The Bird's Nest, Water Cube and Temple of Heaven!

Yet another glorious day in Beijing, clear skies and cold but dry and quite comfortable. We started off with a visit to the site of the 2008 Olympics, and a stroll around the Birds Nest Stadium. The structure is as fascinating up close as it is from a distance.

Family Nest

Snowy Stadium Panorama

 The Water Cube equally impressive in its design. We spent a couple of hours here taking in the sights and the information provided by various multimedia formats. Then off for lunch in a very authentic eaterie, very cheap and very good, always go where the locals go you know you'll get great vfm, even if you have no idea what you're ordering! After lunch we visited the Temple of Heaven, the largest sacrifice temple in China, it was too big for words that are made up of mainly superlatives!

 After another 8 hours spent walking we crashed out early to re-energise for Today's visit to Beijing's biggest themes park.

Foot Massage

 Happy Valley wasn't looking as happy as the name suggested, out of season it is very quiet which was great for getting on the bonkers crazy roller coasters, I didn't queue more than 5 minutes for any, unfortunately neither Deb or Sen fancied the rides so I went solo! Biggest Child in the theme park in more ways than one!

The Sky Ride

 Sennen again proved to be more of an attraction than the attractions with crowds of kids and young women all wanting photos with him. It is starting to wear thin for him now.

Me ready for take off in the front seat.

 It's 16.30 now and Sen and I are chilling drinking Jasmine tea on the 16th floor while Deb is in her theme park, Beijing Macaua Plaza Shopping Mall! We're off to a Kung Fu Show tonight to finish this great visit off in style.

Sen and Deb Go Extreme!

 The Kung Fu Show was astonishing, without doubt the best theatre experience I've ever had, we all sat opened mouthed for the full 90 minutes, and wanted it to go on for another 90! No photos allowed so these are web advertisements.

Today has been very relaxed, late breakfast, Deb went shopping, Sen and I went to the gym and for a swim.  Then off for a massage for Sen and me and a manicure for Deb.

Trawl around the tat market having fun bartering for 'best price' and now all packed and ready for the off tomorrow.

Can not wait to get home sometime Sunday evening.

I've been away too long!

And all the roads that lead you there are winding

"I said maybe, you're gonna be the one that saves me And after all, you're my wonderwall" Nothing more to say the pictures tell it all!

 Sen's New Friends!

 Breaktime

 Panorama displaying 1 millionth of what's available!

 Never ending

We walked no more than a mile, well Sen and I walked no more than a mile, Deb sat and waited after about .5 of a mile!  This was a really tough section of the Wall, with almost vertical steps and smooth slopes that were at least 60 degrees, some of the footings were quite treacherous where the snow and ice hadn't melted. It was pretty hard going for all of us and we were definitely feeling the effects this morning.

On getting back to Beijing we went for a lovely dinner followed by a family foot massage at a traditional Chinese spa, that took the aches away.

Lazy Day, Relaxing and Rickshaw Racing.

Last night was brilliant in a good way not in a shock or surprise wa .  Bo a long time acquaintance and all round good friend and his assistant Lucy took us out for a meal at his favourite restaurant.  Deb and Sen loved it as the food in this part of China is much less spicy than in Hunan province, they were able to eat everything not just try it and then take a glug of juice to cool their tongues down!

Sennen is amazing everyone with the way he eagerly tries everything (well everything that looks edible, he drew the line at the sea cucumber in Zhuzhou!), he particularly enjoyed the Beijing Duck and the Deep Fried Prawn & Horseradish Sauce Balls.

After dinner Bo took us to one of his Spas where we had the most amazing lavender oil deep massage, it was sensational.  If you’re ever in Beijing you have to visit ‘Hummingbird’ Wellness Spa No6 Chaowai Da Jie, Central Park Tower 26, Unit 103 Chaoyang District 100020 Beijing. Tell them Mr Kevin sent you.........It won’t get you a discount but it will present a few minutes of comedy as the lovely staff try to work out what you’re on about!

Today has been spent totally chilling, late breakfast in the executive bar on the top floor, overlooking the Forbidden City!  Sen and I took a stroll around, exploring the side streets while Deb went back to bed, then Sen and I had a running vs Cycling race in the gym (first to 5km) he beat me by 15 minutes! It did me good as I ran the 5km in 25minutes which is a personal best!  We jumped in the pool then to cool off.

Deb was up and about by the time we got back to the room so we went out for lunch, found a stunning noodle bar that offers the healthiest menu I’ve ever seen.  All kinds of lovely fresh veg noodle soups etc.

After lunch we headed off the nearest Hutong, an area of the city where the everyday people of Beijing live within the city’s central district, the fun touristy way to get around is by rickshaw.  After negotiating the many touts who approach claiming to be students wanting to practice English who then go on to tempt you to their local art exhibition, we easily found a rickshaw owner who was very eager to take our business ...... huh.... if only I’d thought harder about this........ we set off in two rickshaws as one is not big enough for three people. It was an interesting ride, especially negotiating the traffic before entering the hutong proper.

At tour end the pair of drivers demanded 600RMB for the 20 minute ride! I refused but realised that I was in a situation that would be difficult to negotiate out of, with Deb and Sen with me, and another local had joined in to help, I held out and paid 100 less than they asked.  My mistake her was not confirming the price before getting on, a mistake I knew I’d made just after setting off.  The tour was fun anyway and we all really enjoyed it.

We walked back to the hotel through the side streets experiencing the lively ‘real’ side of this gigantic metropolis.  I’ve chosen the hotel well it is bang in the centre of the city with many of the main tourist destinations within walking distance.

Tomorrow we’re off to the Great Wall and Ming’s Tomb, I CAN NOT wait, it has the potential to be mind blowing as there has been a fair fall of snow further out of the city.  The Great Wall is an unforgettable experience when hot and sunny, with snow on the mountains .......well.....you can tell how excited I am!

 Emperor Ming Memorial Temple

 Backstreet Beijing

Beautiful Beijing Snowy Day

4 hour delay in Changsha saw us arrive in Beijing eventually, and totally knackered!  The city like the rest of China was shrouded in the thickest of thick fogs, all very claustrophobic!  We unpacked, had dinner in one of the Hotel Restaurants then settled in our room for the night. Deb and Sen crashed out early I managed to get a video feed of the Grand Slam Match followed by Swansea's hammering of Fulham!  A great way to end a long and tiring day.

This morning we awoke to a lovely clear blue sky day and about 3 inches of snow, which either melted or had been cleaned away by the army of street cleaners that fill the city streets, by the time we had finished breakfast (late) and got outside.

We took a walk to Tienanmen Square and the outside of the Forbidden City, Sennen proving to be as big a photographic subject as the main sites!

A quick swim in the pool now, then off for dinner and a family massage at a friend's spa.

Tidy!!!!

Random Recent Images

 Lanterns from the roof

 Emperor Yandi

 Wu Shu Salute

 Sen's Visit To Middle School

 Super Star

 Photo with Big White Man Please?

 Net Fishing in the City

 Local Interest

 Under the Bridge

 Mr & Mrs 

 Wu Shu Training

Star Pupil!

Doors open where once stood walls!

This may seem like a philosophical metaphor, and to an extent it is as today we got a green light for a project with unbelievable potential.

BUT for those of you reading this blog who have borne witness to some of the almost unbelievable occurrences that I've experienced so far and may be finding it difficult to fully believe my tales.....

What happened today has to push your faith in my truthfulness to breaking point! We taken on a site visit to the area being developed for a massive new International School that has just broken ground. The school will cover a site three times that of the Liberty Stadium and provides state of the art teaching, learning and recreation facilities for over 7,000 students from Junior to Pre University level. The Pre Uni level being completed by September!

Scale Model of the New School

 The site to date has only workforce accommodation and a site office setup, the rest is a gaping muddy hole in the ground. We parked the limousine convoy on the main road just outside the gate and transferred into 4x4s to get across the negotiatable mud mountain to the office structure. We alighted and then made our way very carefully, the earth was sodden and very treacherous, around the craters edge ( a good 15-20 ft drop) on a path no more than 6 inches wide. We had a 9 and 6 year old with us and as parents we were unsettled (I don't think this adequately describes the mothers' state of mind!), the last section, a muddy slipery, ancient scaffolding plank, into the gate was particularly nerve wracking.

Office Accommodation and Entrance  

The Scaffold Plank Walk Way over the Pit

 Once safely inside the office's walled compound, we were shown the scale model of the planned build and the poster presentations of the whole infrastructure including a new city that would, eventually, encompass the school.

 Unknown to us, the builders who had been dismayed at the danger we had been in just attempting to access the office had made a decision and by the time we came out they had knocked a whole in the compound wall and built a functional doorway!!

Door in progress!

 I totally believe that the plan will come in on time and by September 2013 there will be a state of the art school complete and fully functioning!

 After this we went strawberry picking followed by a couple of hours fishing and the were hosted to a beautiful farewell dinner by the Director of Education and her team.


 These past three will be engraved in memory for the rest of my life and we still have a week of Beijing to experience! WOW!

Moutai Migraines, Momentous Meetings, Wu Shu and Pizza Hut!

The last couple of days have flown by, although yesterday seemed to last forever due to the Moutai Agenda of the previous evening.

The morning was an unpleasant affair, my Moutai hangover (something I fully intend not to experience again) combined with an early meeting with Deputy Mayor and Heads of Education Bureau, all in Mandarin fully ensured that my head hurt more than I could have believed!

This was followed by a very beautiful and massively formal lunch in beautiful country restaurant, with the delegation and my family, this lead on to a tour of the city’s beach area and new bar quarter that is due to open soon and a walk along the river and the history of Guan Ying Tea at a local tea house. My fuge didn’t lift even after this and I have no idea how my 10 year old son managed to contain his lack of interest and enthusiasm for the whole day but he was astonishing!  

Him and Deb were even dragged along to another lengthy meeting with all the Heads of the Education Bureau to discuss the potential of establishing a bridging type programme to UK study based in Zhuzhou, again mainly conducted in Mandarin.

The day was topped off by another formal dinner, that included sea cucumber ( an acquired taste) all ending around 20.00.

A full on marathon of a day for all of us! Deb commented that she had found it very interesting and now realises that I do actually work for a living!!!!!!!

Today has been a family day just the 3 of us, a visit to the Zhuzhou City Museum, which was fascinating, a bus ride into town which Sen found fascinating and lunch in Pizza Hut, not something I thought I’d do but it did come as a respite from the exotic comestibles that we have partaken of to date.

We had a good stroll around the local shopping malls and I managed a haggle session with a local trader and knocked £10 off a£23 track suit for Sen.

Back at Yandi later on Mrs Ping, ex Kung Fu Champion of China, taught Sen a few moves and provided traditional Wu Shu Gi’s for him to practice in.

We’re off to the city centre for a meal with Mike, just the 4 of us and then to prepare for our last day which seems to have been planned for us by the Director of Education including visits to a local school, the planned site of Zhuzhou’s first ‘International School’ and then a trip to the countryside and a big formal farewell dinner!

It’s been a nonstop work / break 10 days here for me and 5 for Deb and Sen, very interesting and not without incidents.

Jet Lag Kicks in and the Moutai kicks me!

We all got up early and eagerly for the car journey to Happy Valley Theme Park, a new, massive Disneyland style tourist attraction (those who know me will know how enthusiastic the prospect of this made me) about 40 minutes outside the city.  As we set off Sen started complaining of feeling unwell and by the time we arrived at our destination, which was truly ginormous and very very very new, Sen had become very tearful and so we turned round and headed back to Zhuzhou!  The jet lag had hit him.

We chilled out at home and watched DVDs and Sen was introduced to “The Life of Brian” he loved the ‘weelease woger’ sketch!

After lunch I had to give a presentation to 150 students at Hunan University of Technology, Deb and Sen came with me and got to see me at work! It wasn’t my most enjoyable presentation as the students had been forced to attend on an afternoon when there is usually no need for them to attend classes and were therefore less than attentive!

Evening dinner was a meal with the Bin Chens, the Yandi Teaching team and parents of a prospective student at their fabulous restaurant, the food was fantastic and the Moutai was flowing. There was clearly an agenda to get me drunk as the Moutai flowed mainly in my direction, my glass being topped up while my attention was elsewhere.... an agenda that was successful, I have total memory loss of the end of the night although, thankfully, I’m told I continued to behave impeccably until I fell off my bed!!!

Jet Lag's For Wimps and so are important dinners!

Deb and Sen got to bed early and slept through to 8am, a good solid 10 hours! Both rose bright and cheery and excited to be here. After breakfast we took a stroll around the block , out on to the river bank, I thought Mike and I got stared at a lot but that paled into insignificance at the amount of attention a blond haired western woman and a 10 yr old child get, it didn't take long for the requests of photos to be taken with us and of us , to start. We met a student fro No2 School who wanted to talk to us in English, this was the first time he'd spoken to native speakers and was overwhelmed  by the experience. After Lunch we went into the city and the local park, we hired a motor boat and Sen captained us around the lake  for half an hour, we saw numerous Wedding  preparation shoots and nearly hit a bridge or two! Later we went into the city and they experienced the joys of  a loclal supermarket, pigs ' faces, black chickens and all! We returned  to Yandi in the afternoon just in time to get  ready for an important dinner with some very senior officials of the city education department. To be honest Sen could do nothing in the future that would make me prouder of him than he did tonight, his manners were impeccable and the way he handled himself with so much maturity, far beyond his years, was impressive not just to me but to the very distinguished guests we dined with. After dinner we had a kick about, Just the three of us, until bedtime and that was as, if not more, special than anything the marvellous day had offered. Tomorrow brings promises of theme pals and university visits.

Winter Pyjamas, Baby Rabbit Hoopla and Canines in Football Kits!

The excitement of my family's imminent arrival resulted in my not getting to sleep until the early hours of the morning last night and also in my awakening in the late hours of the morning! And only then did the new day meet me with a tumultuous greeting at around 11.45am, I was shocked out of sleep by what sounded like Armageddon,  the Chinese being lovers and inventors of fireworks do not miss a chance at letting some off, and over here that means something very different to what the wimpy 'elf'n'safety' laws of the UK allow.  I was brought most violently to conciousness by a 5 minute long volley of explosions that would have had the bravest of battle hardened soldiers diving for cover. It was about a mile away but still made the windows rattle!

Once up and about we set off for a walk across the river (using the bridge of course) to the temple and park on the opposite bank, to kill some time before we would leave for the airport to meet Deb and Sen.

It's been another lovely day, warm enough not to need coats and even a bit warmer than that in the sunshine, the park was heaving with families, the young and the very old some in winter pyjamas some win wedding dresses, many dogs (some in pyjamas some in football kits) the usual kind of congregation for a weekend day anywhere in the world!

 Wedding Dresses

 Dogs in Leeds Utd Kit

 Baby Rabbit Hoopla

Winter Pyjamas

After a good walk around the fun fair with all the usual sideshows e.g. 'Hoopla The Live Baby Rabbit', 'Catch a Goldfish with Hook and Line' etc and taking a few photos and having more than a few photos taken of us, we headed home and then for the airport.

We arrived 5 minutes after the flight landed so by the time we got into the arrivals hall Deb and Sen came out moments later, much hugging and kissing and happiness ensued and now I have them safely installed in the apartment and heading for sleepsville. Sen hasn't slept since leaving Swansea 30 something hours ago, he'll either sleep through jet lag or be the most hideous kid on the Mainland or both but I don't care he's here and a new exciting adventure begins for all of us..... Bring it on 

And the Swansea City AFC have beaten Manchester City!!! What a fantastical day!!!!!!