Beijing

Hi Guys,

Sorry about the lateness of this post, but I've been very, very lazy with my blog this week.

I just want to congratulate Mr Steene on picking up a grammatical error that Hugo had somehow missed - that's quite an achievement. You also shattered my dreams of having a post without any mistakes, thanks.

Last time I wrote to you, I had spent the weekend in Shanghai. This past weekend was spent in China's capital, which was an altogether different experience.

I had chosen to resist the temptation of taking a 14-16hour train to Beijing and instead, flew into Beijing airport on Thursday morning. I had to wait for three hours for Mum and Dad to arrive, but I occupied myself by walking round and round the airport. It was not the most interesting experience.

That afternoon, we had no excursions planned, instead, we went to another market. Here, I was further able to enhance my bargaining ability in Chinese.


The next day, we visited the Great Wall. I can't describe the scale of the whole thing without you seeing it for yourself. We climbed up the Mutianyu section, which is over 3km in length and very high. For those of you who don't know, the wall was built by the various dynasties in China, originally to protect China from the Mongolians and parts of it are over 2000 years old. Whilst much of the wall is ruins, there are still some parts that can be climbed. I won't say any more, I'm just going to post some of the photographs that I took from various stages on the wall.


I've decided that I no longer like this narrative style of writing and am just going to describe the rest of Beijing as the thoughts come to me.

Over the next two days, we visited Beijing's other sights: Tiananmen Square, the Summer Palace, the Temple of the Heavenly Emperor, the Forbidden City.

Tiananmen Square was one of the most impressive sights I had ever seen. It is in effect, just a huge city square (apparently the largest in the world), but surrounding it are monuments famous in China's history (both imperial and communist). The square was also crowded with what must have been hundreds of thousands of tourists - it was amazing, seeing all these people coming to see Beijing; I can only imagine what it will be like during the Olympics. These tourists would soon become tedious, as we visited Beijing's other attractions. Seeing Mao's portrait in front of the Forbidden City was a very powerful, poignant image.

I have to say, though, that I was a little disappointed with the other attractions. I appreciate the history behind them, and I was shocked by the sheer scale of everything but there was other factors that ruined the experience. The tourists that I mentioned were even more numerous in these places - most of these tourists were Chinese people, coming from other parts of the country. I understand that this was perhaps a once in a lifetime experience, visiting China's capital, but at the same time, these are possibly some of the rudest people you will ever encounter. They go around in huge tour groups, all wearing comical caps of one colour, but they are very noisy, and have no qualms about pushing people out of the way to get a better view for themselves. Whilst we were bemused at first, after a while, it just got tedious, and made us want to leave as quickly as possible. I don't want to put anyone off going to Beijing, but just be warned about the number of tourists. Also, I'm not sure how authentic a lot of the places were, a lot of it looked relatively new, for buildings that had been built hundreds and hundreds of years ago. In preparation for the Olympics next year, a lot of the buildings were covered with scaffolding.

Below are a couple of pictures of the Forbidden City just to show you the sheer scale of the number of people.

I'm sorry about only writing a paragraph about three of China's most famous landmarks but the experience was not very enjoyable.

We also visited a small region called Hutong. This was originally a region where some Chinese officials had lived. I think it had been made up to resemble an old-style Chinese city but I'm not sure how convinced I am, seeing as there was several Western bars and dozens of English speaking shops. We were taken to an "authentic" Chinese house, which was quite nice, but had obviously been redone as well.

After reading this, I suppose that Beijing sounds like a place that wouldn't be worth visiting. This isn't true at all, just be prepared for a different experience to what you were expecting. Beijing is an akward marriage of Imperialism, Mao and now capitalism. In some ways, it tries to replicate Shanghai with its skyscrapers and businesses, but fails in doing so. In other aspects, it is trying to preserve its history. Its definitely an interesting city.

Other than that, not much has happened this week. We had another basketball match, and lost - now we're eliminated from the tournament. We did make some awesome yellow T-shirts though

Let me know the goings-on in the UK.

Hope all is well.

Miss you lots,

Nihal

Shanghai again - but a very different experience

Hi guys. Its another week, another blog - this must be getting quite routine for everyone! Before I start, I want to say Happy 21st to Shamil and I want to wish everyone a Happy Easter. I hope that everyone's eaten their Easter eggs and hot cross buns, and been to church for Sunday service, watched the weekend's football (or not, as the case may be), etc etc etc.

I am writing after a second, marathon weekend in Shanghai, although this one was of quite a different nature to the first. If you recall, the first weekend in Shanghai consisted of clubbing for three nights in a row, not waking up before midday and getting my wallet stolen. Whilst I have to say that a weekend of clubbing with Mum and Dad was tempting (not!), we had a very busy and interesting weekend!


Just in case you're wondering, there wasn't much of note that took place during the week. There was one 21st birthday on Wednesday night but aside from that it was quite ordinary. Oh, and I watched Ray - which was an incredible film, and gave me a new love and respect for both Ray Charles and Jamie Foxx. I strongly recommend the film to anyone who hasn't yet seen it (Mum and Dad have bought a pirate copy, so borrow it off them when you get back!!!).

I arrived in Shanghai, mid afternoon on Friday and it seemed like the sun was shining in honour of my arrival. Nothing was planned for that day, so we decided to start work on the 20 page shopping list that Mihir had given us. We headed to the local market, where I was able to practise (notice the 's', not the 'c'!) my bargaining skills and wow Mum and Dad with my Chinese at the same time. Mission complete! I had shown the parents that my stay here was not just an extended holiday, and that I had actually learnt some Mandarin.

In the evening, we went for a pizza and I then left Mum and Dad to recover from their jetlag.

The next morning, we set out early for the Jade Buddhist Temple. This temple was so-called because it housed two, four-metre high statues of the Buddha, made completely from jade. The temple and the statues were very impressive but the serenity was somewhat ruined by the thousands of tourists, pushing and shouting and walking in the way of photos!

Then we visited a pearl factory, which was basically a front to sell pearls to poor, unsuspecting tourists from which the tour guides would take a nice commission.

The tour guide had happened to let slip that there was a Confucian temple, hidden away, and Dad took the opportunity to pounce, and got him to take us there. This temple really was hidden away, and in perhaps the most eye-opening part of the weekend, we were able to see the "authentic Shanghai". Anyone who knows Shanghai, knows that its a huge metropolis, similar to any other major world city, with skyscrapers, and a river, and dozens of McDonalds' and Starbucks' (sorry, I don't know the plurals of these words). This part of Shanghai, showed a place not influenced by foreigners, with street vendors selling everything imaginable, and local people shopping, eating and chatting. It's a place left out by the guidebooks.

The temple itself was very pretty, amazing grounds, and unspoilt by tourists. It had also served as a university during the Qing dynasty.

We also visited a tea house, where we were told how to brew the different types of tea, and were offered a taste of these types. I think that Mum and Dad might come back and give up Indian tea and English coffee completely, drinking only wulong, ginseng and lychee tea!

In the evening, we went to see a Chinese acrobat show. Despite Mum falling asleep numerous times, the show was incredible. People were doing stuff with their bodies that I never thought possible - I thought that there would be at least one serious accident but miraculously, no fatalities!

After that, we went to the Grand Hyatt which is the tallest hotel in Shanghai. It was a once in a lifetime experience - sitting in a piano bar, having a pint, overlooking Shanghai at night time.

We took an excursion to Suzhou on Sunday and we were told by the tour guide that this was one of the most beautiful places in China. It was actually very nice, and a welcome change from the hustle and bustle of Shanghai but again, there were way too many tourists. Chinese tourists are even worse than Western tourists in that they are always smoking, they tend to shout at each other, even when they are only a few centimetres away, and they have no concept of queuing.

We visited three major places of interest. Some imperial gardens, which were very nice, but overcrowded. A silk embroidery, which I was sceptical about at first, but then was very impressed by it. And Tiger Hill, which is another set of gardens, with a Buddhist Pagoda, and a temple on top.

That was it, that was my weekend in Shanghai over.

For the journey back, I had decided that I was fed up with the cramped seats on the coach and had chosen to take the train. Shanghai station was incredible - it was an example to any country of how to build a train station. The journey itself was a completely different story. I had been given a first class ticket by the hotel so I had high expectations. How shocked I was, then, to be greeted by a carriage that stank of urine, with curtains and seats that had questionable brown stains on them. The passenger sitting next to me seemed to need to clear his throat precisely every 30 seconds as well. I look at it as a learning experience.

Aside from that, I've been in Ningbo for the past three days. We had our first competitive 3 on 3 basketball match, and whilst we ended up losing by a big margin, we played very well.

I'm off to Beijing tomorrow morning to meet Mum and Dad again, so will be updating you on that trip.

Hope that everyone's well.

Congratulations to all Man Utd and Chelsea fans (if you're confused about the discrepencies in the blog, I started it on Monday, and finished it on Wednesday). Hopefully Tottenham can replicate their performances.

Same time, same place next week.

Lots of Love,

Nihal

Just a quick message...

Hi Guys, just thought I'd write to say that I'm going to be in Shanghai for the next three days and so I probably won't be able to update the blog.

It does mean, though, that the blog will be even better when I return!!

Lots of people have been asking me when I'm posting the next blog, so I thought I'd just say hi to everyone, and let you know that I'm still alive!!

Also, a belated Happy Bday to Beej and Deepun Kaka. Hope that you both had good birthdays.



Lots of love,



Nihal

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Guys, the website is playing up, and not letting me put extra lines in between my paragraphs. Please bear with it - I know its annoying.

Life in China

Hello again guys,

Before I start this week's account of my time in Ningbo, I want to apologise for some grammatical and spelling mistakes that people (i.e. Mum and Hugo) have pointed out to me. Hugo, you are right - mafiosi is plural and mafioso is singular; I will remember this for future reference. And apologise is spelt with an "s" and not a "z" - I'm not American and don't ever intend to be so this is quite inexcusable.

Looking back over my past four blogs, I realise that I have told you a lot about my day to day events, but less so about actual China. Before my arrival in this country, I didn't really have a clue of what to expect. People had described these huge metropolis's to me but I suppose that this had not really sunk in and it was not until I reached Ningbo that I saw how true this was. It is very clear that most of this development has occurred over perhaps the last decade and you can see new skyscrapers being built all the time. Even as you marvel at the modernity of such a city, at the same time, it has almost a tackiness to it, with cheap, flashing neon lights over all of these buildings. The fact that I had first travelled to Hong Kong, before Ningbo and had then travelled to Shanghai a couple of weekends ago, makes Ningbo seem almost like a poor imitation of the two.

I had expected poverty to be widespread, because even though Ningbo is the largest city in the Zhejian province, I didn't think it would be as developed as it is. However, this was just first impressions...

The areas that we had visited had been quite international (Pizza Huts, McDonalds, Western advertising everywhere, posters of Shaquille O'Neill etc) and as a result, we had been quite sheltered. This week, however, following a few wrong turns in town, I was shown a different side to the city. Dirty streets, and everywhere, beggars ranging from infants to the very elderly. Whilst it was not as bad as say, parts of India or Africa, the scenes were quite eye opening. I was shown that behind our international comfort zone, poverty was not far away.

In my earlier blogs too, I have not really put much emphasis on the cultural differences between China and the Western world. Whilst some of these differences can be quite amusing, others are a much bigger shock to the system.

For example, everywhere you go, you will hear Chinese people spitting. Be it on the street, in a hotel or in a restaurant, you can hear that disgusting sound of the Chinese people getting the saliva from the back of their throat, ready to spit!

The supermarkets are also an experience. The concept of queueing does not seem to have reached the Far East, and I have found myself waiting for almost 10 minutes to have my fruit weighed, only for local people to completely ignore me and cut in front of me. It is not unusual for supermarkets to sell live turtles, shrimp and fish to customers and it is hard for me as a vegetarian, to walk past hundreds of live turtles, stacked on top of one another in a very small tank, waiting to be bought, taken home and cooked.

The driving here is some of the most atrocious I have ever experienced too. I am still shocked as to how we have not had an accident yet, considering that many of the taxi drivers don't even know the fundamental rules, such as driving on the correct side of the road! And whilst zebra crossings exist in image, every driver in China seems to be oblivious to them - I have been told that the key is, to look straight ahead when crossing the road, and ignore the vehicles coming from either side. I am not convinced of this argument, and for me, crossing a simple road can take ages!

Those of you reading this blog over lunch should avert your eyes now! Chinese people will grow one fingernail extra long, so that they can use this nail to clean out the wax from their ears. These same Chinese people are our shop assistants and waiters - I guess food hygeine laws don't exist here!

Enough of my ranting and let me tell you about my week.

We all went for a group meal to a Lebanese restaurant early on Monday night. The food was very good, and I got my falafel, tabouleh, humous, babaganoush etc.

Thankfully, after watching the first England match on Saturday, I was wise enough to forget about the second one - which I heard was so poor, that McClaren got booed during the first half.

About 30 other Nottingham students arrived in China this week for the "China Field School". This is a three week trip to China, where students are required to travel around China and keep a diary. This Field School arrived in Ningbo on Friday night, and because many of the people on the trip were friends and former classmates, it was good to see them.

We had our first Poker Night on Thursday. I'm pleased to say that I finished the evening up - taking home 60 kuai (£4) from my initial 50 kuai stake!

The weather for most of last week had been incredible (above 30 degrees every day) and on Friday, we decided to have an impromptu barbecue. This was a huge success, and is definitely going to be repeated.

On Saturday night, I was DJing at a bar called Le Cargo (Ningbo's European bar). Because the Field School had arrived the night before, about 40 Nottingham students invaded this tiny bar - making it seem like a night in Ocean!! The night was a huge success and I was introduced to the world of MP3 DJing! I took a little external hard drive to the bar, filled with my music, connected it to the computer there, which was connected to two vinyl turntables. Then, whatever song was put on the computer, I could manipulate it, using the turntables, like vinyl records. It was an incredible experience, and I think that slowly but surely, my love for lugging my 20kg bag of records around is waning!

And I think that that's about everything for this week. Mum and Dad arrive in China on Thursday, and I will be joining them in Shanghai on Friday - I'm really excited to see them.

Aside from that, life is pretty normal, or as normal as it can be in China.

Hope everyone is well,

Lots of Love,

Nihal