Snow joke

[Philip]

Hi guys,
almost returned from my adventures in Changsha. Am in Amsterdam, waiting for the last leg of my trip back to London.
None of my flights were straightforward. All were either delayed or cancelled. I was supposed to fly to Changsha on the 21st December, but Amsterdam airport was practically closed. I had to wait for two more days in London. KLM were responsible for the first leg of my flight, so they provided accommodation and meals at the local Park Inn and Hilton hotels. Good for them. But their communication was atrocious. After much queuing, waiting and asking questions, I managed to get an alternative flight via Moscow and Aeroflot on the 23rd. I was told that Aeroflot's reputation had improved. Well, the flight was 2 hours late, and the passengers applauded when the plane arrived safely in Moscow. Maybe they knew something I didn't!
The plane arrived two hours late in Beijing too. The passengers applauded again. My flight to Changsha was delayed for about 10 hours. I had to follow a fast-walking woman, holding a banner, to a car park, where a bunch of passengers were driven to a local hotel for a few hours, before being driven back again a few hours later. So I finally arrived in Changsha on Christmas morning at about 3 o'clock in the morning. I took a bus and a taxi to the hotel my lady had recommended and crashed on the bed. I managed to send a text message to say to my lady that I had arrived in Changhsa. I was woken at 8 o'clock in the morning by a knock at my hotel room door. It was my beautiful fiancee.
Merry Christmas!
*To be continued*

[ttwjr32]

no were to go but get better now philip  
 wow what a beginning disaster

[Willy The Londoner]

Phillip, knowing you I just do not have to ask why it has taken more than 10 days to update us!!!

No doubt that elongated trip has been well worthwhile.  Just remember to pop your head up now and then.  The air can get a bit stifling under bedclothes for days on end.

Willy

[Scottish_Rob]

AND merry Christmas to you too Philip...LOL:icon_biggrin::icon_cheesygrin::icon_cheesygrin:

[Philip]

After receiving such a lovely Christmas present of her presence, I decided that I wanted to change hotel. This one wasn't very nice. I had paid 400 yuan for the room. Checking out, my lady got me a 220 yuan refund. She seems to be really good at negotiating cheap rooms. We went back to the hotel we went to in October, the aptly-named Yippee hotel! It was a beautiful sunny day, she mentioned all the things we could go out and do, and so we spent the whole day in the room with the curtains closed, coming up once for air to have dinner. Yes, Willy, you're so right. I also shared the presents I had brought for her and her two children. It was an unconventional Christmas, but lovely nonetheless.
The next day, we went to the marriage office to see about registering. It was closed for a couple of days, so we had a lovely day at Martyr park, taking a boat ride, eating sunflower seeds and walking hand in hand, arm in arm. Sometimes the simplest of do-nothing days are the best. At one point we went into a kind of house of horrors near the fairground. It was the crappiest, shoddiest kind of animatronic show, creaky creatures coming towards you slightly as you passed them. It was truly bad. The bulb in one of the dragon's eyes wasn't working. For some reason, I was incredibly moved when she screamed at every silly moment. She grabbed my arm tightly - it was so sweet. I'll certainly hold back on showed her any of the Alien quadrilogy!
Back at the hotel, we had the promised money talk. It came naturally out of our conversation. She has this thing, which I explain as the worry monster. This is something that crops up now and again. Something she worries about and gives her sleepless nights. Until we thrash it out, she can't enjoy anything. A few months ago, it was "Can you accept another man's children?". I convinced her that it was not a problem for me. Then it was, "Will your family accept me and my children?" Took me longer, but I convinced her of that. Her current worry monster is, "Will I end up penniless and alone in England?" It may sound illogical to equate the 200000 comment with being penniless, but she just wanted some idea of how much the total cost was for me to visit China, for us to get married and to bring her and her children over. I made it clear that I had done the math (or maths), which meant that I had worked out how I could afford everything, but that I could not and would not get myself into debt by paying for expensive weddings. Our marriage is more important than the wedding. She totally understood and was in agreement with my reasoning. This particularly worry monster is not yet tamed, but we made some good first steps.
Next day was another sweetly uneventful day. We walked along the river and ate some lovely stinky tofu from a street seller, not much else. I do like the sex very much - we seem to have the same drives at the same time and we are learning about each other, but there is something wonderful about a gentle stroll, arm in arm, hand in hand. Am I getting old, or am I getting young?

More details soon

[dude]

Philip,

Sorry to hear about your flying problems butt it sounds like that changed when you arrived here in Changsha! I arrived 20 minutes late to Changsha on the 23rd...something about those domestic flights out of Beijing...funny thing...we could have been at Marytr's park the same day! LOL...I'm here for at least the next two months! Enjoy the read so far! :icon_biggrin:

Jim

[Rhonald]

I do like the sex very much - we seem to have the same drives at the same time and we are learning about each other, but there is something wonderful about a gentle stroll, arm in arm, hand in hand. Am I getting old, or am I getting young?
More details soon

Well your profile says you are 10 years old, so I guess - Yes - you are getting to old :icon_cheesygrin:

Thanks for the update and the devil is in the details.

[rockycoon]

Wow, is it warm in this room or is it just me.  I would wish you a great time in China, but from what I read, your already having a great time.  I wish you all the good luck in the world with your marrage.
The reason the russian plane was late was so the KGB could get on to watch you....:icon_cheesygrin:

[Willy The Londoner]

Older or young Phillip.   It does not matter as long as you are getting it - and I mean good feelings about each other.    The problems you were concerned about are just gone - it just needed sometime together to smooth the road ahead.

Your arrangements - when is it going to be once the office opens or you get out from under the sheets!!

Mind you hand in hand - whenever we cross the road I let go of her hand.  The reason being is that I walk straight across - the shortest and safest way possible and looking both ways all the time.  She walks across at a 45 degree angle and is oblivious to the dangers of traffic!!!  Trying to teach a Chinese person some road sense is like trying to teach a roadsweeper to be a brain surgeon!!!!  

Willy

[Peter]

So they didn't fix the dragons eye yet. It was broke in April too :icon_biggrin:
You seems to have a great Christmas.. Keep it up and I will see you in Changsha a couple of years from now..

[Philip]

On the night of the 27th, the worry monster reappeared. She was worried about our future and how I would be able to support her at the beginning of our life together in England with our two children. We discussed her genuine concerns and she seemed satisfied, though I know it is something that is on her mind a lot. The timing was understandable as we were due to register our marriage the next day.
We took a taxi on a very windy, snowy and cold 28th December. At the marriage office, we were told that we couldn't register, because the date on my single certificate preceded the date on her divorce certificate. Mine said 27th November, hers said 8th December. The official said the problem was that her name was mentioned on my certificate (it only says that we are no blood relation). They said we needed to go to the British consulate in Guangzhou to sort it out.
Disappointed, we left the office. We phoned the consulate. It was closed that day, but decided to go there anyway. If nothing else, we would be somewhere a bit warmer. She doesn't do cold. We also phoned her brother, who suggested the marriage office might just have used this date thing as an excuse, because we hadn't offered any under-the-table money. I don't know if their reasoning was genuine or not, but it seems rather strange to stop us from marrying based on my certificate, which is just about me.
We went straight to the newly-built, space-age Changsha South railway station, and caught one of the new fast-speed trains to Guangzhou North, agreeing to meet her brother for dinner in Guangzhou. The station at Changsha is amazing, like a small airport. The train is fast - it averaged about 200mph and reached a high speed of about 220mph. Her brother actually got on to the same carriage of our train at Hengyang - weird. The cost was high by Chinese standards, 327 yuan one-way, but we got there in less than 2 and a half hours.
(by the way, I recommend flying to Guangzhou and taking this train, if you can't find a cheap flight to Changsha)
We had a nice dinner with her brother after taking a bus (OK), a taxi (almost impossible to get) and the metro (very good). As we sat discussing the papers, my lady spilt her tea all over both of our papers, ruining hers and almost ruining mine. Whoops!
The next day, after a night in a not-too-extortionate hotel, we went to the consulate to get no joy whatsoever. Kind of expected it. We went to the normal Guangzhou station and took a slow day-sleeper back to Changsha (her idea) for half the price of the fast train.
Back to the Yippee hotel. So, I didn't get married this trip. I hope they don't come up with another obstacle when I return in April.:@

[Willy The Londoner]

So we have not had our first marriage of 2010 yet!   (2 splits but no marriages.)

Phillip, That means that you will have to get some of your paperwork done again as they have a limited life in China?

Willy

[Philip]

Yes, Willy, I would have to get the paperwork redone anyway as I need them to be dated after her divorce papers.
The 30th was another one of those nice uneventful days. We went shopping for a hat, and eventually found one. We had one of those insanely cheap meals close to the hotel. As usual, she washed away some of the hottest spiciness by dipping each piece of meat in some tea. She is very attentive to me during meals - she doesn't really eat very much though. In the evening we lay on the bed and had some English lessons. She writes English very easily and her spoken English is coming on, though we need to find a way for her to keep it up when I return to England.
Next day I suggested we go to Yuelu mountain. We took a taxi to the foot of the mountain. We took a bus to the top, accompanied by some deaf Chinese tourists. I use sign language in my job, so I was able to communicate with them a bit, which impressed my lady. At the top, it was lovely and sunny, and I was happy, unlike the last time I was there in May, when it was foggy and I was sad. When we reached the bottom, where the university is, I challenged a couple of young students to a game of badminton, and I was better than both of them, which caused my lady to call me 'Laoshi'. It's not often the English beat the Chinese at badminton, especially when they are more than twice as old as them.
We then went for a long stroll along the bank of the Chang Jiang river, looking at beached ships, people growing vegetables, cutting reeds, sweeping duck feathers and riding horses. We must have walked for four or five miles.
In the evening, the worry monster reappeared. She has the habit of chatting to taxi drivers and one of them had told her a cautionary tale about a foreign man he'd had in in his cab who had left his Chinese girlfriend. She was worried that the same would happen to us. I told her not to listen to taxi drivers,  that the taxi driver didn't know me, that my family and friends know me, and that she knew me and that is all that matters. If I met that taxi driver, I would like to strangle him.
One more update to follow.

[JimB]

The Chinese seem to be so fussy about paperwork.  If it is not line by line correct they will not accept it unless a little incentive is paid or unless you "know " someone.

[Voiceroveip]

It's incredible how insecure all those ladies are with us Westerners. My ex didn't really want to come to France but did not want me to live in China due to the amount of female competition ... and she resented my friendliness towards strangers, always worrying that I might run off with another. She was always monitoring where I was, and another which I just met on chat investigated my every single absence from my PC, the reason why I quickly stopped exchanging with her. We must have a really bad reputation in China ... too much white trash (quoting my ex) over there I guess.

The other worrying bits I can understand, if I were in her place, I would worry about many things before throwing my life at home in the air and moving to an unknown country with just a suitcase and not much money in my pocket.

Frank