My favourite photos

 Taiwan

 Taiwan

 Leanne and I (Leanne is John's boss and a truly lovely human)

 National Temple in Taiwan

 Taiwan Night Markets

 Shanghai by night

 John and I at The Bund in Shanghai

 Memorial of Heros

 Yu Yuang Gardens

 Yu Yuang Gardens

 again...

 Robert, Jo, John and I

 Carved from a single piece of wood by 2 masters, it took 3 years and depicts the 18 Buddhas

 The Lady Hall Buddha

 The Great Hall

Chanting Monks at the Jade Buddha Temple

Farewell China

So we set out on our last taxi ride in Shanghai and head to the airport to depart for Hong Kong and then onto Adelaide.

Relief is the first emotion, I am glad to be leaving China, I am glad to be out and heading home.

I feel like I have been away from home for months not 10 days and I need my life back.

I miss my children, I miss my cats, I miss my home and I miss my family.

I have learnt much about myself on this trip, I have learnt much about China and I have learnt much about how much my husband takes care of me.

I learnt that I am a compassionate person, but cross me and my fuck you attitude will come out and stay.  That not all people are good, not all people have good intentions and not all people should be trusted.  I have learnt that China is a country that is full of beauty, wonder and amazing places.  However like anywhere else in the world it has its side to be wary off, and I learnt that lesson.

I am glad that I still call Australia home.

Jade Buddha Temple

After our exciting morning at the Shanghai Central Police Station, John can tell I need some normality back in my life, this has affected me deeply, going to a police station, confronting the people, restless night, tears, anxiety it is all there for me, so he takes me to McDonald's, now you might think McDonald's??  Really??  But if you think about it McDonald's no matter where you are in the world it is all the same, it has the same colour scheme, decor, menu, uniforms and there is a familiarity with it and with that familiarity comes a sense of peace.  Not sure I ever enjoyed McDonald's so much in my life.

Then with our $600RMB we decided to go to the Jade Buddha Temple as our last outing in China before our departure tomorrow, the temple is set in amongst homes and buildings and shops and surrounded by beggars.  It is hard to get out of your taxi and see so many of them come up to you, dragging crying children, dragging legs that don't work and all of them at you.  My usual response would be heartbreak and wanting to give them all we could.  My response now is one of compassion but a better ability to walk away, probably not the best thing I could ever have gotten out of this trip but its something I must be honest about this trip has changed me, it has made me a harder person.

The temple is beautiful, and we wander around freely inside without the fear of being ambushed by sellers of Rolex and Prada knock offs.  The Jade Buddha is beautiful and the only Buddha in the temple where photography is not allowed, of course we respect their wishes however along comes an American man who pulls out his camera and takes a selfie with the Buddha, I say to him 'No photography' and he just looks at me like I have two heads, Americans really make me want to kill people.  They are so far up their own arses its amazing they can see in front of them.

We witness Monks chanting in the Main Hall and it is a really peaceful and soul settling experience, something I am so glad we did on our last day, made me forget some of what had happened in the last 48 hours and put things back into perspective.

Revenge is a dish best served cold

The thing with my husband is his first reaction is not usually his final one.  When we were scammed yesterday his reaction was that it was a $180 lesson and one we will never forget, he also saw how much it affected me both physically and emotionally and he therefore stayed strong, focused and kept me upbeat in order to ensure I didn't go into meltdown.  As usual in short he was my rock.

But also I knew that after he had slept on it his emotional pallet would change come morning, and so as I predicted it did.  He woke with a look in his eye and a determination in his voice.  He said come on lets go down and see the hotel staff about what happened.  I was willing to just put it past me as I really didn't think there was anything that could be done, not John, not much intimidates my husband and when he has gone through his emotions on a subject and arrived at a conclusion he very rarely goes off track.

So we spoke to the duty manager who informed us our only option was to have the police called to the hotel.  I still held out no hope as they do not give you emotion when they talk, Chinese just talk, they leave out describing words and emotions and it can make it hard for you to pick which way they are going with their words.  So the police were called.

Two older police man in a police van arrived at our hotel and spoke to us through the hotel duty manager.  After a brief conversation they asked us to accompany them to the police station and then the tea room.  I knew where the tea room was and was confident in finding it when returning with the police.

So we were put in the back of the police van, a fantastic experience ... NOT, and headed to the police station, ironically which was directly opposite where the tea room scam is run.  Police stations in China are not like Australia, things happen quickly, we are asked to sit down in some chairs in the main reception area, then ushered into a room with two policemen, 1 of the hotel staff and sit while again the story is explained.  We are then walked straight over to the tea room.  We locate the tea room, go inside and the girl who performed our tea ceremony was having lunch with what I believe is probably another one of the scam artists who head out to find their victims.

After a short conversation between the police and the two suspects we are all marched back to the police station.  We are put straight into a room with a large board like table, negotiations begin and we are offered $600 RMB just over half our money back, we are told that because some services were given and some tea was consumed that we were liable for some of the fee.

At this point I am just glad we got anything back at all.  We accept this and then ask the police to check the money they handed over as counterfeit money is rife in Shanghai, the man suspect basically laughs at us like as if he would do that, yes I guess counterfeit is below what a scam artist will lower themselves too.

As we leave I ensure I give them both the dirtiest look I can muster and a little wink to the girl in the hopes she enjoys her time in the jail.

We are informed they will be kept in jail for 24 to 48 hours and records will be kept on them both, however I believe records probably already exist.

The whole exercise from coming down from our hotel room to coming back to the hotel takes no more than 30 minutes, I will give the police one thing they are efficient.

However as the scam goes on under their nose, to which I believe they know of the scam and probably get kick backs from the people who do not follow it up makes me again want out of this city.  I feel that everyone is out for their share of what they can scam out of you, it really does leave you feeling like shit.

A love affair ends..

Today we were scammed, Shanghaied in Shanghai, taken for a ride, our generosity used against us.  And I feel sick to my stomach.

It begins with John and I finally finding People’s Square and walking around.  We found a huge amount of Chinese people standing around talking in little tents set up with pictures of people and Chinese writing.  Both John and I were intrigued with what this could be, there was nothing written in English so we just walked and looked, we both looked at each other at about the same time and said what is this??

Just as we did a young Chinese couple said, ‘You understand what is going on here?’  and so the scam begins.

This young couple explained to us how these people were for what of a better word, advertising their children in the hope for a love match.  She explained that it was not like old China where the match meant the you must be married, this was see if you like and if you get along good otherwise no pressure.

It was quiet confronting at first to see the many hundreds of posters put up explaining the person’s age, their height, their education and what they are looking for in a match.  However it was also strangely sweet that the parents sit all day and explain to potential matches about their children.  Basking in this we continue to walk around the square with our new found friends, at some point they mention they are heading to a Traditional Chinese Tea Ceremony, a ceremony that only happens for 1 month each year.  Jing (I can’t remember her name although I would like to punch the fuck out of her) explains that she is excited and would like us to come with her. 

John and I are not stupid people, John is wary of people and I tend to believe most people have good inside.  We pride ourselves that we can judge people and know when they are good or not.

Not so much today.  However this in turn lets you know how good these young people are.

We walked with them to the tea ceremony place, which was in a small building just off a main road, on the third floor, we are taken into a room which has four chairs and a Chinese lady who will conduct the ceremony.  She explains all in Chinese which our ‘friends’ interpret for us that we will be sampling 6 teas today, we are shown a price list but we are not explained it.  So the ceremony begins, it is nothing to write home about, she produces what looks like a small frog with coins on its back and washes him tea to begin with and then goes through the motion of the teas.  There is Jasmine tea, Lychee Tea, Fruit Tea, Green Tea and it finishes with a tea that is the size of a small golf ball but when immersed in warm water it opens out to a flower which then produces another flower from within.  All the teas are nice, the fruit tea is particularly nice and we taste them all and finish the tea ceremony.

Then they bring out the teas to purchase, and we notice how expensive the teas are and as they buy two bags each we purchase 1 small bag.  Then the bill comes and its over $2,000 RMB.  This is when bile rises in my throat and John looks at me with eyes larger than sauces.

They work on splitting the bill as that is what friends do in China, we do not have that much RMB on us and we eventually have to give over our credit card as the other couple have handed over cash.

Once we are back outside and our ‘friends’ leave, John turns to me and says have we just been scammed?  I honestly cannot speak, I am trying to comprehend that we just paid $180 for six cups of tea each.

It was all done extremely professionally, reading above those who say I would never have been done, you are wrong, you are wrong.  Trust me you are wrong.

We came back to our hotel and googled, Shanghai Tea Ceremony and got page after page after page of hits on scams.

We had been done, our first call was to the credit card company to cancel our card as we didn’t want any more money taken and they are going to dispute the payment (which of course) had already been put through on our card.

I hope with all inside me we can get that money back, not because we need the $180 but because I do not want those arseholes to have our money.

Today I lost all my love for China in a 30 minute Tea Ceremony.  Today I hate the Chinese, yes hate.  Everyone says that word should not be used, fuck them, that word is my friend today.

I am a person who try’s to see the best in everyone, who looks for the best in everyone and who is willing to practice English with a lovely couple we meet at The People’s Square in Shanghai.  I had a small fleeting feeling at one point walking to the ceremony what if these people are not what they say they are.  But the man was all of about 20 and slight framed I could have knocked him over with a good push so I was not in physical harm.  I was just the target of a scam.

Crime in China is low they say, and yes you don’t feel worried walking around the city or like you are in danger, but that is where they get you, its not the man lurking in the ally way you need to be worried about.  Its every single person in China, it may sound hypocritical but it is true.  The waitress at the café we eat at everyday does not chase away the man selling Prada or Rolex, but she chases away the Beggar.  Why because she doesn’t get her cut.  The policeman who sat on his arse in the bar smoking cigarettes, doesn’t chase away the man selling the knock off iphones he again chases away the beggar.  Why?  Because he cannot get a cut from a beggar.

Crime is rife, it is everywhere and we are their biggest target.  The dumb stupid western who they can sell their $5 Prada handbags to for $80 and we think we are getting a bargain, or take you to a tea ceremony and make you feel dumb.  Today they got their own back on us Westerner’s we come here looking to purchase the products we sell our resources to them for them to make into huge ticket items and sell back to us.  We think we are being clever to come and buy the knock offs that look real at the cheap prices, while they laugh at us knowing once again they are winning.

I feel sick in my stomach, I feel a distain towards them and their scams and their knock offs and their ways. 

I guess I put it on par with when someone breaks your trust, and I put this to you, trust is like a Ming Vase, once broken it can be put back together, but it will NEVER be the same.

China will never be the same to me.  I now long for Tuesday when I head back to my country and remember why I love it so much.  China you broke my heart today.

Tainted Shanghai

Today John and I headed out on our own.  We firstly braved the subway system here in Shanghai which is excellently signed and easy to negotiate.  We travelled to a location we had been told that had shoes, for John’s cousin Michelle who had been looking after our home and cats while we were away.  She wanted Louboutains and we finally found them, shoes I know she is going to be extremely excited about and I cannot wait to give them to her.  We also did the last of our shopping for family here and have got some wonderful presents to take home.

I have totally had enough however of the constant ‘Hey Lady you want Prada, you want watch’ it gets tiring, John is very polite and he usually interacts with them saying ‘No we have bags, we don’t need watches’ but they just don’t give up.  We were sitting today having our lunch at McDonalds, yes McDonalds, first time we have had such food here but we were both at a point where we needed just something familiar. 

We were sitting eating our lunch and it started, hey you want watch.  John must have said No probably 7 times and the man just kept going.  I finally lost it, I turned around and put up my hand in the stop sign position and said No, now you go, we do not want watch.  I was firm and loud and just over it.  I just wanted to be left alone, I just wanted to finally sit in familiar surrounds like McDonalds provides and eat my lunch with my husband.  I told John I am probably known as the nasty loud Western Woman but I do not care, truly they shit me now.

When he came back again we had packed up most of the food items onto the tray and I had not eaten my chips, he stood there and I thought if he says you want watch I am going to lose it.  But he said they for me, and pointed to the cold untouched chips, I gave them to him and he left.

If he had told me he was hungry I would have brought him lunch it would have cost me $5 for lunch for him without me becoming upset and annoyed with him harassing us into buying a watch.

My view on Shanghai and China is becoming tainted and it makes me sad.

Another Beggars Story

As we sat at breakfast this morning eating our eggs and bacon, another beggar came to us.  He had no hands, just stumps and it was confronting.  Extremely confronting.

What do you do?  You cannot look at him because you are sitting at a café, eating your meal, wearing your clean clothes, just slept in your hotel bed, and have next to you your new Jimmy Choo knock off handbag.  If you look at him you will see in his eyes the fact that he has nothing and you have so much.

Again the pull and dance inside you begins, you just want to be left alone to eat your breakfast but you know that the only way these people can survive is through begging.  As John said how could he work, he had no hands, it’s not like their government would have benefits like in Australia and he does what he can to get by.

Is it our problem, I guess that comes down to a question that must be answered only in your heart as a human.  On a global scale isn’t it everyone’s problem and everyone’s issue?  Or is it just something that you pretend doesn’t happen.

Today I was one of the pretenders, I pretended I didn’t see him, I pretended I couldn’t hear him and I wished he would go.  My husband today was the one who didn’t pretend.

He waited until he left our table without any money and sat back on the step he had come from and without bringing notice to it he went and gave the man probably one of the largest donations he would have seen for the day.  $50 RMB this is roughly $10 Australian.  When he came back I could see he was different I had not really noticed he had gone, I thought he had moved away from the table to have a smoke, but instead he did what the pretenders at the table didn’t.

The other couple we were with, when realising what he had done, went over and gave the man some more RMB and as he left he smiled at us.  The four western people sitting in the café, eating their food, in their clean clothes, having just slept in their beautiful hotel room and with their designer handbags.  He smiled, and it was honest and beautiful.

As usual I learnt from my amazing husband again today, we do not have a lot of money we are not rich as such, we are comfortable and we have enough to get us through this holiday, but as John said do we have enough to help out someone who needs it more than us?  Yes we do.  

Tattoos

Saturday comes and we head out for a day with John, myself, Jo and Robert.  We had decided to head on the big red bus, a sightseeing bus that takes you on a loop around the city and drops you at various places, for $5 the ticket lasts for 24 hours and you can get on and off as often as you like.

My boy was over t-shirts, collared shirts and polos, so in true John style out came the singlet or as I refer to it tank top time.

We headed downstairs and there is John in his tank top with his many tattoos out.  People stared all day, kids would look around and I guess when I think about it you don’t see many Chinese men firstly in tank tops and secondly covered in tattoos.  Also many of John’s Tattoo’s are Chinese so I think that drew the looks as well.

At one stage when we got off at City God Temple and Yu Yuan Garden, when we were heading through the garden two separate people stopped John and asked for photos with him.  I caught another lady taking his photo without his knowledge. 

The garden Yu Yuan Garden was $40 RMB around $8 and it was magnificent if you ever come to Shanghai it has so far been the highlight.  It is peaceful, beautiful and magnificently put together.  There are rocky gardens; pavilions with wonderful names like the pavilion of the thousand flowers and the pavilion of the intended quiet, there are waterfalls and bridges, Kio Karp as far as the eye can see.  These Karp are around 50 to 60 cm in length and the colours are magnificent, they come in the traditional orange, yellow, black and wonderful shades of red and black and white.  There were turtles and ducks.  It truly was a beautiful place.

John and I left Jo and Robert who headed off into the modern part of Shanghai and we hit an outside bar and sat and pondered just how lucky we are.  All in all another fantastic day in China.

Old meets New

Shanghai like Beijing has the old areas and the new, however most in China believe Shanghai is the modern city of China.  Having now been to Beijing as well I would agree that this is correct.  Shanghai feels more modern, it looks more modern and I believe the people here like not only the influence of the western culture but they want it.

The buildings have to be seen to believed.  The tallest here in Shanghai which was, as was the case with the Taipei 101 building, once the tallest in the world stands at 101 floors.  It looks like a bottle opener, it is build with a huge square cut out along the top floors so that the wind can pass through the building and ensure it does not sway.

We went out and had the most amazing dinner last night, my vegan and animal loving friends may want to skip this post, but I tried bullfrog and it was delicious.  We had duck in the tradition of the Peking duck, pork, many vegetables, which are always beyond delicious and as usual the meal ended up costing around $15 a head.  Never would you find a feast like we ate for the money in Australia.

We then headed out to the river to look over at the ‘Modern’ Shanghai this is where the TV tower (very space aged looking building) and the big bottle opener are.  Many visitors come to this river every night and do the sightseeing thing.  It is called the Bund area and as with Australia it basically is a bund for the river to ensure it doesn’t overflow.

We also visited a memorial, which we interpreted to be for all the fallen men, it was in the shape of three rifles leaning on each other and stood at least 20 floors in the air, it was really beautiful.

As usual we walked and walked and walked, Shanghai is easy to get around, the back streets are not at all what you would call dingy or have you worried who you will meet.  I have always felt safe here in this city, a city I am growing to love as much as Beijing.

Beggars

Kindness they say is free and you should give it out in abundance, but what of generosity?  This usually comes at a cost and therefore is not practiced as often.

Beggars roam the streets in Shanghai, they are usually elderly and they usually hit you when you are stationery.  The first night we were crossing the lights and an elderly woman came and kept touching her tummy saying how hungry she was, I had no Chinese money as yet and it affected me deeply to walk away.

I watched this woman walk amongst the many waiting to cross the busy street and all the ‘white’ people said no, it was the Chinese who gave her spare change.  This didn’t sit well with me that we visit their country and even though this is not our issue as such we still fail to see the kindness required in being generous.

I vowed that if I saw her again I would give her money.  So the very next time at the very same crossing she came and I did in fact give her money, and yes the inevitable happened, from no where they came more begging at you, because you’re a foreigner I believe as this was not what happened the previous night.  I couldn’t continue to give out money, or else I would also be one of those beggars on the street but I did feel a little better within my soul that I had helped a little.  I felt I did something, if I had more I would give more, but I gave what I could.

But as I walked to find my Jimmy Choo handbag the irony struck me, as I am sure those who feel the internal pull of right and wrong will have gotten from this story.

Stuff is stuff, it’s a beautiful handbag and it brings me joy.  I work extremely hard for my money and the little we have after all our huge expenses each month we do use to buy things we like.  But it’s usually just things and stuff.  I like, well lets be honest I love things and stuff, I like nice things and stuff.  But when you break it all down, when you strip it all back it is only things and stuff. 

You cannot feed the world, or solve the issue of poverty and hunger alone but each of us doing what we can does help.

Kindness is free give it out in abundance.

Generosity costs but it does build your soul.

Xo

Shanghai Surprise

I have been to China before but not to Shanghai, when I visited Beijing last year I was told that Shanghai is more modern and busier.  They were right.  But after initially thinking Beijing was my favourite Chinese city Shanghai has won my heart.

The shopping here is an experience, if you want to go to Shopping Mall’s they are everywhere, the pricing is pretty much on par with Australia perhaps a little cheaper, their style however especially for women is not my style, its what we are referring to as baby doll.  Girls clothing for women, it’s pretty and frilly and soft and short and always skirts and dresses.  They love their short shorts here and their high heels.  They love colour and they love sparkle.  That’s ok because again my size is not Chinese size so clothing is not a priority for me.

However if you want to do some ‘underground’ shopping this is when the experience begins, I have never been to Bali but I am told it is exactly like Bali.  You walk into these little shop fronts with the usual knick knacks and get asked ‘You want Prada bag’ and when you show you’re slightly interested you are whisked out of view behind secret panels in the wall and up staircases into rooms filled with Prada, Gucci, LV, Polo, Jimmy Choo and Chanel, brand names everywhere, you want it they have it.

The quality of most is exceptional, I have myself fell in love with the colour yellow while here and got myself the most gawjus yellow Jimmy Choo handbag yesterday, latest style for around $40.  You cannot ask for better than that!

Once you pick out the styles you want, and then comes the rest of their stock, they have wallets, watches, clothing, suitcases, the list is endless.

You choose what you want then the bartering begins, they start high you go low and the dance of the dollar takes over.  Eventually you meet in the middle.  You can offend them if you continue to keep your price ridiculously low so be careful.  I witnessed a German girl try to buy two Abercrombie and Finch t-shirts for $2 Australian and she would not budge, in the end the Chinese girl said get out, and the deal was over, once you insult them there is no going back, so she left empty handed, which I thought was good, she was a moll.

It can be overwhelming as they take you usually into second and third floor rooms with small or no windows and usually no air-conditioning, don’t know if this is a tactic to make you light headed but after experiencing a whole day of it yesterday we never felt unsafe at all Jo or I.

Bartering is fun but it takes time to learn, when they look at you with their big eyes saying oh Misses I not make a profit I usually crumble, this is when my husband comes in as he knows they will not sell without a profit and usually gets a much better price than I am capable of.

The food so far has been unbelievable; we have eaten the most flavoursome food ever, and cheap as chips!  I will post more later on the food.

Don’t Dismiss Taiwan

It’s a country you don’t really I guess think about as a destination for a holiday but you would be cutting yourself short if you did not put Taiwan on your list of places to visit.

The country is rich in culture, food and shopping.  If I was to be perfectly honest with you I did not expect the city I found when we landed in Taipei, it’s a very modern city, the shopping is extremely good, and the price of their dollar to ours is 30 to 1, a rate many would be extremely happy with.  To give you an example my thing is shoes, I have never actually seen so many or different styles.  From flats to thongs to heels to boots they have a million different styles and most I had never seen before.  The issue I had was size, I sit between a 9 and a 9 and a half.  Each time I would walk into a shop and say 41 they basically would say nothing here for you, disappointing but expected they have small feet.  I have been unlucky in life to love shoes but have feet that are more suited to small fishing boats :/

It is easy to get around in this city, Taxi’s are everywhere and the price is ridiculously cheap.  The cars are modern, air-conditioned, well maintained and clean.  Australian Taxi drivers could learn a lot.

English is broken with many but you never feel like they are looking down at you they were try to work out what you are asking and learning to say hello or excuse me and thank you in their language goes a long way.

The weather is hot, which is lovely when you have just come from winter in Australia, its nice to go outside and actually feel a bit of a sweat on you after being outside for a few hours.

The country all in all was one of my favourite 21 countries I have visited in my lifetime, and I do hope to go back again.

Dinner and Night Markets

Tonight we were taken out to dinner by some of John's works connections here in Taiwan, it was a really fabulous meal, we were seated in a small private dinning room and our hosts choose all the food.  Which can be a little worrying but at the same time I believe that when you are the guest in another's country its the tradition to allow the host to choose.

Everything was delicious, we had Pork thigh, we had chicken, vegetables (which I love in China they are always fresh and always always full of flavour), there was bamboo, Tofu soup, Taiwanese pizza and dessert of watermelon and date pizza.  All fabulous!!

We then headed for the night markets, and that was where we finally really got to see some of the traditional Taiwan, there were stalls selling all kinds of weird and wonderful foods, that smelt either fabulous or I am not kidding like actual shit.  There were iphone covers, dog outfits, clothes, watches, fans, chopsticks, you name it they had it.

Dogs - now lets talk about dogs, as with most 'westerners' that they eat dog, everyone in the market had dogs, and they clearly love their dogs.  They had fans on their dogs to ensure they kept cool, they were all well groomed, all either held or were being played with.  So I am thinking perhaps we think they eat dog and perhaps they actually don't its probably just one of those urban myths.

Having said that, have not seen a Cat here, well until tonight when at the market we saw a couple of kittens in cages for sale, I asked one of our hosts tell me they are pets and he just looked at me, I took it that he didn't understand, as they were very cute kittens and reminded me of my two beautiful boys at home whom I miss so very much.

We brought a coke each tonight, as it was hot, like stinking hot and sticky, the coke was in a glass coke bottle, you know the ones that cost you like $4 in Australia per bottle here they are about 65c each.  Go figure.

At the end of the market is a temple and we went in and had a look around it was very beautiful.  The funniest thing was when we came out there were people scratching scratchies and both Leanne and I laughed at this until John pointed out one of the traditions in the temple is to ask for things and they had probably asked for wealth, which in a country like this I understand. 

I adored these markets and had a wonderful evening.  Tomorrow we head back to Shanghai so the facebook firewall hits and this will be my way of communication.

Until I blog again, goodnight and peace and happiness to you all.

My husband

The term punching above your weight is not a term I like or use however it is one I can relate too.  My husband is smart, extremely smart and he is kind and generous and fiery and loses his temper quickly, he is frustrating, he get frustrated, he doesn't suffer fools and stupid people (which is the majority these days unfortunately) annoy him.

But to me he is my world.  I am so very proud of him and his achievements, he works extremely hard, he takes things extremely personally and if he thinks he has hurt someones feelings it affects him deeply, these are the things not many know about my boy, he also loves his family fiercely, unconditionally and puts them about all else.

I love him with all my heart and know how blessed and lucky I am to have him in my life.

Gosh the weather is making me very sappy x

Culture and shit

Today was culture day, Jo and I decided we really should head out and see something other than department store so we headed to the National Temple and Museum.  It was ok, it did have allot of really old pottery and items from the Ming and other dynasties which was very interesting, but seriously four floors and about 100 rooms later we are both over it.  The gardens however were divine and I find I like being outside in this country allot more than inside.  The air smells different, and not always good different but it lets you realise you are no longer in Australia.

Took heaps of photos but again as everything on this PC is in Chinese and I struggled daily to remember how to log onto the blog I am keeping this as simple as possible until I get to Shanghai tomorrow as I know I will then be able to download some photos and show you where I have been.

Its hot today, like stinking hot I would say around 35 and its clear as a bell and humid as hell, thats ok, I just remember how cold it was when we left and I smile and be thankful for the warm heat that hits my skin.

I am also wearing a skirt, this is almost unheard of, seriously unheard of I don't do dresses and skirts but its sooo warm I threw one on and actually like it.  Go figure!

Missing my boy he is off working again, but then again someone has to justify this trip and that someone is him. 

Taipei 101

The building ranked officially as the worlds tallest from 2004 until Dubai took over in 2010.

We finally worked out how to buy tickets and headed up to the fifth floor where you catch the lift, officially the worlds fastest which travels at 1010m per minute, it is ridiculous how quickly you go from level 5 to level 87.  We stepped out on the observation deck and it was breathtaking, Taipei really is a beautiful city, I have many photos and hope to upload a heap tomorrow.

We then climbed the final 4 floors using the stairs and walked out onto the outside viewing deck, that kinda took my breath away how high up you are and how far you can see.  There is no smog in Taipei, well that has not been any so far, and it really is beautiful.  You see fabulous green mountains and then beautifully designed buildings and lovely traditionally set out gardens as far as the eye can see.

We then travelled down the elevator which actually made me feel sick it went so fast and headed into the food court to have lunch.  Two options, noodles or McDonald's, I opted for noodles, I am not coming to China and eating McDonald's, blahhhhh.  The food was yummy as ever, spicy and full of flavour and vegetables I didn't recognise but didn't care as they just all tasted great.

So far I have not really noticed that the price of everything is cheap, for e.g. I adore Macarons and they had them here for $4.50 Australian each......holy fuck, they stayed there.  Cupcakes however were 70c each and divine.

More tomorrow its late and I am off to a temple, museum, gardens, dinner and night markets tomorrow so there will be lots to talk about.

Brooke xoxox

Shop until you dropppppppp

Jo and I met for breakfast at 9.30 and the breakfasts are amazing, it is a mix of the usual you would find at all hotels across Australia as well as traditional Chinese breakfasts, which include smoked salmon salad, noodles and chicken and soup.  I had a smoked salmon salad and it was wonderful, its really lovely to have such fresh and usual food first thing in the morning.

We then headed out to the huge shopping complex next to the hotel, and the whole bottom floor is just shoes, and I mean every type of shoe you can imagine and then some, I found about 794 that I liked however as I am a size 9 I found 2 pair that actually fit me.  This as you can imagine almost sent me into a deep depression, however I am informed that Shanghai have women with much larger feet so I am crossing my fingers that I find some pretties there.

I got myself a pair of earrings that cost $2 and I love them!  I got my kids a pair of chop sticks each for $1, as we eat allot of noodles and rice at home and they are always interested in John and I eating with the sticks so now they have their own.

There were many other levels of home wares, clothing, gadgets and such however the shoes had made me quiet sad, its hard to look at so many beautiful shoes and not be able to fit in them, I am still trying to come to terms with this.  I am contemplating trying the traditional Chinese foot bandages to see if I can shrink my feet to fit into their ridiculously small shoes.  And if you think I am kidding you clearly do not know me.

Taipei

Its hot like hottttttt its around 32 when we arrive, its steamy but its such a lovely change from Melbourne which was around 6 when we left.

Our driver thinks he is Jason Statham and does some awesome driving to get us to our hotel, the traffic is again something you have to see to believe, but it works, there is no road rage to say, as people don't make it a sport to keep others out of lanes, they understand that you keep left if you are going slow and the faster you go the further right you are on their huge highways.  And guess what people (yes mainly people of Adelaide who can't drive) their 5 million people get to their destination with huge traffic jams as the traffic flows!  Horns are not to make people feel like idiots, they are there to tell you in case you have not seen them that there is a car in the lane and a quick toot toot is all that is needed. 


Scooters are everywhere, obviously owning a car in this country is a luxury many cannot afford so most drive scooters and they nip in and out of the traffic at high speeds and are parked everywhere, most leave their helmets on the scooters as they head for the place of work for the day as obviously the crime rate is not like Australia where if you don't nail it down some wanker is going to take it.

The hotel is pretty swish and get this the mini bar is free, not there is only beer, soft drinks and chips but its free, then there is a HQ Bar on level 2 that has fully stocked fridges, snacks and Internet mac's for use 24 hours a day all free.  So you can head down there load up on all your necessities and then head back to your room and its all free.  You gotta love free stuff, would never work in Australia, but I am loving it here.

The food is fabulous, so far in my humble opinion its not as good as Beijing but it is still fresh and full of flavour, and so far I have not tried anything too weird but will keep you updated.

26 hours and counting...

So we boarded the plane in Adelaide bound for Melbourne, we stopped for a drink before hand at the only place in Adelaide Airport that sells alcohol and after a second mortgage on our home we had a drink.  Well played Adelaide Airport, way to rip off the people.  We then met up with Robert and Jo, Robert works with John and Jo is his wife and we all boarded our first international leg bound for Hong Kong.  After a movie and some food, John and I tried our best to sleep in what most would know from travelling overseas as a dog box and were woken around 4am local time to eat breakfast and get ready for our arrival into Hong Kong.

Hong Kong although we only saw it from the airport was beautiful, really beautiful a place that is now on my list of cities to see.  We did some looking around, had a coffee and then headed down to our third leg of Hong Kong to Shanghai.  This flight was not as long and soon enough we were descending into Shanghai.

Shanghai airport is huge, I think bigger than Beijing which I find ridiculous as that is the largest airport I have ever been in, however the bit that kind of hits you in the face is when you turn a corner and there are two men looking at you and each has a rather large machine gun, that is intimidating.

Now we were suppose to transfer internationally for our leg to Taipei however China don't do things the way the rest of the world do things, so instead of doing the usual transfer lounge and boarding gate, we had to go through Customs, Immigration, security checks and then walk about 1km to the other terminal to catch our 4th leg flight, in a nut shell we missed the flight.  Great!

Firstly the Customs people dragged me off to a holding area and I couldn't catch John's eye to say um think perhaps I am about to have a finger inserted in places no finger should go, only to then realise that Robert, Jo and John were all joining me.  Robert explained as nicely as a fiery Italian can that we are late and trying very hard to get to our final flight, the Police man, he didn't really care, he took his time, checked all passports and boarding tickets about three times, finally wandered over and got a stamp and let us go on our way.

Then we ran like ran, 1km to try to terminal 1 from terminal 2, without the knowledge that we could have gotten a shuttle bus.  Not that it would have helped we were never making that flight as soon as we realised China treats their transfers differently to any other country in the world.

So four very tired, smelly, slightly less than impressed Australia's trudged through the airport trying to find some kind of a coffee shop to rest.

However firstly we had to go the 1km back to Terminal 1 to get our backs that had been dumped off the plane since we missed our flight.  Jo and John they are the glass is half empties on our trip, Robert and I we are the glass is half full.  So Robert and I were sure our bags would be there, Jo and John not so much.  Glass half full won out, thank god. 

So then it was another trip back on the shuttle with bags in tow and we checked in for our flight.  Finally we were called for boarding and our final leg was under way.

We arrived into Taipei around 6pm hence the 26 hours of flights and airports this post references.  We were collected by our driver and promptly taken to our hotel. 

I believe every single time I went through customs I was patted down, I had to show my passport about 20 times, I had to talk to about 5 customs and 5 immigration officers and I was hot and smelly and tired, but I didn't and still don't really care, I am extremely blessed to be on this trip, and I get to go overseas and spent time in another country with my husband, so all the little issues that happen along the way, really they are just little blips on a screen that is full of fabulous.

When, where, what, how.....

We depart Saturday 1st of September and head to Melbourne, our flight departs Melbourne bound for Hong Kong, then onto Shanghai, then one more flight to Taipei.  

We spend three days in Taipei then head back to Shanghai for over a week and then head home to Adelaide.

We have both travelled to China (Beijing) separately in the last two years for work, but this time we have the opportunity to travel together.  To say I am excited to be travelling overseas with my husband is an understatement, this is going to be fantastic.

Thanks for reading our posts!  ♥ Brooke

p.s. How cool is my new luggage!