...Or...
Where the hell is my camera when I need it?!
There were a heap of guys, walking down our street in a line carrying signs.
They were wearing white T-shirts and pants, their black undies on the outside and red capes. They were on the march and looked like they meant business.
If only I could read Chinese characters, but I swear sometimes this place is so surreal...
Monday, March 16, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
On Rickshaw Rides - Beware - and always have a plan!
So yes, Friday night I got lazy and decided to take a Rickshaw to where I was meeting Mr C. The main thing to note here is that I made sure I was straight on the price before I got into the rickshaw. As you will see, there is a catch...
I asked how much, the rider said 40 Kuai. It was freezing cold, windy and getting late, so I decided this to be a Good Thing and hopped on up.
It was quite a lovely ride, though might have been alot nicer if not for the icicles forming on my nose, as we made our way along the zou fulu (pr. zoh fool loo) and across busy intersections, to The Den. However, on arrival, there seemed to be some sort of mix-up with the pricing of the fare. Mr Guy-Onna-Bike insisted that I paid him $40Aus (equating to about 200 kuai). Far from the original 40 kuai he had quoted me *before* I got on the rickshaw. I pretended to misunderstand him. "You want Australian currency? Mai-you Ao da li ya kuai". So he started to get a little heated with me.
*Sigh* There's only one real way a girl can deal with this sort of situation... I pointed at The Den - My husband is in there, I will call him (Wo Airen neigge, Wo da dianhua wo airen), followed by me starting to dial.
See, and here's the thing - my bloke's in there with about 6 of his mates who all have a few under their belts. One of his mates is on first name basis with the entire staff of The Den and is someone that the staff like to "look after" (they also "look after" associated mates). I kind of figure the matter would be sorted out fairly promptly.
And it was. Mr Guy-Onna-Bike immediately backed off "It's ok! It's ok! Wo pengyou (my friend), 40 Kuai! It's Ok!". So I give him the money, thank him (xie-xie wo pengyou!) and quite calmly walk into The Den, where I was greeted with "Waaaaaaaaaaaaay!" hugs, kisses and cigarette smoke...
So just be aware, there's the 'real price' and then there is Special-wo-pengyou-Westerner prices attatched to most things especially in the markets, dodgy taxis and on rickshaws. You really have to be careful. The bastards are as cunning as shithouse rats!
I asked how much, the rider said 40 Kuai. It was freezing cold, windy and getting late, so I decided this to be a Good Thing and hopped on up.
It was quite a lovely ride, though might have been alot nicer if not for the icicles forming on my nose, as we made our way along the zou fulu (pr. zoh fool loo) and across busy intersections, to The Den. However, on arrival, there seemed to be some sort of mix-up with the pricing of the fare. Mr Guy-Onna-Bike insisted that I paid him $40Aus (equating to about 200 kuai). Far from the original 40 kuai he had quoted me *before* I got on the rickshaw. I pretended to misunderstand him. "You want Australian currency? Mai-you Ao da li ya kuai". So he started to get a little heated with me.
*Sigh* There's only one real way a girl can deal with this sort of situation... I pointed at The Den - My husband is in there, I will call him (Wo Airen neigge, Wo da dianhua wo airen), followed by me starting to dial.
See, and here's the thing - my bloke's in there with about 6 of his mates who all have a few under their belts. One of his mates is on first name basis with the entire staff of The Den and is someone that the staff like to "look after" (they also "look after" associated mates). I kind of figure the matter would be sorted out fairly promptly.
And it was. Mr Guy-Onna-Bike immediately backed off "It's ok! It's ok! Wo pengyou (my friend), 40 Kuai! It's Ok!". So I give him the money, thank him (xie-xie wo pengyou!) and quite calmly walk into The Den, where I was greeted with "Waaaaaaaaaaaaay!" hugs, kisses and cigarette smoke...
So just be aware, there's the 'real price' and then there is Special-wo-pengyou-Westerner prices attatched to most things especially in the markets, dodgy taxis and on rickshaws. You really have to be careful. The bastards are as cunning as shithouse rats!
Recently in Wenchiland...
Been a while since I've posted anything of any substance anywhere...
Thursday saw us marking a year since we arrived in Beijing. A whole year. I was going to go with a photo montage or a list of stuff, but I'm tired and I just don't have the creative energy. Sorry about that, I guess I fail... ummm... yay us?
Friday we decided to enjoy Beijing. There was school for LadyP, lunch with Dadda, ice-cream at Cold Rock, Flower markets where I bought some fresias and poppies and some handpainted butterflies for LadyP's room. We love flower markets. LadyP goes up to random bunches of flowers, sniffs them and says "Luffley!". Ayi stayed late for us and looked after P so Mr C and I could have some time out in the evening, which consisted of...
...Himself heading off to The Den (quite the institution, where there is beer and Aussie rugby and mates) after work. I attempted to catch a taxi to meet him there and WHAT IS IT WITH TAXI DRIVERS GOING HOME AT 6pm??? Seriously, it's a right shocker! Anyho... so decided instead to embrace my inner white woman and indulge my laziness, catching a rickshaw to The Den (hey, I'm pregnant, it is my perogative). At this point, I will cut most of the rest of this post out as the rickshaw ride is an entry on it's own!
From The Den (a brief encounter), we headed to the ANZA drinks over at the Hilton, where I met one of Mr C's colleagues and his wife and was treated with THE MOST SOUR lemon lime and bitters I have ever had in my life! And then from there, we jumped in a taxi and found a random restaurant, which turned out to be Tepanyaki. We had a nice night...
Saturday saw us take LadyP over to Solana for her very first ice-skating lesson. I get the feeling kids need to be about 4 to go out on the ice, but they restrict this by height - 90cms, which is probably pretty accurate for Chinese kids, but my little western baby towers over this, so it was sweet. She has been watching the ice skaters at the rink in the building where Mr C works ever since we first got here and the other day she said to us that she'd like to try it.
We hired some skates and a coach (I can skate, just not when I'm 34 weeks pregnant) and my little Ice Princess stepped out onto the ice for the very first time. The coach sat her on a chair and pushed her out. As we expected, there were a couple of tumbles, but she didn't shed a tear and kept going back for more... to the point that when it came time to leave, she bolted to get back on the ice and Mr C had to crash-tackle her! The coach was impressed with her, being a first timer and almost 3, the coach was impressed that Pers could walk on the ice at all (sometimes unassisted). So as you can imagine, I was a proud mum and I think we'll take her back for more, she's certainly keen...
Thursday saw us marking a year since we arrived in Beijing. A whole year. I was going to go with a photo montage or a list of stuff, but I'm tired and I just don't have the creative energy. Sorry about that, I guess I fail... ummm... yay us?
Friday we decided to enjoy Beijing. There was school for LadyP, lunch with Dadda, ice-cream at Cold Rock, Flower markets where I bought some fresias and poppies and some handpainted butterflies for LadyP's room. We love flower markets. LadyP goes up to random bunches of flowers, sniffs them and says "Luffley!". Ayi stayed late for us and looked after P so Mr C and I could have some time out in the evening, which consisted of...
...Himself heading off to The Den (quite the institution, where there is beer and Aussie rugby and mates) after work. I attempted to catch a taxi to meet him there and WHAT IS IT WITH TAXI DRIVERS GOING HOME AT 6pm??? Seriously, it's a right shocker! Anyho... so decided instead to embrace my inner white woman and indulge my laziness, catching a rickshaw to The Den (hey, I'm pregnant, it is my perogative). At this point, I will cut most of the rest of this post out as the rickshaw ride is an entry on it's own!
From The Den (a brief encounter), we headed to the ANZA drinks over at the Hilton, where I met one of Mr C's colleagues and his wife and was treated with THE MOST SOUR lemon lime and bitters I have ever had in my life! And then from there, we jumped in a taxi and found a random restaurant, which turned out to be Tepanyaki. We had a nice night...
Saturday saw us take LadyP over to Solana for her very first ice-skating lesson. I get the feeling kids need to be about 4 to go out on the ice, but they restrict this by height - 90cms, which is probably pretty accurate for Chinese kids, but my little western baby towers over this, so it was sweet. She has been watching the ice skaters at the rink in the building where Mr C works ever since we first got here and the other day she said to us that she'd like to try it.
We hired some skates and a coach (I can skate, just not when I'm 34 weeks pregnant) and my little Ice Princess stepped out onto the ice for the very first time. The coach sat her on a chair and pushed her out. As we expected, there were a couple of tumbles, but she didn't shed a tear and kept going back for more... to the point that when it came time to leave, she bolted to get back on the ice and Mr C had to crash-tackle her! The coach was impressed with her, being a first timer and almost 3, the coach was impressed that Pers could walk on the ice at all (sometimes unassisted). So as you can imagine, I was a proud mum and I think we'll take her back for more, she's certainly keen...
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Bookage...
Yes, just making the most of it while I can, not that I read many books these days...
I am currently reading Beijing Tai Tai: A Suburban Journey to Urban China It's a tongue-in-cheek biography of an Aussie woman who like many of us, made the leap and re-located over here. I'm quite enjoying it, because there is that streak of honesty and her words are so familiar to me that at times you would think we lead the same life.
So if you want a bit of a glimpse at what it's like here, go read it. Or ask me to send you a copy for your birthday or something...
Tomorrow, we will have been here a whole year and have one year left, but I think I'll blog about that tomorrow. For now, I'm off to wallow in my nausea. Bloody morning sickness is back and I feel awful. And tired. Boy, am I tired.
I am currently reading Beijing Tai Tai: A Suburban Journey to Urban China It's a tongue-in-cheek biography of an Aussie woman who like many of us, made the leap and re-located over here. I'm quite enjoying it, because there is that streak of honesty and her words are so familiar to me that at times you would think we lead the same life.
So if you want a bit of a glimpse at what it's like here, go read it. Or ask me to send you a copy for your birthday or something...
Tomorrow, we will have been here a whole year and have one year left, but I think I'll blog about that tomorrow. For now, I'm off to wallow in my nausea. Bloody morning sickness is back and I feel awful. And tired. Boy, am I tired.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Today's adventure saw Wenchilada and 'Callisterine' explore the previously uncharted depths of the Photography Market! It was a little dangerous, but I managed to come away from the whole thing undamaged except for a new camera case.
Could have been worse, I tells ya... much worse...
This weekend, I'm off to a Weekend Basic Photography & Photoshop workshop with Lukas Birk at The Hutong. Looking forward to it, should be good!
Could have been worse, I tells ya... much worse...
This weekend, I'm off to a Weekend Basic Photography & Photoshop workshop with Lukas Birk at The Hutong. Looking forward to it, should be good!
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Hail!
My mate Argy has a band (Hail Discordia). They're about to launch their new EP and have put a new track on the myspace page called 'Circles'. If you like a bit of shouty shouty angsty muzak, pop on over and have a listen.
Argy is the lead singer (and check out those guns!)
http://www.myspace.com/haildiscordiaband
http://www.myspace.com/haildiscordiaband
Sunday, March 1, 2009
:D
Today, as we sat eating our lunch in Hooters, we finally settled on some baby names - one for a girl and one for a boy (no, I'm not expecting twins still, we just don't know what we're having, apart from a little person and not a zebra).
Yes. Hooters. We were in Hooters. Which is more like Tweeters, or as I call it 'The Itty Bitty Titty Committee'...
Oh come on! Look. The ribs are great, there's beer, Pers gets a balloon and the carrot and celery with dip is da bomb! Don't know what is in the dip, but hot damn, it's good stuff!
Yes. Hooters. We were in Hooters. Which is more like Tweeters, or as I call it 'The Itty Bitty Titty Committee'...
Oh come on! Look. The ribs are great, there's beer, Pers gets a balloon and the carrot and celery with dip is da bomb! Don't know what is in the dip, but hot damn, it's good stuff!
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