Author Topic: An Irishmans adventures in China  (Read 22936 times)

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Scottish_Rob

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RE: An Irishmans adventures in China and Malaysia
« Reply #15 on: August 05, 2009, 08:11:53 pm »
Ronan all the best mate as has been said you deserve it....

Mike why did you mention potatoe:icon_cheesygrin:s, he'll be wanting to make bloody whiskey now....lol

Arnold

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RE: An Irishmans adventures in China and Malaysia
« Reply #16 on: August 05, 2009, 11:15:51 pm »
Irish , may this be the Trip to make the dream come true . Please take a good Photo of the Petronia Tower's , as I alway's wanted to see them . I hear the Food is also great in Malaysia . We'll be here waiting for the " LING II " update's .

Offline Neil

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RE: An Irishmans adventures in China and Malaysia
« Reply #17 on: August 05, 2009, 11:23:18 pm »
Good luck Ronan, but most of all, have fun!
...as irresistible as chocolate

Offline Brian Mc

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RE: An Irishmans adventures in China and Malaysia
« Reply #18 on: August 06, 2009, 01:24:44 am »
Good Luck Irish,  

Best wishes for an exciting, romantic and hopefully "engaging" trip.  Enjoy yourself and yes dont forget the updates and the pics.  Remember we are all pulling for you.

Regards,

Brian

Offline Irishman

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RE: An Irishmans adventures in China and Malaysia
« Reply #19 on: August 07, 2009, 09:35:48 pm »
I woke up yesterday morning around 6 with a panic about the amount of stuff I had to do, like iron a bajillion shirts (which ironed up great but were a crumpled mess when I unpacked them due to my folding skills or lack thereof).
I also needed to update my camera firmware and upload some Malaysian and Chines maps to my
Garmin c510 ancient piece of crap and gGrmin xt on to my mobile which all went fine or so i thought...

So headed out to the airport after triple checking i had packed everything i needed. And soon realised the bloody Irish maps had been overwritten.... I only had the base map which is not good as the motorway structure around the airport is being developed and all the layout seems to have changed since last time. I arrived at the long term carpark with minutes to spare for the ferry bus to the main airport. The flights were uneventful. However on the leg from Amsterdam I got sitting beside a Swedish guy that met his wife on a dating site and was going to visit her. So as you can imagine we swapped stories and he was a nice guy so enjoyed his company.

I was dreading the swine flu checks in Beijing airport but it was all very efficiently done I must say.
We were all let of the plane and were directed to an area and given out forms to fill in asking where you had been in the last 7 days, have you experienced any symptoms such as runny nose, aches etc etc in the last few days. Stuff like that. They also wanted a contact  in China which for a regular tourist travelling alone would be a show stopper i imagine.
Forms filed out, they lets us go though a thermal camera scanning zone, you went to a checkpoint where some one looks at your form and stamps them. While you are waiting there about 20 feet away a bunch of dudes in medical gear are looking at thermal images of you. A small girl in front of me who wasn't coughing or anything was taken away. They did it gently and she didn't seem traumatised by it, though I imagine as western girl would have started screaming probably when they put the mask on her.

So i collected my baggage, freshened up in the restroom and went out to meet Ling..who wasn't there.
I tried ringing her and the mobile kept saying invalid number. The damn payphones there only seem to accept credit cards for international calls and not coins or notes at all.
I decided to give a little time. 30 mins later am starting to freak a little. So I go to this phone kiosk and ask if they can sell me one of the regular phone cards to use in the payphones. So I got one and still couldn't work the damn machine haha, totally freaking out at this point. I ask the girl who sold me the phone card could she ring Lings number for me, she rang her and of course it worked first time (i needed to add an extra 0 at the start of the mobile number ringing from a payphone..go figure!!).
Ling was stuck in traffic but said she would be there soon (a white lie, more on that later!).

So massively relieved I waited and she arrived not long after with a big smile on her face and looking stunning, she gave me a big hug and called me honey and guys, I must have had the biggest grin in China at that moment, talk about a different response to the last time I went over to  meet another lady!)

So our plan was to drive to Beijing and have a nice meal then head back to Tianjin and check in the hotel and then she would show me how to find the train station where i could buy a bullet train ticket to Beijing.
She had a slick looking Garmin GPS in the car, problem is the roads in and around Beijing at such a rate its only right some of the time, and secondly, Ling has a habit of paying more attention to talking and looking at me than paying attention to what the Garmin is telling her haha! She also thought it would  a good idea to change the speech to English so I could participate...which didn't help haha!!
This also goes for regular driving,  her mobile goes off maybe every 15 mins or so and animated conversations take place..par for the course, I'm well used to this and accept it as normal. This is the real reason she was late collecting me, she took wrong turns several times :D

We eventually found the restaurant and had Peking duck which was stunningly good with several other dishes that defy description. One of them was chicken feet, but unlike in Guangzhou where you have too suck the skin off the bones here its already removed, still had pretty boring taste I thought. It came with a dipping sauce that was like English mustard but eye wateringly stronger. She was so funny, I asked her what the sauce was and she said spicy and did i want to try it..so i said sure, I love the spicy. So she lathered one of these Chicken feet skins in it and gave to me, man!!!my eyes almost popped out of their sockets and my nose started running right away, she thought it hilarious the little minx. Funny thing is
she then did it to herself to see what it was like...so then it was my turn to laugh!!

We had a lovely dinner and didn't get though half the food we ordered. Then it was time to pay the bill, I saw it out of the corner out my eye 578 RMB!!, I thought Jesus this is a incredible place but man that bill is killer. But first date and all it was suck it up time so i asked her much the bill was pretending not to know. She wouldn't show me and insisted on paying herself!! More on this later, very unusual behaviour for a Chinese girl, but I'm learning Ling is not a usual Chinese girl and in every way I'm loving it.

The elevators were busy going down to the ground floor from the restaurant so we took the stairs, I jumped in front of her and told her hop on (wondering just how playful she was) with a yell she hopped aboard and we laughed our way down a couple of flight of stairs until we came across some older folk and she slid off and said enough giggling.

We got the car back to Tianjin which probably took about three times as long as necessary as she kept getting lost. She told me to sleep and rest so she could concentrate haha. So I did and noticed out of the corner of my eye she kept taking little looks at me.
Eventually i did nod off for a few minutes and then the car stopped on the side of the motorway. I said did we have a flat, she said no, she saw me sleeping and then felt sleepy herself!!, so she decided to pull over and freshen up haha!! I really like this girl, she's quirky, generous, funny and warm. Oh I forgot to mention as son as we got out of the car in Beijing she grabbed my hand and held it..again a huge change from my last visit.

We talked abut a lot of stuff on the way back in the car, it was really nice despite getting lost. After all I'm here to see her, who cares where we are as long as its together. Did I mention how much more pretty she is in real life?!!

I am staying in the Orange Hotel which is in a part of Tianjin which there is a lot of construction going on but its beside a lovely river and I get the real feeling here of an up and coming town. The hotel exterior is a bit rough and ready because of the construction going all around it but its spotless inside. The room I have is lovely, the bathroom is lovely and clean, with a decent shower and warm marble floor, its really nice. I also have a view of the river from my window. Its one of the more expensive rooms at 248 RMB per night but its excellent value.

The walk to the train station where you get the bullet train to Beijing is about 3km I guess along the river and is a beautiful walk, a pleasure to do in the tropical heat. There was thunder and lightening on my first night but that was fine too! After showing me where to get the bullet train I had said I,d like to get a backpack. So she took me to the local walmart and it was great, dirt cheap and exactly what i wanted.
We then walked around the "Italian Village" part of town, it was very strange seeing all the old Mediterranean style buildings in the middle of a Chinese city. I don't think anyone actually lived in these building, looks like the facade has been maintained.
Ling reckons because the old buildings have no air con that they would be too cold in the winter and too hot in the summer to live in. It is extremely hot here so I can well understand that, living without air con must have been pretty rough in the past in places like Taishan.

After that it was getting late so we went to cheap restaurant and had noodles with kinda sausages in them and some kebab type things , I had a nice beer to wash it all down down. She told me that one of the cals she had earlier was from her boss. Apparently a big customer was please with her departments work and had invited the whole department to a dinner to show his appreciation. I know from the past that these things are not uncommon here and she would loose face if she didn't attend this so I said no problem of course she could go. She looked real relieved and suggested to make up for the lost time together that we spend the weekend in Bejing together. As before she insisted on paying for the dinner. She said as I wil be paying for her in Malaysia she felt she should pay for me in China.

We walked back to the hotel and had a nice hug and Ling went home, I went to bed and fell asleep in about 0.5 seconds!

I had a great time in Beijing the next day and a little story there too, more on that later..
Become the change you want today, or all your tomorrows will be like yesterday.

Offline maxx

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RE: An Irishmans adventures in China and Malaysia
« Reply #20 on: August 07, 2009, 09:44:54 pm »
Irishman way to go go brother.Really glad to hear that it is working out for you.

Offline Ed W

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RE: An Irishmans adventures in China and Malaysia
« Reply #21 on: August 07, 2009, 09:59:25 pm »
What a great start! I'm so looking forward to following this trip. BTW, where's the photo's this time?
Alright earthlings, what form do you want me to take?....How about a taco, ....that craps icecream?  My trip to china

Offline JimB

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RE: An Irishmans adventures in China and Malaysia
« Reply #22 on: August 07, 2009, 10:09:26 pm »
Great Brotha, I cant wait to meet this lady.  I am right behind you.  See you in a few days.
Maxx's 24 hour rule, learn it, live it.

Arnold

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RE: An Irishmans adventures in China and Malaysia
« Reply #23 on: August 07, 2009, 11:46:27 pm »
Man , you are having too much Fun , while we are here having to wait .

Ahh , what the heck , it's your turn ... so have a blast and enjoy Ling as she was your last Thing . Haha

Love your Trip so far , keep it going .

Scottish_Rob

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RE: An Irishmans adventures in China and Malaysia
« Reply #24 on: August 07, 2009, 11:48:32 pm »
Great start Ronan, way to go bro...:icon_biggrin:

Offline Neil

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RE: An Irishmans adventures in China and Malaysia
« Reply #25 on: August 07, 2009, 11:52:26 pm »
Awesome Ronan.  Glad to hear things are going so well.  Can't wait to read more of your posts but most of all, have fun!
...as irresistible as chocolate

Offline Sylvain D

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RE: An Irishmans adventures in China and Malaysia
« Reply #26 on: August 08, 2009, 03:30:40 am »
It seems that Ling is really the "perfect" lady, because of all the things you are telling to us, Ronan :)
It is really nice to see how you can feel fine with her and vice-versa :)
I wish both of you all the best for your story to go on that way, and will have to wait (as many other Brothers here), for any more news ;)
Keep it on, way to go' ;)
« Last Edit: August 08, 2009, 03:31:00 am by Sylvain D »
- Let's Rock -

Offline Peter

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RE: An Irishmans adventures in China and Malaysia
« Reply #27 on: August 08, 2009, 04:37:43 am »
Irish.. All Swedish guys are nice men.. :icon_cheesygrin:
and finally some Irish luck.. Have a good time with Lind and keep us updated..
« Last Edit: August 08, 2009, 04:46:04 am by Peter »
Better to be married to a wife from Changsha then have 7000 women in Chnlove

Offline Martin

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RE: An Irishmans adventures in China and Malaysia
« Reply #28 on: August 08, 2009, 08:56:00 am »
Great start to this trip Irish.  Keep the posts coming.  You know we all hang on your every word.

Offline Irishman

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RE: An Irishmans adventures in China and Malaysia
« Reply #29 on: August 09, 2009, 11:53:26 am »
Ok so the next day I was on my own so I got up and as my old sim card wasnt working went into the China Mobile office beside the hotel and spent about an hour there ending up getting noting. I half suspected as much, first of all they told me it was a wrong number i was giving them and did I have the original contract. (I had them call Ling to translate as my Chinese wasnt up to the task!). As it happend I did have the prigianl contract as i half imagined knowing the Chinese love of paperwork that it would be needed at some poing but it was in my suitcase back in the hotel. So I got that back and after much scrutinisation they asked is this the only sim I had..I assured them that yes it is. Much head scratching, calling over of the boss etc. Then they get the brainwave to call the Guangzhou office of China Mobile, much heated discussion ensued and I was able to grasp patches of it, one was telling the other that it was a valid contract and the othewr was sayng no it must be wrong. Anyhow, they then put me though to a lady pon the phone who says "how can i help you"..........
Anyhow they eventually figured out that my sim card was cancelled because it needs to be topped up every month or it gets canceled aparently, which is totaly different from back home but i digress.
So the nice girl said wuld I be interested in a Tianjin sim, sure, great..much conversations between the assitant myself and Ling over the phone. We eventually decide a package only for the system to sa as I am a foreigner i cannot get one hahahahahahahah...no I didn't really laugh. I just took it on the chin, this is par for the course here, there is always another way though. Sure enough next day Ling arrived with a sim she got in a shop that didnt need any paperwork or anything signed. She will show me how to top it up monthly on line (i need to put 19 rmb a month into it even if not used, for 2 euro that's a no brainer for the convenience it provides on my trips here).

That done I headed to the station to get the bullet train to Beijing.
It's a beautiful walk along the river to the station even if it is swelteringly hot here at this time of year, i am adapting though.
I got the ticked with no problems thanks to Ling showing me which counter to go up to the day before and which entrance to go to to use the ticket. All bags are xray scanned like in an airport here and in Beijing so getting in to the station takes a little time, but its fast and pretty efficient considering the volumes of people the have to get though.
I found my seat no problem, and its a fantastic ride. Its silky smooth and let me tell you the countryside whizzes by like nothing else at 330KMPH, its awesome!! The have a speedo on the wal so you can see how fast the train is going. When it pulls into the station an bunch of guys descend on each carriage and wipe its exterior clean of dust and bugs, I imagine at speeds like this sucker does little things like this matter. The insides of the train are spotless too, the Chinese are rightly proud of this engineering feat, its very impressive and as advertised takes exactly 30 minutes every time to get to/from Beijing, which is pretty impressive given that the distance is over 100 km. A standard second class seat costs 58RMB each way and is insanely good value.
It goes to Beijing Sough Station which is simply gigantic, it was built for the Olympics and the Beijing Subway isnt linked in yet but when it is it will a fantastic boon to the area.
I didnt realise there was a taxi pint below the station in the car park and wandered out and wondered where the heck al the taxis where!
So i decided to try my map reading skills and head out..bad move, 5 minutes later was totally lost haha!
But here was a normal road so hailed a taxi and asked to be taken to Tianamen Square. I was there last time but just passing through and wanted to see the Forbidden City this time.
I was wandering around TM Square taking snaps at random when I happened to glance at a pretty girl who siad hello back and her friend piped up hello too with a sunny smile on her face. So we got chatting and turns out they are university art students who have a art exibition on beside the Forbidden city, in one of its Pagodas actually as it turned out. I said I liked Chinese art and could I see the exibition, they said sure and brought me to it. Man the artwork there was mindblowing so skilled so beautiful. They introduced me to their professor,  a nice old lady and she showed me some of her work. Fella's last time I went to Guangzghou Art museum and's its not bull to say this old ladys work was in a class above anything there, it was mindbogglingly in intricacy and quality. They apparently train in the "traditional" style which is why they could display beside the forbidden temple. I noticed that the security out front wasnt letting anyone else in at all, I guess this was an invite only thing, I felt very honoured. They told me it was the last day and took great pride in showing me their own peices. Both were amazing in their ownright, very different styles, both mounted on silk paper.

I thanked them prosusly for showing me their work and the other lovely drawing and said I was gonna head out to the Forbidden temple now. One of them offered to show me to the entrance and she proved to be a wealth f knowledge about the temple and I asked would she come in with me as company, she said of course, she tutors kis english apertly too and said she would like the opportuntity to paracise with a native. So we bought tickets and she proved worth her weight in gold, she knew really knew her stuff and it was like having a personal tour guide with a funny side thrown in. I told her about Ling and she was fascinated saying that she could undewrstand why Chinese girls like western guys and kidded that if i knew the email address of any nice single irish guys like me would I give them to her!!
The Forbidden city was utterly totally jam packed and I was there my myself I wuldnt have made it though, it was overpowering the amount of people there to be honest. Anyhow at the rear exit i said I was hungry for lunch and would she like to joing, as the least I could to do to reply her kindness. She seemed pleased with that so said would I be intested in trying out some local food not in thetourist part of the city. We couldnt get a taxi there so ended up taking one of thpose bike things with a cab a the back which was great fun and though maybe cost 10 yuan more than a cab would have one euro is buttons in the great scheme ofthings for the experience.
True to her word she took me to a place in the city where there was no foreigners at all and showed me a traditional chines medine store and explained bits and pieces about it, very interesting. So we had a very nice lunch which she ordered and had a very nice time.
After that she hailed me a taxi and I headed back to the Train Station and she thanked me for the lovely meal and I thanked her for her lovely company.

I took an nice walk back around the Italian Quarter of the city on the way back, still find that weird here!
And when I got back I told Ling all about my day on msn. She approved strongly that I "treated this smart university girl with respect", she said I should have done the same to the other too. This is what I like so much about Ling, there is no jealously at al from here and I know I can trust her totally too, he only concern was that I treated these other girls with respect. How do you think many a western girl might have responded????!!

That was my mini adventure on Beijing day.

Next day is Saturday and Ling and I spend the weekend in Beijing.
Gonna write that up next..
Become the change you want today, or all your tomorrows will be like yesterday.