China Romance
All About China => Your trip to China => Topic started by: Irishman on August 05, 2009, 03:54:47 am
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Well folks, the fateful day has finally arrived - I'm headed back to China!
For those that don't already know, I'm making a fresh start this time. Last visit I met a nice lady in Guangzhou in what was a bit of an epic trip, I met her parents , went to a friends wedding with her, the whole nine yards.
However when back home the distance seemed to go farther and farther. We chatted less and less on msn and when i wrote her a long letter one day she wrote back say too long, boring, write shorter letter..I knew it was heading for the rocks. I cancelled my trip back to Guangzhou, which was to take place in June. We still chat occasionally as friends now though, shes dating a guy from New Zealand now that works in Guangzhou. Its funny, we find it easier to talk as friends than as a couple.
So, I started writing a few other ladies and as luck would have it I think I found "the one". Her name is also Ling !! We write and chat and sms every day. Its like night and day compared with the previous lady. Our conversations are full of emotion and fun and plans for our future together, I really feel for her.
She is pragmatic like myself and we both have agreed to wait until we have met for real before committing to eachother. I think I will find it hard to not like when we meet such is the calibre of our conversations.
She is from Tianjin which is around 120KM from Beijing, which is only 30 minutes away on the super new bullet train.
Shes driving to the airport to pick me up (swine flu checks on the plane permitting - man I'm seriously freaking about about those). We will spend a few hours in Beijing - she taking me to a nice restaurant to eat Peking Duck! and then will drive me to my hotel (which she booked for me) and is right beside the train station so I can easily commute to Beijing once I'm done exploring Tianjin.
Next week we fly out together to Malaysia and will be staying in Kuala Lumpur , Penang and Langkawi Island there before flying back to Tianjin where i'll be for another three days before heading back home. I hope to hook up with JimB when back in Tianjin.
So what's the backup plan if thinks don't work out?, well I'm gonna head back to Guangzhou and meet up with Ling (the first haha) and her friends and just have some fun. I enjoyed their company the last time and would like to get a sense of closure with Ling as well i suppose. I hope though I don't have to make that trip.
My "grand romantic plan" is to pop the question to Ling in Penang while we eat in a restaurant by the beach ..you know tropical sunset, exotic location...I'm hoping she'll go for it.
My flight leaves Dublin Airport at 14:30, I have a short 1.5 hour stopover in Amsterdam Airport before the long flight to Beijing which arrives at 09:50 Chinese time or 02:50 Irish time! (that's in the morning, I'm gonna be real tired but nerves will keep me wide away, I just hope they don't elevate body temperature too!). I'm flying with KLM all the way, have never flown with them before so not sure what to expect.
My China Mobile phone is charged and Ling put some new credit on the account yesterday, so soon as the plane lands, I'll call her, and again once (fingers crossed) I'm allowed out of the plane after the swine flu checks.
Wish me luck brothers!
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Hi there Irishman' ;)
I'm sorry I think I missed something in your previous story, sorry I didn't know about it...
Well, anyway, you seem to have found any other lady and what is just nice is that you could go to Malaysia with her??
Are you sure she will be able to go there with you? (in fact, I'd say "how to be sure when a woman tells you she can go somewhere with you, and who would pay her flight? Her?)
How long will be your trip?
About the swine flu, I think you just don't much have to worry about it.
China is not the only country to be affected because of it.
I also wish you a good luck and wish your trip will be without anything wrong, and that you won't have to go to Guangzhou instead (don't you have any better Plan B?)
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Thanks Sylvain.
Regarding Malaysia, Its one of the few countries which Chinese citizens can get a visa for easily. She got hers no problem.
Regarding the flight to Malaysia, she insisted on paying for her flight herself. I insisted on paying for the hotels and food while there as I'm certain the flight cost her a large chunk of her months wages.
She is bringing her own spending money with her, she's a strong willed girl and very much wants to be an equal partner and show me she's not all about the money which is such a nice change from any girl I've dated here in Ireland before, they always "gave in" when I offered to pay for them. With Ling, she was paying for her flight and that's the matter closed haha!
I'm not worried about the swine flu personally, I'm almost never ever ill and when I am, its over pretty fast.
I feel just fine today so don't think I'm coming down with anything. I'm far more worried about someone else on the plane near me being ill resulting in me being quarantined when the doctors come on board to take everyone's temperatures before disembarking.
My trip will be two and a half weeks , I come back on Sunday 23rd, hopefully an engaged man.
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Irishman,
No problems that i can remember about KLM, flown with them a number of times. I've had a bad flight or two with them but hey, ....I've had bad flights with even the best airlines.
You might find your not much into the on board food, but apart from that... Nothing.... Anyway who cares, your heading to where you want to be, .....Right!!
Just enjoy your trip, hope everything works out the way you want it too. Excellent idea about proposing on a Penang beach.... Picture postcard stuff!! hahaha!! (take a picture along your stretch of beach)
Best of luck to you, i know you've been looking forward to this trip a long time now, so live every moment you can of it....
David....
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For sure, I hope you'll send us some postcard from the tropical beach and both of you, 'just wish too she'll go for it, as you do wish, Irish';)
I wish you anyway a happy flight, and that all will be fine for you once there;)
Keep us updated :)
*crosses all his fingers*
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Ronan, I'm happy for you, I hope all works out to the good for you and I'm sure she'll say yes to you.
Good luck and best wishes brother :icon_cheesygrin:
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Happy for you Irish. You have been through a lot. Hope this time it works out for you. Its about time. We will be waiting for another 200 pages of the Travels of Ronan! Best luck brother.
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All the best Irish.
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*thinks about a scene, 2 potatoes running in an airport, direction China* :D
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Best of luck Ronan , enjoy , seems like over the next very short time half of this forum will be in China ,or on their way to , or on their way back , or have just stayed in China to save the air fees .:icon_cheesygrin:
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Then, one good thing to do would be to have a second server directly in China, later :D
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Hey Irish,
I am sure it will work out this time. Third time is the charm. Although it was very entertaining we do not need another story like the last time and I am sure you do not want one either. Do not worry about going to Guanzho (whatever sp), I have two "sisters" in Beijing. And Angel has 5 nurses who are all looking. So female companionship should not be an issue. I will line them up like at the Chicken Ranch and you can take your pick. (I feel like a pimp)! Anyway looking forward to hooking up.
Jim
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Hey Irish.... Don't forget that you have to come home again some day.. like I just did... but until then... just have fun
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Yes Irish have a good trip. With all the work you have put into this website, you deserve a holiday. Good fortune hunting and may the luck of the Irish be with you.
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Irish have a good time.Do your self a favor don't forget to breath.When you see your lady.We are all waiting for the updates.Give yourself a Chance this tme and give the lady a Chance 24 hour rule is in effect.Learn it live it love it.
good luck
Maxx
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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
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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 .
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Good luck Ronan, but most of all, have fun!
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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
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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..
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Irishman way to go go brother.Really glad to hear that it is working out for you.
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What a great start! I'm so looking forward to following this trip. BTW, where's the photo's this time?
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Great Brotha, I cant wait to meet this lady. I am right behind you. See you in a few days.
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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 .
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Great start Ronan, way to go bro...:icon_biggrin:
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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!
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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' ;)
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Irish.. All Swedish guys are nice men.. :icon_cheesygrin:
and finally some Irish luck.. Have a good time with Lind and keep us updated..
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Great start to this trip Irish. Keep the posts coming. You know we all hang on your every word.
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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..
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I was afraid, for a moment, that you had fallen for the university girl artist scam where they make you buy art for well over it was worth. Glad that was not the case. There are warnings all over the Internet about those.
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Thanks Irish , your story takes me right back on the spot , where I had just been a few month's ago . Remember my Friend's phone number 13520066523 ( Jonvey ) if you need a Tour Guide . Mention my Name and you'll receive a Discount or else ? Also , remember the Simatai Great Wall is better than the Bataling one . Not so many People and super view's from above .
Keep the good news coming .
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Forget about westerners ladies, Irish', most of them are jealous, go and tell one of them who would be your girlfriend/wife that you saw another lady, you invited her to eat anywhere with you, you spent many hours with her and so on...
For sure, if she has not left you in the 5 following minutes, maybe is it because she's already dead... :D
Anyway, you had a pleasant day in Beijing and that's good to see that some nice people can help you and "offer" their services.
Once again, I can admit that even in France, I'm not so sure we could find anyone like that chinese lady to offer any help and so on so "easily".
I hope you'll go on with your trip, to write us many stories about it and that all'd fine for you & Ling ;)
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I was afraid, for a moment, that you had fallen for the university girl artist scam where they make you buy art for well over it was worth. Glad that was not the case. There are warnings all over the Internet about those.
I guess all successful scams are based on things that could be true. In this case the art was in a premium location, literally in one of the buildings of the Forbidden city with no access to the public. It would have been a damn elaborate scam to pull off there. By the way the artwork was for sale - at totally unreasonable low prices for what it is, I have no room for it in my bags and told them that, but it didnt curb their enthusiasm for showing me their pieces.
It was clearly not for the public though and I was lucky to see it. Photography was not allowed, which I wish it was as the pieces where so nice. When I showed appreciation for one of the girls worked she brought a bunch of canvases to show me other stuff she had done that was good stuff but obviously her best was on display she was pleased at my polite comments.
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Thanks Irish , your story takes me right back on the spot , where I had just been a few month's ago . Remember my Friend's phone number 13520066523 ( Jonvey ) if you need a Tour Guide . Mention my Name and you'll receive a Discount or else ? Also , remember the Simatai Great Wall is better than the Bataling one . Not so many People and super view's from above .
Keep the good news coming .
Thanks Arnold, we did the dreaded Bataling tourist hell that is that part of the great wall today...more on that later :D No views at this time of year, the sky is white all the time, and its either raining or just about to rain!
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Irish ... glad to read your nice & funny stories. Have a great visit with Sarge & Have a great time with Ling in Malaysia ... BTW, Malay food tends to be "Hot" also ... order with caution, hehe
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Weekend In Beijing
So I awoke on Saturaday with a bot of a sore head, yes I did revisit the delightful "Snow Beer" place last night as Ling was working.
So go up early got up showered, brushed teeth, packed bags etc only for Ling to IM that she was running late..a recurring theme - in furture I will tell Ling we have appointments one hour before we really do and smile as the inevitable delays add up haha...
So she arrived , gave me a big hug which made me feel great of course and asked had I had breakfast yet. i hadn't so that was most important matter No 1 We walked to a local restaurant in the baking heat, me pumping sweat out like an oil pump pumps out oil in Texas or some other hot place. I had a beer with breakfast and explained to Ling it was really brunch by now so it was ok, her dictionary didn't have brunch but she didnt mind, it was only one, but it was cool and sweet in the sweltering heat i have to admit.
After that we caught a cab to the train and took a couple of snaps of each other in front of the bullet train wand were on our way.
Ling figured out where the taxi place was of course (i blame the signposting!) and we got a taxi to our hotel.
The hotel was nice and clean but she had gotten a "good" price for a reason - the beds (yes two beds, Ling wont share one until she knows I am the man she will marry -"it makes no sense otherwise").The room was basically two beds a TV and a small partition to the toiled and shower and mirrors in case you missed anything from anywhere.
Also that night when i tried to sleep in my bed, though the linen was clean the bed smelled of cigarettes which grossed me out as a non smoker.
After that we went to the Olympic Stadium and checked out the Aquatic Centre and the Football stadium. They also have a lake there that has waterworks displays to classical music, which was pretty cool. Just before the entrance to the Underground there is a cooling steam place which was nice after a day of ~ 35C'ish heat.
After that we got the underground back to the city and went to a nice restaurant there and the food was simply amazing taste wise, didn't look like much and there was no foreigners in there, but OMG the food was just great!!
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Irish ... glad to read your nice & funny stories. Have a great visit with Sarge & Have a great time with Ling in Malaysia ... BTW, Malay food tends to be "Hot" also ... order with caution, hehe
We had fugging hotpot dinner tonight. Ling has been surprised at my capacity to enjoy the spicy food so i think she tested that tonight. I love the spicy stuff but jebus, there are fugging limits hahah
My eyes watered, my nose dribbled, I will have a ring of fire the next time i crap but goddamn..what a great dinner!! haah
Ling said she felt warm inside afterwards, we ordered a ridiculous amount of food which did bring stares, but it is Tianjin not Beijing and the meal was 103 rmb which included my laowai ass beer.
She and I made plans..jeese keep it chronological paddy.
Ok next post be on topic, I blame chonger.
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So far so good.If you get a chance check out the Ming Tombs.Thats a all day adventure.And the summer palace is worth seeing.
Good luck
Maxx
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Thanks for the update Ronan, can't wait to see those photos, and hope you have a very good time
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Ok, here we go.
So after dinner which was amazing and tasty to te extreme, and whuch Ling again paid for we strolled around one of the shopping areas - food street and some others that I forget then took the subway back to the hotel. The walk from the subway to the hotel took us past a park which late at night means trouble in Dubin, in China it means a bunch of mostly middle aged vguys are crooning at a tv screen singing songs, there was at least three groupd of people doing this in about 1KM!!
Ling was feeling playful I carried her on my back for a bit.like 10 yards before i realised i could use sasme weight training!!
That night we decided to become husband and wife.
On Sunday we went to the great wall. What a day...more later..
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Oh !!!
Congratulations, sooooo, you didn't wait to be under any tropical paradize to ask her in marriage, so? ^^'
I am really glad for both of you ;) Wishin' all the best, of course, and that your trip just goes on its way, just like a "lovely one as you never lived before" ;)
P.S / don't forget to carry her on your back every morning, now, for 10 minutes... ^^'
(enjoy :heart:) ;)
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Ronan, Am enjoying your posts about your trip. And a BIG congratulations for you and your future wife!
Don
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Good Times Bro!! The day at the Forbidden Temple sounded like major fun. I was worried about being taken to an "authentic resturant", secretly thinking about the 100rmb drinks they will serve you but I'm glad to know that wasn't the case and had a great time.
Hat's off to ya!
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Irish ... that's a pretty unique way of proposing ... carrying her on your back ... :icon_cheesygrin:
When you said ... "Can I marry you ?" ... Ling thought you said ... "Can I carry you ?" ..... :icon_cheesygrin:
CONGRATULATIONS IRISH BUDDY !!!
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congrats mate.....hearing your stories is making all the brotherhood jealous, and for the ones that's not been there yet, looking forward to going.:icon_biggrin::icon_biggrin:
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Thanks Arnold, we did the dreaded Bataling tourist hell that is that part of the great wall today...more on that later :D No views at this time of year, the sky is white all the time, and its either raining or just about to rain!
At the Simatai Wall you are above the clouds and way out of the city . Nobody is listening to me . I'm going to cry . Everybody goes to the same Wall and then complains ?
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Isn't it the Complaint' Wall?? :D:D:D
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Well Irish , this time you done it . It took two Ling's and a couple of Drinks , but so happy for you .
Congrat's buddy to you and your future Wife . Carrying her on your back , is just practise for the real thing at the Wedding .
Hear them Bell's ring ?
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Hey that's not fair. He's not old enough to use the carry on his back excuse. I had to carry mine in my arms!!
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Ed , I did that too , but only for the Camera . I will do it again when I take her into my ( OUR ) Home . Then ... rest for a couple of day's .:icon_cheesygrin:
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Congrats buddy. We will celebrate later this week. Let me know which day you want to get together. Any day or night except the 14th is open. Isn't Beijing amazing? With all of the history. Each city and province has its own culture and history, but to me so far Xi'an and Beijing are just incredibly rich with it.
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Congratulations Ronan to you and Ling , guess one could now say the holiday has just begun , enjoy , regards Robert .:icon_cheesygrin:
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Does that mean Nookie's are now on the nightly menu ??
Congrats, ....now all you need is Penang just before dusk!!
David....
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Ed , I did that too , but only for the Camera . I will do it again when I take her into my ( OUR ) Home . Then ... rest for a couple of day's .:icon_cheesygrin:
OHHHH! I'm telling!!!!! You called her fat!! I'm soooo telling on ya!! LMAO
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No ED , don't do it . Really , she only weigh's 115 at 5'9' , not a problem . It's just harder than carrying her on my Back .:s
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Congrats Irish, to you and your Ling.... Its fanatstic to read your story filled with joy and the full details.
Something what i am still missing, When are you going to meet Lings parents?
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Hah, David, I knew you would be the one to pick up the meaning of what I wrote earlier :), I think you know what that means now :D
So on Sunday we went to the great wal. Ling had aranged us to be picked up from the hotel at 05:50 in the morning to be taken to the bus to the great wall at Badaling. She got a great price for this cnsidering the distance involved. It was 100RMB al inclusive including lunch..more on that in a bit.
So we got picked up in the car an driven to the bus. There was much consternation there, this apparently was a no laowai bus, Ling didn't know why, outright racism, I dunno, or really care.
On the other bust we were taken to it was all Chinese too but there was no problems at all.
There was a tour give on the bus that did a role call to make sure everyone was onboard several times before setting off, the volume was set to the max and she literally shouted into the mic, I was relieved when the role call was done let me tell you.
So we headed out..and then the auditory assault began, she literally talked at the top of her voice at full volume allllllllll the way to the Great wall, this girl barely paused for breath. Its was constant fast and hell for me as I couldn't understand a word, I was mightily relieved when we arrived and assumed that would be the last of that..how wrong was I..more on that later..
The great wall as Badaling was jammers even at around 8 in the morning when we arrived. It was cloudy and foggy at the top but still steaming hot.
At the bottom of the wall the crowds were jam packed you could barely move. The higher the wall went the thinner the crowds got. In parts it was unbelievably steep. Ling was in medium height heels and it must have been torture on her legs. But she took it slow and said she was going to go a the way to the top with me because I had aid earlier that I really wanted to go all the way there. At the top it was virtually deserted, out of the 1000's that start at the lower levels only the brave few seem to go to the top, probably the heat is a major part of that though. Ling tells me that Badaling is by no means the steepest part of the wall, but she was pleased we got to the top. We got another couple to snap us together there and its a picture I'm very happy with. Once again Ling proved her steel will and commitment to me by going that far.
Going down obviously was a lot easier but jesus the view down the almost vertical drop is not for those afraid of heights, most people clung to the railings and gingerly made their way down one step at a time. Me being full of macho bravado didn't, that was pretty foolish thinking back, if I had slipped and fallen its an almost vertical drop of several hundred feet, I doubt I'd have lived to tell the tale.
So the bust left promptly at 10AM, I though grand we'll be back in Beijing around midday and we can do lunch and head out and do more stuff, Ling said no it would be around 18:00 and we would have lunch first. I needed to go to the toilet and sure as hell didnt want to face the squatter ones at Badaling, the stench in the urinals was bad enough, the squatters must have been nothing short of overpowering. I thought it was a simple misunderstanding and let it slide. It was a misunderstanding alright!!!!
So the tour guide from hell started her sticatto rattling off of fact again as son as the bus started off, I though WTF is she going on about now???!!!
I quickly noticed something was up - we were not headed back the way we came!!, at first I thought it was because of the one way system on the motorway or something, but soon realised it was more than that.
About 2 hours later we arrived at a Pagoda which there was a tour around with a nice display of ancient Jade stuff, that let into a massive jade shop, where there was hard selling going on, I wasn't interested as my bowels were starting to feel a bit gassy to say the least.
After that there was lunch which was part of the deal, so was "free" it was very basic and I didnt eat much, I ordered a beer and got some luke warm watery crap, but at least it was better than the food.
After al that I though great, now to Beijing!!
Wrong!
Next stop was so other food stall place, I wasn't feeling at all interested an neither did most of the rest of the bus. Ling and I dozed togther on the bus instead as we were both pretty short of sleep from the night before.
Next stop was another food place full of dried fruits and candies, there was serious had selling going on a lot of the tour group really went mad spending. I was pretty unimpressed but then again I didn't understand the pitch made in the bus or at the food place either. To my untrained eye the stuff there was no different to what the local Walmart here has. There as bus load after bus load in the place, I guess the tour companies get a kickback for bringing tourists to the place.
Next stop was a Buddhist temple, again there was a tour give with a microphone giving it her all, I was starting to cramp up real bad at this point and was sweating profusely.
Ling noticed and gently pulled me away from the goup and out to the open and we sat by the bus. I decided enough was enough and headed to the WC but the stench there was so bad I almost puked so I had to back out.
I had toilet roll in my bag so decided I would tryt and find an empty field near by and try and it natural discreetly, but as soon as I walked away from the bus the driver shouted and Ling said we were not "permitted" to leave the area.
Eventually we made it back to Beijing (around 18:00 as Ling had said earlier) and as Luck would have it the bus stopped off near the hotel we had stayed and checked out of last night. Ling asked the girl in reception if I could use the bathroom. They said fine and the security guy buzzed me in. Man, it was lift off in the toilets!! The relief was incredible!!! I was so grateful to Ling for taking car of me on the day, the concern on her face was plain to see.
We got the bullet train back to Tianjin and took one of those motorcycle things back to the hotel as none of the taxis would drive us back the short distance. I needed another crap again (my whole system must have backed up during the day!) so we had to get back fast.
We checked in the hotel me almost doubled over in pain again and I hugged Ling briefly and she headed back home as she had work tomorrow and had to pack her bags and stuff first.
Had another Krakatoa type event in the toilet and was fine again.
I headed out and bought a few beers in the local Walmart and sank a few cold ones back in my room. There isn't any bars around here that I can find. There are apparently some bars in Tianjin but they seem to be few and far between.
On Monday the plan is that Ling will stay with me in the hotel as our flight tomorrow morning is at around 8AM and Ling lives about an hours drive from the hotel so makes more sense for her to stay with me, also the price for the room for two as one and of course she is with me.
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I am a bit late to congratulate you Irish but better late than not at all... Have she choose a date for the big day yet ??
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Ronan and Ling COGRATS!!!
It's great to hear she said yes and you had the cahonies to ask :icon_cheesygrin:, Zhou and I send good luck and best wishes for a long and happy life together.
Sooooooo, when is the date, you know when did she say the two of you can be married?, not that you have a say in when any way, your just there to make her look good and so she can have a ride around the room :icon_cheesygrin:
I'm sure I don't have to tell you that you are one lucky SOB, so happy for you bro, now we will have to change all the stats on you and then move you into the married side of the brotherhood, damn, all that paper work will be waiting for you tech guy :icon_biggrin:
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Sameldrum i am sure he meant that they made love.....:angel:
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Audio (http://www.chnlove.info/showthread.php?tid=727)
That's maybe why another Bro asked in another thread if we could put some Audio here :D
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I'm waiting for the answer of the meaning of? My guess is they felt things were right and to continue the relationship to marriage resulting in the Mumbo Jumbo Horizontal dancing.
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Ronan,
When you've been used to reading between the lines for 30 years, ..... it just comes naturally!! hahaha!!
A tip for you, ... take a walk along the palm lined golden sands of a Penang beach, just before you retire for the night. ........And feel the Loveeeeeeeee when your back to your hotel room.....
David.....
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Ronan...in regards to the racist bus...I have heard that a lot won't pick up lao wai these days because of the swine flu. Maybe this has something to do with it.
I am really enjoying the posts so far. Really great reading. But where is all the drama like your first trip???
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Okay Ronan, its time to come out of that wedding bed and give us an update, where are you and how is the trip, I for one don't want or need to know what goes on after the lights are off, just want to know if we still have a tech guy.:icon_cheesygrin:
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Yea, me too, I went out and bought a case of snow beer for starters. that is just for dinner. lol. Man, i am happy for you brother.
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Ling, LING.... Can Ronan come out to play????
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Hi !
Hope things still are going well. In contex to the art exhibition close to TM square. Was is stuff like this they showed you ?
I was presented this inside the Forbidden City. Someone stopped me outside one of the shops on the western part of the Forbidden City. They showed directed me to a room beside the shop. I noticed they har a man watching the door and made sure only western people come in. The girl selling the stuff said they were art students and was selling this to finance a trip to Paris for her class. :dodgy:
I was for sure not buying anything, went there just to have a look, but walked out with to pieces. :blush:
It sat me back 300 rmb, so the fram back home will cost about the same.
[attachment=501]
[attachment=502]
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The Paddy's are all the same, once they get into a pub, ....they are very reluctant to leave until there carried out. Same when they get into a bed with a sensual woman...... they don't want to leave there either!!
Hell, who can blame him?? For me, ...I'd forget the Pub, and stick to the woman and the Bed!! ....hahaha!!
Seems the little lady has found his pot of Gold!!
David....
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If I were Ronan I'd be quiet too. Just driving you guy's crazy. Didn't he say they were taking a trip together? Maybe there isn't internet available. If it were me I wouldn't care about writing the brotherhood for a while either.
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If it were me I wouldn't care about writing the brotherhood for a while either.
Except that Ronan's trips are kind of historic where the brotherhood is concerned. Sadly, his first trip's logs got deleted by facebook.
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to bad that was some good writing
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Maybe it was like Chong warned of last time? He got chopped up and made in to dumplings? :-p
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Maybe it was like Chong warned of last time? He got chopped up and made in to dumplings? :-p
The Malaysian Cannibals got to him ... or he and Ling are maroon in a hut on an island with nothing but spices & monkeys [ who are mocking Irish ]. :icon_cheesygrin:
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Maybe it was like Chong warned of last time? He got chopped up and made in to dumplings? :-p
The Malaysian Cannibals got to him ... or he and Ling are maroon in a hut on an island with nothing but spices & monkeys [ who are mocking Irish ]. :icon_cheesygrin:
With Gilligan...the Skipper too...the Irishman, and his almost wife. :icon_cheesygrin:
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So, what happened to the movie star, the Professor and Mary Ann?
This doesn't sound to good!!! :s
:icon_eek: I think I just saw tiztom!!!!!
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All his dumplings are belong to Cannibals
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Shaun...Where???:fi_lone_ranger:
:icon_eek: Looking around the room sneekily....lol
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Shaun...Where???:fi_lone_ranger:
:icon_eek: Looking around the room sneekily....lol
Here on Gilligan's island where else?:icon_cheesygrin:
Can you sing the song?
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Nah na nah na nah nah...Don't know the words i'll just hum the tune....na :angel:na na na na
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Rob,
Martin started the words and I picked up on it. Here is the youtube link if you like.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qycmb7_LvsA
Unfortunately as a teenager and a young man I watched the show constantly. Was madly in love with Mary Ann. Now it is Luaping from Changsha. Funny now that I think of it she looks a little like Mary Ann.:icon_cheesygrin::angel: Not really.
Irishman where are you, now we are talking about Gilligan's Island while waiting on you!!!!!!
Shaun
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Irishman where are you, now we are talking about Gilligan's Island while waiting on you!!!!!!
Damn, this is just like the facebook days...how many times the topic went sideways because we were waiting on a certain Irishman to post something.
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Hey Irish,
Didn't anyone tell you that you have to come up for air every now and then?
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hey guys its been 7 days and no word from Ronan, even a young guy can't go that long without coming up for air, I'm getting bored waiting for him to post something and when I get bored I start getting into things I shouldn't:icon_twisted: hehehe, come on Ronan post something so I wont get into trouble
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he's got the luck of the Irish! Gives him an edge....
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Hahaha ... here Martin ... I fixed it .
:icon_arrowd:
:icon_arrowd:
:icon_arrowd:
:icon_arrowd:
:icon_arrowd:
No more sidewards motion ... only " DOWN " .
Maybe he slipped on the Bridge of the Petronia Tower's ?
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Maybe he didn't know she was a DOMINATRIX? and has him tied to the bed? Or maybe he did? :blush:
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pmsl vince poor irish.
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Hey Irish,
Didn't anyone tell you that you have to come up for air every now and then?
One of 2 things, he learned a young guy trick and learned to breath through his ears ^_^
Or, he grew gills!
My vote is still on dumplings >_<
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Irish, before going to far on this thread we were all hoping for the best but we hear it has not happened, so sorry for all of the joking around, we had no idea. I am behind you guy and hope for the best for you.
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Ronan, sorry to hear you are having some problems, we don't know what they are and we are sure you will tell us if and when you feel you can, Hope you are well and want you to know we are here for you brother, also sorry for the jokes, we didn't know.
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Ronan, All the brothers here are concerned about you, we truly hope all is well with you, but if it is not, then when you have the chance or are up to it please drop us a line, we are here for you.
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Last news from Ronan are from August, 10th, so, a bit more than a week. Man can suppose he may not have easy access to any network computer or anything else like that. There is a saying which says "no news, good news"... I can really understand we all don't really "think" like that...
Maybe is Ronan just having a real wonderful life, maybe not... We can not do and suppose anything until he can give us some news over here.
I also think the best thing to do would to "stop" going on writting on this thread until Ronan comes back or tells any moderator or extra moderator how things are going for him.
I am also sure Ronan sure all the brotherhood is behind him, whatever happens.
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Sly,
Welcome back Chum,
This was posted by Ronan in the shoutbox, ...so i think something hasn't gone to plan and he's on way to Beijing to see JIMB ''» Irishman - 18-08-15:14 -- bust ups suck ''
David...
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Sorry for the lack of updates guys, has been a bit of a wildrollar coaster ride.
Ling and I had a big fight over her smoking mostly due to the fact that we had spent the day on the beach and I probably drank to much wine and got too much sun, which is not really a good excuse at all...
She stormed out of our hotel and checked into the one next door (i found that out the next day).
She called me the next morning and we met up and made up:)
I'm back now in Tianjin from Malaysia and head back home in a couple of days, not looking forward to that.
Ling back at her folks place ..washing my clothes :D
Lets just say that after the argument things really cleared up for both of us. Funny as it may sound we have been far stronger since, it really cleared the air.
And Ed..the getting back together wasn't bad later on to haha!
Ling and I talked long into the night after getting back and our last day in Penang was spent at a lovely hotel right on the beach with fantastic views, it was super romantic and we both loved it. On our last day we hired out a taxi for the day and he just drove us to various places on the Island to see, it was great and stress free, we had a wonderful time.
Ling must have taken like a thousand photos on the trip and can tell she is utterly bursting to tell her friends all about it. She never saw Muslims in full dress before and it made a big impression on her with the way the women dress and the fact that men can have four wives and it seems in Penang they often did!
I am going back home on Sunday but Ling wants to ask her parents permission for me to visit them tomorrow, and we all know what that means right?!
This has been a big decision for her, she was in love with her last husband when he divorced her and she said she had the worst six months of her live after that and she wanted to be sure before committing to anyone again so she doesnt have to experience that again. I understand that totally so know she is taking a big leap of faith from her perspective.
Regarding the smoking she explained it to me and has agreed she wont smoke inside as I don't like the stink of it on clothes etc, she says she wants to quit anyhow, again as an ex smoker of 18 years, know exactly how hard thats so respect her for that and will not bring it up again.
She's the one, proving the meeting with the parents goes ok tomorrow (she is very confident it will) then we are planning on a marriage on Chinese new year 2010 with a honeymoon maybe in Thailand as it will be nut numbingly cold in Tianjin in February!!
I'm going to visit her in November for a couple of weeks also.
I would like to move t China to do the TEFL thing and Ling who has a good job here is ok with that - I don't think there would be much work for her in Ireland except level cleaner type roles which which would drive her crazy coming from a fairly senior management level role in China. I hope to move to China next June approximately.
I'm sorry I havent had time to update the forum as well, its been one heck of a ride!
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Phew !!!!!
I can breathe again :):):)
Like everybody here, I was nail-biting waiting for the news...soooooooooo delighted to know all is well....or better than well !!
Fantastic !
DavidE
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Ronan,
I am so happy for you. It is good to know that everything worked out well and that your are happy. As far as the making up part within a relationship, it is the best part of the argument. It is alway good to start one every now and then just to make up. :icon_cheesygrin:
Good luck with the rest of your time there,
Shaun
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Bloody great news mate, if you need info about TESOl , PM or email me mate..
The Story continues...:icon_cheesygrin::icon_cheesygrin:
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Irish...You scared the crap out of us with your silence. But hearing all is fine again makes up for it. You are so impulsive buddy and you should do something against that. No sun no wine until after you met her parents. ...Sometimes you cant get a second chance. I´m crossing my fingers and hope it´ll be going well tomorrow. Its as good as done and Get home as a lucky guy... at last.
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# 1 advice when meeting the 'outlaws' ... oops, I meant 'in-laws' ... watch out for the "Meat Cleaver". Malaysia was a close call, we don't want another one. :icon_biggrin:
All the Best My Irish Brother.
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Ronan,
So what did you think of Penang?? (apart from your smokey situation that is) Was i right, or was i right about those picture card beaches and views out over the Indian Ocean??
Glad to here everything is back on track for you. I think you brought up a very good point in your post, ''lay off the booze'' especially when your in the company of your lady, most have very bad experiences with Ex's where booze is conserned. .....Having said that, how do you part an Irishman from his pint of frothy black gold?? ....With great difficulty, is the answer to that one i would imagine!! ...haha!!
Again, Glad to hear everything's been patched-up between you both......
David....
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Rock On Ronan! Glad to hear you two talked it through.
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Thanks for the update, wow we are living interesting lives here!
I hate to threadjack, but do many Chinese ladies *actually* smoke? I haven't found a single profile that says they smoke (or drink for that matter). I can't remember Hong Kong, but when I went to Japan last year I saw a lot of ladies smoking, and that made me kind of sad :huh:.
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Some might? but they don't say because it is a bad habit and for whatever reason they don't mention it? I know my lady does not but I do. :s And she knows it. When we're on the phone she hears me and says "Smoke?" and I will say yes. Only once she said it and I wasn't so I said "No" It has also become proof that I don't lie to her. She wants me to stop which I want to anyway before I go there. And she's not a drinker. She may have some wine once in a while but it's less then my drinking which is a couple of drinks a month if that much.
So only one way to find out? ASK!
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Irishman glad to here that you to were able ot work it out. lay off the boose and the sun together.They can be a killer together.With that much sunshine.And that much humidity.
Good luck with the meeting of the parents.Did you bring something for them? If not you had better find something.
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Ronan as long as it wasn't smokes or drink heheheh Sorry mate couldn't help myself:blush:
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Probably less than 5% of women smoke in China, while 95% of the men do. The percentages are higher in cities like HongKong, ShangHai and BeiJing. It is considered a masculine thing to do in China and many of the women dislike it very much.
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I would generally support what Nik has said about women smoking. But among the young Chinese ladies, especially those that strive to be fashionable. There is an ongoing and increasing trend for them to copy western women in all things fashionable and that unfortunately includes smoking!! So you will probably see more of these younger ladies smoking than that of the older generations. They can be always be seen at the ''In'' places around town like Mcdonalds, Starbucks, etc, etc!! You know, ...anything Western!!...haha!!
David.....
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David, I have to agree with you on this, when I was there last month it was almost impossable to get a coffee at Starbucks because of all the young people there, felt like home :icon_cheesygrin:
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MM,
And don't they just make you feel bloody old too!! ....Dam these youngsters!! lol!!
David...
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It's nice to hear/read that it worked out for you, Ronan ;)
So, now, what's next? we're waiting for any more news from you ;)
('seems like you gonna meet her parents, I wish you all the best for that lovestory ;) )
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I'm just back home for an hour to freshen up and head out into work.
Yesterday I helped granny make dumplings..so you could say the end result was pretty good, as were the dumplings!, there was so many of em I thought i would explode, i have some pics i'll post later. Am wrecked tired now and gotta work 9 hours then crash out big time in bed before I resurface again.
Tired, emotional and overall happy but missing her like crazy already.
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Ronan,
Welcome home!!....
Pleased everything worked out for you in the end mate ....
Don't work too hard now, ...will you !! lol!!
David....
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Ronan, well pleased mate, really glad you turned things around:icon_cheesygrin:
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Congrats, Ronan, damned happy it all worked out for you two, soooo...., when are you going back to marry the Lass?
I guess you better sleep on that last question for oh say about 8 to 10 hours first LOL
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Some reflections after my trip.
Its two days now since I got back and finally have caught up on sleep and can start to think coherently. Coming back to night shifts when I was already suffering a 7 hour time gap was a big mistake. It was nice to have the extra time but really i was a total zombie and it really was too much to cope with.
Today I'm thinking about my trip and what it means for my life in future.
I am committed now to going to live in China, last couple of sleep deprived days in work have really put in focus on what my priorities are.
Lings apartment is big by Chinese standards but sparsely furnished compared to any western one i have been to. Yet strangely everything has its place and function even the paintings on the wall. There's no "junk" that I seem to accumulate year by year (except shoes..she's 20 pairs of them she tells me haha!). As I look around my house all i see are shelves after shelves of stuff i haven't used in years, books i won't ever read again and pile after pile of clothes I haven worn in years nor will ever wear again in all likelihood. Ling would be appalled at such waste.
Yet when I go to live there I must fit all this into one 20kg package?
Right now I'd probably struggle with 2000kg!!
The game has changed, everything I do now must be with the one goal in mind - what's best for me and her. I must clear out the garbage, i must knuckle down and improve my mandarin like never before, I must shift a few pounds so i can look better in the wedding photos (Ling says i don't need to loose weight of course but I am not gonna be the fat laowai over there).
For the longest time its only been about what I want and what I'd like in my life, now its about what's best for me and her. I cannot allow my slovenly ways to get between us , I'm 100% certain that she wouldn't let anything come between me and her either so I must pull up my pants and put my best foot forward and not look back.
I am dying to post some pics but yesterday i brought my laptop into work and left it there, today I'll remember to bring a power cable and usb stick so i can transfer the photos to the work pc to upload to the internet.
A year ago I'd have thought anyone crazy if they had forecast I'd be planning on moving to China to start a new life with a woman there. But there you are, life is full of twists and turns. I once read somewhere "become the change you want today or all your tomorrows will be like yesterday", i guess I'm going to have to live that completely if I can make this dream come true.
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Irish , I think you have just raised your style of LIving by some notches and you doing it all for the Love of Ling . Looking around my house , I have been doing the exact same as you .... well CLEAN house of all that extra weight that you talked about . I think I like a more simple Life , a more Family comes first Life , in other words , these Women know how to Live a GOOD Life without all that STUFF that only accumulate dust .
Happy for both of you ... Irish .
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Ronan, you are the man!!!
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Greetings guys,
Ronan that post about all the clutter in your life and your fitness etc was a real eye opener. After I read that I took a look around my place and you are so right. And for me I still have a ton of stuff at the ex's that hasnt seen daylight in years lol.
So I think I gonna folow your lead here and start keeping only the stuff I absolutely cannot live without, work harder on my mandarin and get in better shape. As MM says you are the man!
Thanks for the wake up call, as I too plan to move there to be with my lady.
Regards,
Brian
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Ronan, I couldn't be pleased more, mate when I read about you moving there...
Congrats to you both...So have you decided what Irish/Chinese Dialect will the children be talking, 'begorra Ni hao...'lol
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Ronan, I couldn't be pleased more, mate when I read about you moving there...
Congrats to you both...So have you decided what Irish/Chinese Dialect will the children be talking, 'begorra Ni hao...'lol
Haha, and your students will be saying - Hoots, Mon ! There's juice, loose aboot this Hoose !
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-xG3D8OMQk
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I'm doing the same (clearing it all out). Looking into selling the place and I might sell it furnished? Including the large screen TV and surround sound equip. I think I can walk away with just a few boxes for storage. Even the computer and equipment "OUT". Get myself a laptop and that's it. If I get enough for the place and everything else? Goodbye USA. See ya later.
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I have all that sorted out, the only thing I need is a laptop to keep everyone in the loop...:icon_cheesygrin:
Ronan that was way to funny mate...I remember singing along when it came on the box...lol
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Ronan,
Congratulations to you and Ling!
It is really great to read how love makes you focus on things that maybe was taken for granted before.
Great!
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LOL Rob you kill me ROFLMAO
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Here's a few pics.
Firstly some of the dumplings we made about to be cooked, guess which ones were done by me !!
(http://i720.photobucket.com/albums/ww209/Muireadach/China%20and%20Malaysia%20-%20August%202009/P1010231.jpg)
Ling finishing breakfast at Naza Hotel , Penang.
(http://i720.photobucket.com/albums/ww209/Muireadach/China%20and%20Malaysia%20-%20August%202009/P1010012.jpg)
Ling and me at the top of the Great Wall Badaling, many started at the bottom, only a handful made it to the top, and Ling did it in high heels!
(http://i720.photobucket.com/albums/ww209/Muireadach/China%20and%20Malaysia%20-%20August%202009/P1000279-1.jpg)
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God's sake mate, you'll start Martin, arnold, Maxx, and Chong off again showing them pictures of dumplings....lol:angel:
Nice pictures tho???? Are yours the ones that look like Pasties...lol
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I have all that sorted out, the only thing I need is a laptop to keep everyone in the loop...:icon_cheesygrin:
I would require a sitter not a squatter before I made such a bold statment.
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ROFLMAO:icon_cheesygrin::icon_cheesygrin:
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Nice dumplings! Did you bring any back to share with the brotherhood???
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Irish , wasn't hard to see your's . Haha ... Sorry buddy !
I have a problem here with this Thread , and I don't know why ? I can NOT get to page 14 for some reason . The internet server can not open this site . When I click on close , it goes to .. This page can not be displayed . So I have to go back the my Inbox and start all over . I try'd at my Work and now at home , no page 14 ??? Anybody else been having this problem ?
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No problems with page 14 at my end.
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I just don't know ? All the pages work but 14 . I went there this morning ones and vied the Photo's from Irish , then .. nothing after that . Same all the time Click and I'm out .
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I've had problems with page 14 also. I see Ronan's post of the video, but I do not get any other posts until page 15
Don
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Interesting, I'm gonna chop out the video and see if it makes a difference.
Ok changed the video url to just a link, any difference now?
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Boy , for a minute I thought Irish had blocked us ( Me and Don ) out to see his Photo's on page 14 . Because we are Dumpling specialist's .Haha
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Lol! So, can you see it now Arnold ?
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Hey, there are the dumplings! ha....and the lady is very nice looking to Ronan. Congrats!!
And yes, seems to be working now.
don
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Yes ... that was it . Thanks Irish .... ahhhhh Dumplings , I don't care who makes them , let me at them .
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I'm going to update this rather than start a new thread as it follows.
As some of you might remember I had a bust up with Ling on our vacation and made up afterwards.
However her smoking still really bugged me, I'd never had wanted to meet a smoker in the first place (I'm an ex-smoker myself). I tried to put it past me but it came to a head about a month ago and i sent her an email saying that we were not working out.
We made up about a week afterwards again...but it hasn't been the same since though I tried hard to make it work, she wasn't as warm to me as before, and i still have lingering doubts whether i could live with a smoker as a partner.
I had applied for severance from work and if my boss accepted was going to use the redundancy money to set up in china doing a TEFL and seeing if we had a chance, if things didn't work out I would have the buffer of the redundancy money to come back home.
I didn't get severance in the end and I'm not prepared to risk it all there in China without a backup. I want a wife and kids, a TEFL salary is going to be hard to support that in comfort. my current wage is more then adequate. if I was totally sure of Ling (new) being the One then I would take the chance, but she smokes and doesn't want to quit..so I'm not sure...
She took the breakup quite well, I think after the second argument she saw the writing on the wall.
Ok, there is more!!
I don't know how many of you know my initial story of my first visit to China, well it was a bit of an adventure and I was real glad to have the brothers to keep me. I ended up meeting a new girl there (looooooooooooong story!!) but after i got back the doubts crept in and I decided not to visit her again. She was really upset (we had met her parents and I was approved, everyone here knows how important that is, they even bought me a wedding present) and it was messy, real messy. We didn't talk for a couple of weeks but since then still chat occasionally on msn.
I never got closure with her and as i already bought my ticket to visit China I'm going to see her again and see if we have a chance or not, maxx don't kill me!
Her friend who introduced us initially is someone I still regularly chat to (she's married to a American guy herself and is waiting on the interview) and she has introduced me to another friend that is single and i think who is quite pretty too, she works as a full time interpreter in a bank and has almost flawless English which helps. If things with me and Ling (the first one) don't work out then the translator friend is the backup plan.
I don't know how all this is going to work out, if worst comes to the worst I'll have a nice trip with Lings friends and as I know Guangzhou fairly well I know nice places to go and things to do and can find my way round pretty well. So i'll be in Guangzhou from November 5th and heading back home on the morning of the 22nd.
I must admit I'm actually pretty chilled about it all, this trip I'm going to a familiar place and meeting people I already know, some very well so it will be like meeting up with old friends, hopefully I can relax more and let things take their course.
If any of the brothers are going to be in Guangzhou during that time let me know, would be great to hook up for a beer or two.
To be continued...!
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Good Luck Ronan!!
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I had to go and wash my Face and flush out my Eyes there .
Irish , I'm not Maxx and I'm not going to say anyhting against this at all . I'm shocked of course , but I'm use to it already coming from you . Friends do hang with Friends and it will not change anything between us . I will be quiet and just follow your path through your Journey . This , you must turn into a Book someday .. if it works out with Ling # 1 . All . I can say is WOW .
Sorry to see it didn't work out with your Boss and the Smoker Lady .
But good luck on the next Trip .
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Ronan,
Finding a Chinese lady that speaks flawless English isn't a just a help Ronan, it will open up a whole new world for you. You just can't imagine the advantages you have, until you experience it for yourself..... Now, what you gonna do with your new Besta 7000?? ...haha!!
Good luck on your adjusted plans to your next trip!!
David....
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I had to go and wash my Face and flush out my Eyes there .
Irish , I'm not Maxx and I'm not going to say anyhting against this at all . I'm shocked of course , but I'm use to it already coming from you . Friends do hang with Friends and it will not change anything between us . I will be quiet and just follow your path through your Journey . This , you must turn into a Book someday .. if it works out with Ling # 1 . All . I can say is WOW .
Sorry to see it didn't work out with your Boss and the Smoker Lady .
But good luck on the next Trip .
Thanks Arnold that means a lot to me.
It still hurt like crazy breaking up with new Ling, but it feels right , breaking up with first Ling never did feel right and I have to either get closure or not with her. I think if I knew as much as I do now about Chinese culture (admittedly still just scratching the surface) I'd have visited her again already.
I'm not a religious person but do believe in the overall good and fate, most things seem to happen in balance, maybe i need to date another person to see what it was i really valued, I dunno.
Thanks Ed and David for the good wishes, original Lings English is not as good as newer Lings but its enough, so the translator will come in useful - the electronic one!!
I need closure with original Ling or she'll always be the one that got away and i'm too darn old to be passing up any opportunity to marry a beautiful exotic intersting women!
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Damm dude.I don't know what else to say.
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Damm dude.I don't know what else to say.
What that's it ??? Maxx ... and here I warned Irish , that you arrived and to get ready for an A..shewing . You disappoint me > Hahaha
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Damm dude.I don't know what else to say.
Wish me luck buddy, its all so crazy I'm quite chilled by now about it all, maybe thats the way i should have been from day one.
I fully realise this is turning into a never ending saga a SNAFU I suppose..and thats not me trying to be humorous.
Your advice helped me keep it together in that first visit big time, hopefully i am wiser this time round (but i bet i still screw something up), prepare the med kit. Triage may be needed in a few weeks time again haha!!
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too many Lings for me to follow !!! :-/ :huh: :s
sorry to hear of all these troubles Ronan ...
Haha, I bet its confusing, can barely keep all these shenanigans straight in my onw head a times to be honest.
Loooooong story short...trip one-> went to China, met Hui, no chemistry at all, her friend introduced me to Ling 1->later we had messy split after i got back home-> trip two i visited another Ling (2), got on great, but shes a smoker..Ling 2 and i split as a result-> I'm going back to China to visit original Ling 1 and see if have a chance, i still have a lot of feelings for her.
Thats a very simplified version of events, there is more, much more, but it boils down to that.
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Wow, good luck with the Lings. I haven't seen many women smoking here, so it's a shame about Ling 1.0. Actually when I first met my lady she was stinking of tobacco and I feared the worst. But I think she either had the world's heaviest smoking taxi driver or she was so nervous she had a packet of ciggies to calm her down!
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:s:huh::icon_arrowd::icon_arrowu::dodgy::icon_eek::icon_mad::icon_neutral::icon_rolleyes::icon_surprised:
I don't know what to think about this? It's an opera...
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Greetings Brothers,
Well Irish you sure seem to be having troubles with the Lings. I totally understand about the smoking thing, it would certainly drive me nuts. As for Ling 1 well therre again unless you get closer or patch it up she will always be in your head and influencing every thought about other women you may meet there. So for me it makes sense to go and see what you two really have or dont have.
I think you are making a good call. Go see Ling 1 find out if its just you or not. If you can get back together great, if not then you will know for sure and have no lingering doubts. Then at least you can move on clean.
I hope it works out with Ling 1.
Good luck and as always keep us posted.
Regards,
Zhen and Brian
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I'm not going to go searching for the answer but wasn't this the Ling (1) that lost interest in keeping in contact and seemed bored to write more then one word at a time? in IM.
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You are right Vince, but Brian hits the nail on the head when he says - unless you get closer or patch it up she will always be in your head and influencing every thought about other women you may meet there.
I have to do this or she WILL always be at the back of my mind.
I'm not completely crazy though!, there is another nice girl her friend has introduced me to in the same city which I'm going to see. I reckon I'll probably know within one or two days if there is any chemistry left with me and Ling 1, if not then I'll just meet up with the other lady. I haven't told either one about the other.
The mutual friend knows and thinks the new girl is a better match but she says she knows i need closure with Ling 1, she thought I was done with Ling 1 before she introduced me to the other friend.
She has agreed to say nothing to either about the other, the two girls i am seeing don't know eachother.
Its all very complicated, I'm gonna enjoy the food there regardless :)
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Ronan,
You know, I really don't see it. I wasn't on the site when this happened but read a lot of what was going on.
Closure?
I can understand getting closure with someone you've been married to for several years and they leave you. I just don't see it. Maybe it is just me. It seems to me to be a waste of money investing into a relationship like this but, then again I sometimes wonder what I am doing thinking of women in China. I guess from time to time we all ask ourselves this question. One look at the pictures and all the questions fade away. Maybe I just answered my own question.
I needed closure after my 27 year marriage went south. But I just don't see why you need closure for this. I would simply look for anther women and not worry about it.
I hope you are not offended by my questions about the closure issue. I am really trying to understand rather than state an opinion. So please explain, I know you don't have to.
Shaun
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Shaun, i guess because she's the most beautiful and exotic girl I ever dated, my moonshot if you like (have a look at P688056 and see what I mean, she's just as stunning in real life). When I was with her I couldn't believe my luck. I have to know I gave it my best and if it still doesn't work out then no regrets.
I'll know within 24-48 hours of arriving if we have a chance, Vince's comments above do ring true...
I am chatting to another lady in Guangzhou who is smart and beautiful too and will meet her if things don't work out with Ling 1 and me.
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i cant understand this word closure,it must be a western thing,as far as i can tell it doesn't seem to be
in the chinese language.if a lady in china says no,then thats it,your history,no second chances,finished.
could be a good thing to learn,might save a lot of heartache.
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She didn't say no Stuart, I did ....and its being driving me crazy rethinking that ever since. I need to say no when I'm standing there beside her, and can see and feel for real its never ever going to work out.
I drove Maxx, Martin, Arnold, Vince and Chonger nuts with my indecision about all this back then, am sorry fella's, it will be quicker and less drawn out this time, I promise!!
Having the brotherhood here these days is such a confidence booster and sanity check for any dumb stuff I do, I know whatever happens, no matter how dumb on my behalf, the bros will back me up and pull me out of the gutter again! (though I hope you all don't have too this time).
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Shaun, i guess because she's the most beautiful and exotic girl I ever dated, my moonshot if you like (have a look at P688056 and see what I mean, she's just as stunning in real life). When I was with her I couldn't believe my luck. I have to know I gave it my best and if it still doesn't work out then no regrets.
I'll know within 24-48 hours of arriving if we have a chance, Vince's comments above do ring true...
I am chatting to another lady in Guangzhou who is smart and beautiful too and will meet her if things don't work out with Ling 1 and me.
Ronan,
Your right in that she is stunningly beautiful. How could anyone say no to picture #4.
I would like to pass a couple of things my father taught me. He was quite a lady's man. He died at the age of 80 and chased women to the very end. I remember him lying in the hospital bed, dying and still made passes at the nurses. I sometimes think I could write a book on his relationships. The title would be, and he would be proud of it, "It may take a pump, but I can still get it up." He passed July 17th, 2008.
Here they are;
1. The more beautiful - the higher maintenance; the less beautiful - the the less maintenance. It is so true and you need to be willing to keep the maintenance up.
2. 2nd time around is never better than the 1st time and usually ends worse than the 1st breakup. This has been 100% true for me.
I hope it all works out to your satisfaction and having a backup plan is smart.
Shaun
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Irishman,
I have followed your story since the beginning. I have admired your heart of not giving up even in adversity.
More power to you!! Go for it buddy. I wish you the best of luck.
You have to follow your heart. I feel it is the best. Just make sure you have stepped back and look at every situation. Take some time to yourself and think of everything you have done and gone through.
I wish you the best of luck and looking forward to the many more of your posts.
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I hear ya Shaun, I agree with everything you are saying.
Unless I'm sure i made a mistake with her first time then I will move on, it feels wrong not to try , I'm stubborn that way :)
Irishman,
I have followed your story since the beginning. I have admired your heart of not giving up even in adversity.
More power to you!! Go for it buddy. I wish you the best of luck.
You have to follow your heart. I feel it is the best. Just make sure you have stepped back and look at every situation. Take some time to yourself and think of everything you have done and gone through.
I wish you the best of luck and looking forward to the many more of your posts.
Wow! , David, nice to see you, thanks for the words of encouragement.
And yes , I will definitely try to take a step back and try and figure out the situation for what it is.
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Irish , can't you go now ...do we have to wait till next Month ? :icon_cheesygrin::icon_cheesygrin:
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Hahaha ... do I have to wait for everything ???
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You have to do what your heart tells you man. I am reminded of the poem by Whittier, "For of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these: 'It might have been ..., so go for it .
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You have to do what your heart tells you man. I am reminded of the poem by Whittier, "For of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these: 'It might have been ..., so go for it .
I've also heard that the graveyard is the riches place in the world. It is full of unfulfilled ideas and dreams.
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Thanks Jim, that line from the the poem is exactly what I feel too, I need to go on with no regrets knowing i gave it my best shot.
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Ling 1 and Ling 2. How in the world ya make that happen?
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Ling 1 and Ling 2. How in the world ya make that happen?
Maybe he is collecting Lings., :icon_cheesygrin:
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Lol, makes blurting out the wrong name at a moment of passion less likely;) (and I did that once..but same name :icon_twisted: )
I also knew a Jing once too, I kid you not!!
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Cha ching!!!!!:icon_cheesygrin:
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Just a word of warning Irish , you cannot have my Ying hehe.
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Irishman shakes his head, rolls his eyes, and says to himself, "What has happened to my thread?" :icon_rolleyes::icon_rolleyes::icon_rolleyes::icon_frown::icon_question::icon_mrgreen:
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Thank goodness my wife doesn't have a name like Ling...I don 't have to worry about Irishman now.
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Irish, I will trade you a Qingqing for a lingling..
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I'll raise that to a JingJing and a Sing?:icon_biggrin::icon_biggrin:
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Haha, you guys are such a regular bunch of comedians!
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Sing for LingLing?
what's happening?
'seems like I missed something :D
Btw, I notice that you go for the first Ling, so, Ronan?
That can sound strange, but if she was always in your mind, why did you try a story with the Other Ling in fact? :)
Anyway, the best thing that I can do for you is wishing you all the best and follow your next adventures :)
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When I was a little bitty boy
My Grandmother bought me a cute little toy
Silver bells hanging on a string
She said it was my Ding a ling a ling
Oh my ding a ling, Everybody sing
I wanna play with my ding a ling a ling
Oh my ding a ling, my ding a ling
I wanna play with my ding a ling a ling sorry irish could not help my self only messing ;)