. The daughter asked me in English were it was I wanted to go and I told her. She then asked me to pass the phone back to her mother. The mother then realised where this place was and told her husband. They then told me to follow them as we walked back up the road. Eventually we ended up at the Tatami/Hibari Guesthouse, I thanked both of them and bowed and they simply said while smiling you're welcome.
When I went inside, the place was empty. On the side near the office was a letter and a key, at the top of the letter was my name. The letter simply explained where my room was as well as other amenities. I proceeded to my room and unlocked the door, I was so happy to be able to sit down at last. I quickly plugged in my netbook to see if either Jordan or Ebz were online to inform them I had arrived. I waited about 30 minutes then Jordan came online, I told what number my room was and then he said he will meet me in a minute. Jordan came down and greeted me, I then asked him where the others were and he told me still sleeping, I laughed because it was around 2pm now. He said that he was just about to have a shower and would see me again shortly.
Later that day I met more of the people who are staying at the guesthouse in the common room. I met a guy named Adam who was also from London, this guy was pretty cool and very welcoming. He told me some useful things about the Guesthouse which I appreciated. He then told me he was going to the local Super-Market called Life and asked me if I would like to tag along so I thought why not.
Inside Life there was also a MacDonalds, at first I didn't want to eat that but I then thought I'm hungry so I might as well get something I am familar with. Adam ordered me a new pork burger with some tangy sauce as well as a "shakin' chicken" or something. It was a piece of chicken fillet that came in a bag which you sprinkled either lemon or black pepper on then shook the bag. Once I had finished my lunch I did a little bit of shopping. I just bought some crisps and bread with some ham and cheese which I could use to make a sandwich.
When I got back to the Guesthouse I ended up falling asleep as I sat in my room. I woke up later that evening with so much energy. Because another one of the guests staying at the Guesthouse was leaving soon everyone decided to go out to wish him farewell. We ended up going to a local bar which one of the guys went often. The guy that owned the place was nick named Master. This guy was very friendly and kept giving us free food. We stayed at this bar until about 4am.
When we left the streets were practically empty void of any people except ourselves. A few of us were feeling hungry and decided to eat some curry so stopped of at a local restaurant in the area. This place was pretty cool because you make your order outside using a machine then take your ticket inside and hand it to the waiter/chef for him to cook it for you.
After we had finished our meal many of us couldn't decide what we wanted to do so just decided to walk back to the Guesthouse. When we got in it was around 5am. Because I was so awake it was difficult for me to get to sleep. I woke up the next day at around 8am but then went back to sleep at about 11am. I then woke up at 3pm. I think my sleeping pattern is slowing fixing its self....maybe!
31 December 2009
Lou Jing
Lou Jin the Black and Chinese contestant on Go Oriental Angel a Shanghai-based talent competition. She has been receiving a lot of hate online by Chinese who feel she is ugly because she looks so dark. They also dislike her because her mother had an affair with a black man whilst married to a Chinese man. One of her nicknames online is "xiao hei gui" which means "little black devil".
http://www.chinasmack.com/stories/shanghai-black-girl-lou-jing-racist-chinese-netizens/
check some of the comments the Chinese left (its been translated to english).
I think Lou looks very pretty in the picture below. What do you think?
http://www.chinasmack.com/stories/shanghai-black-girl-lou-jing-racist-chinese-netizens/
check some of the comments the Chinese left (its been translated to english).
I think Lou looks very pretty in the picture below. What do you think?
Penultimate Day
The day has nearly come for me to leave for Japan. Like I said in an earlier post it has been a long time coming. I just hope when I leave tomorrow I won't forget anything at home. My next post will be after I have arrived in Tokyo. See you on the other side.
I wish everyone reading a Happy New Year!
I wish everyone reading a Happy New Year!
6 December 2009
Acer Aspire D250
I finally have my netbook. In the end I decided to go with the Acer Aspire One D250. The screen size is about 10.1 inch and the netbook is around 1 inch thick. The netbook comes with both Android and Windows XP OS. I messed about with Android for a bit but didn't really like it that much. However having it enabled allowed the boot-up time of the netbook to be around 15 secs which I thought was pretty cool.
But to be honest I'm in no rush to start the thing up so I decided to go with XP. I am more familir with XP and I can install more programs using this OS. Overall I am happy with the netbook and think it will be very useful whilst I am in Japan.
This is one thing that I can cross off the list. Not sure what else I need to get for the trip. But i'm sure it will come to me as the time draws nearer.
But to be honest I'm in no rush to start the thing up so I decided to go with XP. I am more familir with XP and I can install more programs using this OS. Overall I am happy with the netbook and think it will be very useful whilst I am in Japan.
This is one thing that I can cross off the list. Not sure what else I need to get for the trip. But i'm sure it will come to me as the time draws nearer.
24 November 2009
The time has come!!!
Finally the time has actually come where I can visit the country known as Japan. It has been a long time coming. Ever since the age of maybe 16 I have wanted to visit Japan.
I was able to get 3 weeks off from work. I would like to stay longer in Japan however with a full time job its not possible to take long periods off work.
I will be staying in Tokyo from the 1st - 20th January. I decided to fly with Virgin Atlantic because my friends are flying with them and I want the air miles just in case I decide to fly to Jamaica with Air Jamaica in the near future.
I'm a bit annoyed at the cost of the ticket, I only wanted to spend around £500 on the ticket. But it the end it turned out to be £669 return just for the flight alone. The guesthouse I will be staying works out to be around £280 for the 3 weeks.
As of right now I am trying to decide what I want to do Tokyo and where I want to visit. I already know what clubs I want to visit but I don't know what sights I want to see. It seems like my interest in Japan has waned over the years. Apart from Reggae music/clubs in Japan I don't know what else I am going there for. Japanese Urban music and their love for Reggae music seem to be my main interests in Japan at the moment.
I think I will have to think long and hard about what I really want to experience from this trip otherwise it might end up to be a waste of time and money.
I was able to get 3 weeks off from work. I would like to stay longer in Japan however with a full time job its not possible to take long periods off work.
I will be staying in Tokyo from the 1st - 20th January. I decided to fly with Virgin Atlantic because my friends are flying with them and I want the air miles just in case I decide to fly to Jamaica with Air Jamaica in the near future.
I'm a bit annoyed at the cost of the ticket, I only wanted to spend around £500 on the ticket. But it the end it turned out to be £669 return just for the flight alone. The guesthouse I will be staying works out to be around £280 for the 3 weeks.
As of right now I am trying to decide what I want to do Tokyo and where I want to visit. I already know what clubs I want to visit but I don't know what sights I want to see. It seems like my interest in Japan has waned over the years. Apart from Reggae music/clubs in Japan I don't know what else I am going there for. Japanese Urban music and their love for Reggae music seem to be my main interests in Japan at the moment.
I think I will have to think long and hard about what I really want to experience from this trip otherwise it might end up to be a waste of time and money.
10 January 2009
Finally Back Home
So I have finally arrived home after having spent 4 months in China teaching Oral English. I can honestly say that this will be an experience I will never forget. The flight took just over 10 hours even though it was delayed from Beijing.
On the plane I was able to watch a few movies, some of which turned out to be pretty good. It felt like the plane journey went by really quickly, but maybe it helped that I was watching movies. It was really difficult for me to sleep on the plane, I probably only got about 1 - 2 hours worth of sleep.
Once I had arrived at the airport there were many foreigners queuing up at border control where as the line for UK/European passport holders was very short. I felt sorry for the other guys because they would have to que up for a long time to get into the country.
Once I got out to the part of the airport where you are met/picked up by your friends/family I saw my mum waiting for me. It was nice to see my mum again after so long, but it felt as if I had just been gone for maybe a few weeks rather than a few months.
Its strange to be back in London because I notice more how expensive things are compared to China. I'm mainly talking about food rather than anything else since in Xi'An/Beijing everything is expensive especially clothes.
Well its nice to be back home however I will miss my students. I can hopefully connect with them via QQ or email. This will be the last entry for a while unless I update older post with pictures.
It was nice to write down my experiences on here!
On the plane I was able to watch a few movies, some of which turned out to be pretty good. It felt like the plane journey went by really quickly, but maybe it helped that I was watching movies. It was really difficult for me to sleep on the plane, I probably only got about 1 - 2 hours worth of sleep.
Once I had arrived at the airport there were many foreigners queuing up at border control where as the line for UK/European passport holders was very short. I felt sorry for the other guys because they would have to que up for a long time to get into the country.
Once I got out to the part of the airport where you are met/picked up by your friends/family I saw my mum waiting for me. It was nice to see my mum again after so long, but it felt as if I had just been gone for maybe a few weeks rather than a few months.
Its strange to be back in London because I notice more how expensive things are compared to China. I'm mainly talking about food rather than anything else since in Xi'An/Beijing everything is expensive especially clothes.
Well its nice to be back home however I will miss my students. I can hopefully connect with them via QQ or email. This will be the last entry for a while unless I update older post with pictures.
It was nice to write down my experiences on here!
8 January 2009
The day before my last.
Yesterday was my last day in the town of Zhen'an. When I was being driven to the airport I started to realise that this trip has been an emotional journey for me. I have had days where I would be happy and days where I would be sad. However I would say that there were more good days than bad.
I started to remember all the people, teachers and students who have made my time in China that more special. I came here knowing no one and having no friends but I am going back with many new friends. It was hard at first when I could not speak any Chinese and had no one to talk to but that all changed however when the four VSO teachers and their four translators came to Zhen'an. These eight people became my family during my time in China.
During the last meal I had with them on Tuesday we exchanged gifts with one another. It wasn't until I gave them my card that I started to feel sad mainly because I knew that I would never see them again or not at least for a long time. I had said in the card that I had appreciated what they had done for me, since this was my first time to go anywhere by myself and they made my time that more enjoyable and interesting.
So like I was saying as I was in the car with Mr. Chen I began to cry because I knew I would not see them again. But I tried not to think about this and only the happy times. I can honestly say that I will miss them.
The flight from Xi'An to Beijing only took one and a half hours. I was surprised it took such a short amount of time. When I got to Beijing I was told by VIP to meet at the office by myself. So I got the shuttle bus and when to the office. I was able to meet Ryan again which was nice. It was nice to have someone I knew in Beijing to talk and hang out with.
The next day Ryan, Jon (the person wo invited me to China) and I went to the Birds Nest Stadium. I was also able to meet their new Indian friend Sam (I forgot how to spell his Indian name), it turned out that he was a pretty cool guy and very friendly. Once we arrived at the Stadium I took many pictures, it was funny because just like when I went to Tiananmen Square some people wanted to take pictures with us.
While we were in the stadium the 6 Olympic Mascots came out and began to dance a strange choreographed routine. The music was slightly childish however the more I watched the more I thought to myself this is kinda cute. The performance went on for quite a while maybe 15 - 20 minutes.
Once the performance had finished the guys and I proceeded to the gift shop. I have to say I was slightly disappointed by what was on offer at the shop. I was expecting to see memorabilia representing each of the countries that took part in the games. I was interested in buying something related to Usain Bolt since he had performed so well and in turn made me feel proud to be Jamaican. All the shop had to offer was memorabilia of the stadium and some small nick-naks related to the 6 Olympic Mascots.
Later we went to a buffet where we ate pizza and other western food. It was nice to have something different to eat before I go back to England.
I started to remember all the people, teachers and students who have made my time in China that more special. I came here knowing no one and having no friends but I am going back with many new friends. It was hard at first when I could not speak any Chinese and had no one to talk to but that all changed however when the four VSO teachers and their four translators came to Zhen'an. These eight people became my family during my time in China.
During the last meal I had with them on Tuesday we exchanged gifts with one another. It wasn't until I gave them my card that I started to feel sad mainly because I knew that I would never see them again or not at least for a long time. I had said in the card that I had appreciated what they had done for me, since this was my first time to go anywhere by myself and they made my time that more enjoyable and interesting.
So like I was saying as I was in the car with Mr. Chen I began to cry because I knew I would not see them again. But I tried not to think about this and only the happy times. I can honestly say that I will miss them.
The flight from Xi'An to Beijing only took one and a half hours. I was surprised it took such a short amount of time. When I got to Beijing I was told by VIP to meet at the office by myself. So I got the shuttle bus and when to the office. I was able to meet Ryan again which was nice. It was nice to have someone I knew in Beijing to talk and hang out with.
The next day Ryan, Jon (the person wo invited me to China) and I went to the Birds Nest Stadium. I was also able to meet their new Indian friend Sam (I forgot how to spell his Indian name), it turned out that he was a pretty cool guy and very friendly. Once we arrived at the Stadium I took many pictures, it was funny because just like when I went to Tiananmen Square some people wanted to take pictures with us.
While we were in the stadium the 6 Olympic Mascots came out and began to dance a strange choreographed routine. The music was slightly childish however the more I watched the more I thought to myself this is kinda cute. The performance went on for quite a while maybe 15 - 20 minutes.
Once the performance had finished the guys and I proceeded to the gift shop. I have to say I was slightly disappointed by what was on offer at the shop. I was expecting to see memorabilia representing each of the countries that took part in the games. I was interested in buying something related to Usain Bolt since he had performed so well and in turn made me feel proud to be Jamaican. All the shop had to offer was memorabilia of the stadium and some small nick-naks related to the 6 Olympic Mascots.
Later we went to a buffet where we ate pizza and other western food. It was nice to have something different to eat before I go back to England.
3 January 2009
Finished the Trip!!!
The trip is now officially over. I was able to see a few interesting sights in Xi'An such as the Tang Paradise, Small Wild Goose Pagoda and the Terracotta Warriors.
When Mr. Li and I arrived in Xi'An we needed to get a taxi from the bus station to the centre of the city. Once we left the bus station we were approached by a taxi driver who told us he can take us to the centre of the city. The taxi driver grabbed my bag and then proceeded to put it inside the boot (trunk) of his car. I asked Mr. Li how much he said it would be and Mr. Li said 15RMB and I thought that wasn't too bad.
After about 20 minutes we arrived at our destination or so I thought at the time. Originally I had shown the taxi driver the way to the Hostel that I/we wanted to stay at. The driver acted as if he knew where it was and the way to get there. Before we got out of the taxi Mr. Li gave the driver 50RMB for the fare, I then asked Mr. Li where is your change and he said that's how much it cost, 50RMB. I thought to myself "what the hell we have been ripped off big time!". I told him that I thought he had said it was 15RMB not 50RMB, If I had known it was this much I would have told the taxi driver no thanks.
Standing on the street I started to look around and thought...where is the Hostel? Mr. Li didn't seem to know either, so we asked one of the local people at one of the stores. They told us that we were not where we wanted to be, it appears that the driver just dropped us at any old place. I was even more annoyed because we gave him 50RMB and he couldn't even take us to our destination.
We then began to walk around asking different shops where our Hostel was and how we could get there. Eventually we managed to reach the Hostel but after all that hassle it turned out that they had no rooms available for the two of us. This day was just not going great for us. The Hostel that I had suggested to Mr. Li had been recommended to me by 3 of the VSO teachers I lived with in Zhen'an.
Mr. Li and I then went on a search for another place to stay. It seemed that everywhere we decided to try was either not up to standard or way too expensive. I then remembered the hotel that I had stayed at before the last time I visited Xi'An. Once we arrived there we were in luck that there was a room avaliable for 3 nights. However they only had just that one room. Mr. Li checked out one of the other Hotels around the corner and they had a room. So I stayed in one Hotel and Mr. Li stayed in another.
That afternoon I met with Mr. Li at his Hotel and he asked me what I would like to have for lunch. I said I definitely do not want noodles or rice, Mr. Li laughed and said ok then what do you want? I thought for a second and then decided I would have some pizza from Pizza Hut. I knew that Pizza Hut was pretty expensive by Zhen'An terms but I thought If the school wants me to have a good time this is what I want to eat.
Luckily the Pizza Hut I wanted to go to was just around the corner from our Hotels. When I was inside I started to think to myself that it seems very similar to how the restaurants are arranged in London. I pretty much ordered what I would normally get in Pizza Hut but Mr. Li was not feeling adventurous and decided to buy something he knew which was rice. Once my food arrived I asked Mr. Li if he wanted some but he said he didn't like pizza. I then asked him if he had ever eaten pizza before and he said no, so I thought how can you say you don't like it if you have never eaten it before. I think Mr. Li just did not want to try anything new or maybe he is too stuck in his routine/old ways.
After we had finished our meal Mr. Li told me that we were going to go to a famous park in Xi'An. The park Mr. Li was referring to was in fact Tang Paradise but it didn't really matter because I had never heard of Tang Paradise before that day anyway. After a short taxi ride we arrived at Tang Paradise the entrance was quite beautiful to see (especially at night). We walked around the massive park and I also got a chance to see some Lion Dancers performing on poles. When we were about to leave it was night so all the lights had come on. I have to say that the park looked that much better with all the lights turned on.
Mr. Li decided we should go to the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda after we had exited Tang Paradise. Unfortunately something had happened inside the area where he Pagoda was and the officials closed it until further notice. Mr. Li asked one of the attendants there what was going on but they didn't want to tell him anything except that the park would re-open at 9:30pm. At the time it was around 6:30pm and I didn't want to wait around that long to go to the Pagoda since it was freezing that night.
The next day we pretty much did the same thing again, we visited a few parks but I also got the chance to do a little shopping for my family. I got the chance to visit the Drum Tower of Xi'An but once we were inside there wasn't really that much to do or see. However I was able to take some nice photos. This was the first day that I had Mac Donald's since I have been in Xi'An. I have to say it tasted pretty normal to me considering I have read things on the net telling people to stay away from Mac Donald's in China.
The last day was the day Mr. Li and I visited quite a few places. The first place we visited was an ancient Hot Spring that I think was used by the Emperor's associates at the time. The bath was quite a nice place to see. I was lucky enough to have the chance to meet one of the four men who discovered the Terracotta Warriors which was quite interesting. After that Mr. Li and I went up the mountain in a cable car then went on a guided tour around the mountain top.
The next stop on the trip was a visit to the First Emperors Mausoleum. At the Mausoleum there were these steps which led to a spot that is directly above the First Emperors resting place. While we were at the top this old lady came up to me trying to get me to buy this old rusty coin. Mr. Li jumped in and started to say to the women "...oh no, he doesn't want that!", it seemed however the old women did not appreciate this and then started to call Mr. Li "bakayaro" which is Japanese for stupid fool. I started to laugh and the women started to laugh too but Mr. Li seemed unaware as to why we were all laughing because he was too busy reading information at the Mausoleum on a notice board.
While up there I noticed this girl being a guide to some other foreigners. I thought to myself wow she is quite nice, she was one of those brown skin Chinese. Anyway I wanted her to take us around and tell use about the Mausoleum so we waited around for her to finish with the other foreigners. I told her that I wanted her to be our tour guide because she was a Meinv (pronounced May New and it means pretty girl) and she laughed and agreed but she wanted 30RMB. Mr. Li and I both thought that this was way too much money and told her it was too expensive, so we finally agreed on a price of 20RMB but she would not take us up the steps to the top of the Mausoleum.
When she was explaining things about the Mausoleum Mr. Li had to translate everything she said into English for me to understand however I wasn't that interested in what she was saying I was more interested in how she looked, I know dumb right. Well after she finished the tour we gave her the money and she seemed happy to be receiving some attention but kept saying she wasn't a Meinv but she really was.
The next stop for the day was the Terracotta Warriors. When we first entered the place this woman approached us and started to explain to us that she is the official English tour guide for the site. We asked how much it would be and she said 100RMB and Mr. Li and I both said "...too expensive" in Chinese and walked off. Mr. Li then said to me "...I'm not going to pay 100RMB for that ugly woman." when he said that I couldn't stop laughing.
After a short walk we arrived at the main site for the Terracotta Warriors. In one of the buildings there was a giant puppet representing one of the Terracotta Warriors who was holding a small girls hand. In total there were four buildings three of which had the Terracotta Warriors in them. Once I saw the Warriors I felt slightly disappointed I was expecting a more exciting feeling when I saw them.
Next place we went was the gift shop. I started to look around a bit then a shop assistant came up to me and asked me if I was alright, I said "...yes I'm fine." so the woman was about to walk off however Mr. Li wanted me to talk to her some more in English. I ended up befriending the woman and was able to get her QQ number as well as her email address.
On our way out this man tried tried to sell us small replica figures of the Terracotta Warriors but I wasn't really interested. Mr. Li told the man "..oh no, he doesn't want any of those." then the man simply said to Mr. Li "Fuck You!" it was funny because Mr. Li seemed a little surprised that he said that but I wasn't, I just told the man thank you in Chinese and walked off.
We walked around this guided path which was filled with all these memorabilia shops selling things about the Terracotta Warriors. It was funny because these ladies came up to us as we were walking trying to sell us some stuff and I said in Chinese "...I don't like this". Then the ladies asked me "...what do you like?" and I said to them in Chinese "...I like Meinv" so the ladies (there must have been 4 or 5 of them in the area) all started to laugh even Mr. Li.
After we had finished at the Terracotta Warriors we were finished with the trip in Xi'An. But I have to say I did enjoy have something to eat other than rice or noodles even if it was that poison KFC and Mac Donald's haha. I also liked eating the Dumplings on the Islamic Street in Xi'An near the Drum Tower.
I actually did have a funny time with Mr. Li as my guide. It seemed as if every other person we came into contact with they all had a problem with Mr. Lee. Even when I tried to buy something for myself in the market, it seemed Mr. Li wanted the price to low and the boss of the store did not like that and said he will not go any lower on the price because he didn't like Mr. Li.
But overall I had a nice time and it was a nice little break from Zhen'An. On the bus ride back I began to think that it wont be long until I have to go back to England. Well this day had to come sooner or later.
When Mr. Li and I arrived in Xi'An we needed to get a taxi from the bus station to the centre of the city. Once we left the bus station we were approached by a taxi driver who told us he can take us to the centre of the city. The taxi driver grabbed my bag and then proceeded to put it inside the boot (trunk) of his car. I asked Mr. Li how much he said it would be and Mr. Li said 15RMB and I thought that wasn't too bad.
After about 20 minutes we arrived at our destination or so I thought at the time. Originally I had shown the taxi driver the way to the Hostel that I/we wanted to stay at. The driver acted as if he knew where it was and the way to get there. Before we got out of the taxi Mr. Li gave the driver 50RMB for the fare, I then asked Mr. Li where is your change and he said that's how much it cost, 50RMB. I thought to myself "what the hell we have been ripped off big time!". I told him that I thought he had said it was 15RMB not 50RMB, If I had known it was this much I would have told the taxi driver no thanks.
Standing on the street I started to look around and thought...where is the Hostel? Mr. Li didn't seem to know either, so we asked one of the local people at one of the stores. They told us that we were not where we wanted to be, it appears that the driver just dropped us at any old place. I was even more annoyed because we gave him 50RMB and he couldn't even take us to our destination.
We then began to walk around asking different shops where our Hostel was and how we could get there. Eventually we managed to reach the Hostel but after all that hassle it turned out that they had no rooms available for the two of us. This day was just not going great for us. The Hostel that I had suggested to Mr. Li had been recommended to me by 3 of the VSO teachers I lived with in Zhen'an.
Mr. Li and I then went on a search for another place to stay. It seemed that everywhere we decided to try was either not up to standard or way too expensive. I then remembered the hotel that I had stayed at before the last time I visited Xi'An. Once we arrived there we were in luck that there was a room avaliable for 3 nights. However they only had just that one room. Mr. Li checked out one of the other Hotels around the corner and they had a room. So I stayed in one Hotel and Mr. Li stayed in another.
That afternoon I met with Mr. Li at his Hotel and he asked me what I would like to have for lunch. I said I definitely do not want noodles or rice, Mr. Li laughed and said ok then what do you want? I thought for a second and then decided I would have some pizza from Pizza Hut. I knew that Pizza Hut was pretty expensive by Zhen'An terms but I thought If the school wants me to have a good time this is what I want to eat.
Luckily the Pizza Hut I wanted to go to was just around the corner from our Hotels. When I was inside I started to think to myself that it seems very similar to how the restaurants are arranged in London. I pretty much ordered what I would normally get in Pizza Hut but Mr. Li was not feeling adventurous and decided to buy something he knew which was rice. Once my food arrived I asked Mr. Li if he wanted some but he said he didn't like pizza. I then asked him if he had ever eaten pizza before and he said no, so I thought how can you say you don't like it if you have never eaten it before. I think Mr. Li just did not want to try anything new or maybe he is too stuck in his routine/old ways.
After we had finished our meal Mr. Li told me that we were going to go to a famous park in Xi'An. The park Mr. Li was referring to was in fact Tang Paradise but it didn't really matter because I had never heard of Tang Paradise before that day anyway. After a short taxi ride we arrived at Tang Paradise the entrance was quite beautiful to see (especially at night). We walked around the massive park and I also got a chance to see some Lion Dancers performing on poles. When we were about to leave it was night so all the lights had come on. I have to say that the park looked that much better with all the lights turned on.
Mr. Li decided we should go to the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda after we had exited Tang Paradise. Unfortunately something had happened inside the area where he Pagoda was and the officials closed it until further notice. Mr. Li asked one of the attendants there what was going on but they didn't want to tell him anything except that the park would re-open at 9:30pm. At the time it was around 6:30pm and I didn't want to wait around that long to go to the Pagoda since it was freezing that night.
The next day we pretty much did the same thing again, we visited a few parks but I also got the chance to do a little shopping for my family. I got the chance to visit the Drum Tower of Xi'An but once we were inside there wasn't really that much to do or see. However I was able to take some nice photos. This was the first day that I had Mac Donald's since I have been in Xi'An. I have to say it tasted pretty normal to me considering I have read things on the net telling people to stay away from Mac Donald's in China.
The last day was the day Mr. Li and I visited quite a few places. The first place we visited was an ancient Hot Spring that I think was used by the Emperor's associates at the time. The bath was quite a nice place to see. I was lucky enough to have the chance to meet one of the four men who discovered the Terracotta Warriors which was quite interesting. After that Mr. Li and I went up the mountain in a cable car then went on a guided tour around the mountain top.
The next stop on the trip was a visit to the First Emperors Mausoleum. At the Mausoleum there were these steps which led to a spot that is directly above the First Emperors resting place. While we were at the top this old lady came up to me trying to get me to buy this old rusty coin. Mr. Li jumped in and started to say to the women "...oh no, he doesn't want that!", it seemed however the old women did not appreciate this and then started to call Mr. Li "bakayaro" which is Japanese for stupid fool. I started to laugh and the women started to laugh too but Mr. Li seemed unaware as to why we were all laughing because he was too busy reading information at the Mausoleum on a notice board.
While up there I noticed this girl being a guide to some other foreigners. I thought to myself wow she is quite nice, she was one of those brown skin Chinese. Anyway I wanted her to take us around and tell use about the Mausoleum so we waited around for her to finish with the other foreigners. I told her that I wanted her to be our tour guide because she was a Meinv (pronounced May New and it means pretty girl) and she laughed and agreed but she wanted 30RMB. Mr. Li and I both thought that this was way too much money and told her it was too expensive, so we finally agreed on a price of 20RMB but she would not take us up the steps to the top of the Mausoleum.
When she was explaining things about the Mausoleum Mr. Li had to translate everything she said into English for me to understand however I wasn't that interested in what she was saying I was more interested in how she looked, I know dumb right. Well after she finished the tour we gave her the money and she seemed happy to be receiving some attention but kept saying she wasn't a Meinv but she really was.
The next stop for the day was the Terracotta Warriors. When we first entered the place this woman approached us and started to explain to us that she is the official English tour guide for the site. We asked how much it would be and she said 100RMB and Mr. Li and I both said "...too expensive" in Chinese and walked off. Mr. Li then said to me "...I'm not going to pay 100RMB for that ugly woman." when he said that I couldn't stop laughing.
After a short walk we arrived at the main site for the Terracotta Warriors. In one of the buildings there was a giant puppet representing one of the Terracotta Warriors who was holding a small girls hand. In total there were four buildings three of which had the Terracotta Warriors in them. Once I saw the Warriors I felt slightly disappointed I was expecting a more exciting feeling when I saw them.
Next place we went was the gift shop. I started to look around a bit then a shop assistant came up to me and asked me if I was alright, I said "...yes I'm fine." so the woman was about to walk off however Mr. Li wanted me to talk to her some more in English. I ended up befriending the woman and was able to get her QQ number as well as her email address.
On our way out this man tried tried to sell us small replica figures of the Terracotta Warriors but I wasn't really interested. Mr. Li told the man "..oh no, he doesn't want any of those." then the man simply said to Mr. Li "Fuck You!" it was funny because Mr. Li seemed a little surprised that he said that but I wasn't, I just told the man thank you in Chinese and walked off.
We walked around this guided path which was filled with all these memorabilia shops selling things about the Terracotta Warriors. It was funny because these ladies came up to us as we were walking trying to sell us some stuff and I said in Chinese "...I don't like this". Then the ladies asked me "...what do you like?" and I said to them in Chinese "...I like Meinv" so the ladies (there must have been 4 or 5 of them in the area) all started to laugh even Mr. Li.
After we had finished at the Terracotta Warriors we were finished with the trip in Xi'An. But I have to say I did enjoy have something to eat other than rice or noodles even if it was that poison KFC and Mac Donald's haha. I also liked eating the Dumplings on the Islamic Street in Xi'An near the Drum Tower.
I actually did have a funny time with Mr. Li as my guide. It seemed as if every other person we came into contact with they all had a problem with Mr. Lee. Even when I tried to buy something for myself in the market, it seemed Mr. Li wanted the price to low and the boss of the store did not like that and said he will not go any lower on the price because he didn't like Mr. Li.
But overall I had a nice time and it was a nice little break from Zhen'An. On the bus ride back I began to think that it wont be long until I have to go back to England. Well this day had to come sooner or later.
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