Deqin and Feitai

Okay, now im arrived in Deqin, or well I arrived there went ripped off over a meal (rice and some pork, it was good but it should not cost 23 kui), and took a taxi from that place. Found a nice hostel and some persons which im going for a three day haik : ) (Now mom and dad will be happy that im not alone). At the moment I don’t feel almost anything from the hight (its about 4200m here) but little headache but its common I heard. And its also much harder to walk in stairs, but its worth it.

A lot of friendly people at this hostel, a family from Singapore asked me to tried Tibetan butter tea, strange taste, but I think its good as breakfast, just because there have a lot of carbons … . The views at the bus from Shangri-la to Deqin was even nicer then from Kunming to Shangri-la. The road was okay, but the safety was Chinese. With that meaning that it was no fences…. Also interesting that in every bus stop we stopped for going to the bathroom we had to pay about 0.5 to 1 kui. The toilets is not so nice (like very dirty and disgusting) , so it´s you actual is not paying for a clean toilet. I thought a rather pied outside id, but the old man still demanded money. I paid just because I did not have the time to argue.. (There is a photo on him, so I will put it up somewhere where I will have my list over Chinese people that I don’t like … )

They also have real coffee her (bryggkaffe, home smashed beans..) , looking forward to the breakfast tomorrow. Although it’s a problem that its still expensive, but it´ts free refill so I might take a third cup now..
What you where saying Johan I also think its different taste if the dog size is different.. Also nice that you are making comments : ) . Congrats to my brother also who is keeping his job.

Busride views from My hostel

Nice views :)

Okay, i started my travell in yun nan. My first mistake was to stay over the night in Kunming, but i tried dog so maybye that woas worth it.

I took the nightbus from Kun ming to Shangri-la, and the nightbus is okay her in china. This of course if you are not taller then 170, wich im not :) Bumpy road and nice company by a girl from hunan (but worked in the shity place guangzhou) made me not sleep so much. But hey ! I have practise chinese :). Mayby i dont have to mention that the bus was about 2.5 hour late, because we started later and i also think we got a flat tire during the night ...

The last hours of the busride was awsome, great views and so on. So now im really excited about the busride tomorrow to Daqin.

Nice to have dinner with chinese.. .then you dont have to pay anything , thanks Li Yan.

Shangri-la

Kunming

Sometimes you meet things that you would not expect, like yesterday I went out for some food with a Chinese girl. And at one place I understood that by the characheters that they had chicken and rice. But the boss there where also cutting up some slices of meat. When she said what it was I first hesitated but after some thinking I made up my mind to try it. It was really good, much better than expected. Now all dog lovers going to hate me, but actual dog is tasting good and I will try again if I get opportunity: ). I also had a good coffee yesterday, it was with sugar that we in Sweden call “bitsocker”, but those guys where heating up the spoon so the sugar melted and dripped down in the cup.

Also have some pictures, so for those who want they can have a look.
Dog and Coffee

This morning I woke up by my alarm at 6.00 in the morning. I had put it so early because of I thought of going to the stone forest (its like a forest that are made of stone), but I reconsider this in my bed and went back to sleep. Its seems to be too expensive and I also had to catch up some homework and also some sleep, Friday night I just sleep 2 hours..

Today at hostel I meet two Swedish guys that had been to Dequin, and they loved it. So it going to be nice, really looking forward to it :)

On way to Kunming

At the moment its 6.29 and im sitting at Xiamen Airport, I will go to Yunnan province over the holiday we have now, for about 10 days and after that go to Shenzhen. In Shenzhen I will visit a friend for only a like two days. A friend in Sweden where telling me that she didn´t like to talk in front of the class when practicing a new language, feel good to hear that I´m not alone with that. Actual a quite interesting thing happened for a couple a days ago. We were supposed to have about 10 minutes alone with our teacher, just so she could check our pronunciation. But it turned out that many of my classmates still where in the classroom when she where checking us. Some of them where actual sitting a half meter from the teacher and also repeated what the guy that she where checking where doing. Strange… So I talked with a Canadien girl and she said that she really did dislike it and also thought it was strange that the other people in class didn’t leave the room and gave us some space.

Well when it was my turn I ask my classmates to leave the room (actual I could do it when they where there but I didn’t want to..) , so what happened ? did they leave?
NO, they didn’t want to leave, so then I said to my teacher that then I would not do it, Its not that I really had to do it and also I thought it was really bad of my classmates not leave, but it turned out quite good. Me and my teacher went to another classroom, and the Canadian girl where also happy, because now she also could do it with nobody disturbing. Strange that those people didn’t moved, I blame some culture differences, but actual I just think those guys where strange…

Thursday I also when to school a half hour earlier to school, just to be able to finish my homework before class, so the time was about 7.30 when I passed the running track, and then I saw something that you don’t see so often. Old ladies (70-80 years) doing tai chi with swords, I will go there some other time and catch them on some photos. Its also nice to see the monks playing basketball, or talking In cellphone. Well china never stops to be interesting ..

Yesterday I also went to my first Kung Fu class, very nice! Really good workout, and I also think its especial good for my stiff muscles (well I still hope I got some.. ) . And of course I forgot my camera when I went there, but I will go more so..

Whats wrong with Chinese airports, so expensive, actual its more expensive than in Sweden. I was thinking of having a luxury breakfast with sandwich and coffee.. but with a total price of 100 kui I quickly changed my mind, I mean its like what I am spending in two days…

Well some photos from Justins birthday dinner (bought her a Absolute Vodka and a teddybear .. ). Also some random pictures

Random photos

Skämmes ta mä fan, Free drinks and water

Sorry Johan… so fucking right there ! “Skämmes ta mä fan” My blog starting to be one of those that only updating once a year… well I bether shape up. I heard that the link to the gulangu photos did not work, so I will repost it. Don’t miss the Chinese tourist with umbrellas, always hilerius.
So we where supposed to not have any water last weekend, well I never had so much water. Because afraid of not be able to flush my toilet I had saved water for that. And I turned out the warning that was sent from the government just where so people would go crazy… Well some did not have water all the time.. Fun for those guys that flew the island because of this and missed a great beachparty : )
After about 21.00 they have barbecue beside my apartment, you can go there and eat crazy much and in the end maybye pay 15-20 kui… So I have done that to much lately, and my running has been down, but I should be able to take it up again, its only 2.5 month when Xiamen marathon is.. So if I want to run there I really have to shape up, and the weather is also little bit cooler now I actual don’t have an excuse anymore.

On Saturday I have booked a 2.5 hour flight ticket to Yun nan province, its going to be great. The views there are told to be really something so its going to be nice. It also one of the parts in china I don’t have been to. I can go there because we have a 8 days holiday, and I also skipping three days class. I will also have time to go to Shenzhen to visit a friend there, Awsome!

I also have to write a little about the “free days” we get. Actual in china you don’t actual get free days, what they do is that you work on the weekends before so actual you just moving some days when you supposed to be free (like Saturday and Sunday) and put them when Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Maybye you get one day for free but… The whole class where laughing at me when I asked our teacher wich Sunday and Saturday we where supposed to go to school, because of this vacation… After they were not laughing..

I think I also started get to know how to study bether, its very different to study language .. was long time agoi I did that.
I never thought I would say this, but I missing the cheap coffee in “Baljan”, really have to go to big supermarket and by me a coffee machine…

Ohh, some friends have started to work in a club, because they are foreign girls they get pay to go to the club 3 houre x 3 times a week and standing at a table and have fun, for that they get free drinks and don’t have any obligations, all this for a salary 2000 kui a month. Good for me that I can go there and drink there liquer, don’t have to buy anything : )


Gulang gu
I wil be bether to take my camera with me, but there will be nice photos from Yun nan !

A weekend without water ?

Hi, today its friday and in a couple of houre we wount have any water (or limited) at the island, bacause of they are changing a major pip that deliviering fresh water to Xiamen island. Quite strange, but the locals also think so... Well see how its going to work with toilets and stuff..

The supermarket was fast to put away all big containers with drinking water, now is the biggest 1.5 liter... gah, just so they can rip us of for a few bucks more. Many of we students are leaving the city due this, i thought it would be more intresting to so how its going to be, so i stay :) And then i also be able to go to the beach party.. .i hope this one is a real one, but actually it arranged by foriegners so it should be good.

Today my plan was to have done all homework and go to the class and handle it in, and also attend to my first Kung Fu class. But a very good dinner yesterday made me not to finished my homework, and the food made a kickback tonight so after spending a lot of time running to the toilett in the night i decided not to go to school today. Think it was a good decision with the fact that we only have chinese toilets there and its not so nice to shit diarria in those... (Chinese toilett is just a hole in the ground). But now after i have eating some KFC food im ready to go for dinner and i might have a beer today :) (again, acutal they have some imported beer in my local supermarket, expensive but sometimes it worth pay 25 kui to get a Ale from england).

our teacher really have kicked in a higher gear now, maybye its good, because as usual if you dont have to do something you dont really do it..

Sorry, no pictures today, but i hope it will after tomorrow or sunday :) Good to hear that its not a waste to write here :)

Take care in Sweden (by the way, nobody in my oralclass understod me when i tried to order a beer, beacuse the brand i wanted was Norrlandsguld.. gah, how hard can it be)

Gulang Gu

Starting with beer and barbecue we kicked off the weekend Friday at 18, after that there where some germans that had a party at home. So we went there, the apartment where totally new and they had a view that you would pay millions for if it was in Europe or similar country. He and his girlfriend did not paid millions, only 3000 kui per month… Althought it was quite far away from campus, but still real nice, with the view over Gulang Gu. After this we went out to a club that had a grand opening, me and Diederik and Yerkin did not stayed so long, because we planned to go to Gulang Gu in the morning. And we did, well not Yerkin that did what he likes most… sleep.. Gulang Gu is a island that have some history about the dutch, Taiwanese and Chinese, but I will not have a lecture here, intresting can search at internet : ) . We did some real sighseen and i´m uploading some pictures of this. As usual the best of going to tourist places in china is to watch the Chinese tourist, they walking around with there umbrellas in big sightseen group and taking photos(Notice the clear sky but although all umbrellas at some of the pictures). And some of them also get lucky to take a picture of a foreigner, this time it was a bunch of elder men that took a group photo with me and Diederik..
Its not usual that you get back to much money, especial in china, but something happened when I bought two bottles of water at a hostel at the island. It was extremely hot and I think the girl just was a little to unconcentrated, because when I gave her a hundred to pay 4 kui she gave me 126 back.. Although she recounted it like 4 times, well I counted it myself afterwards and went back with the money.. 30 kui was almost what a bed in a four dormetry costed…
After have spent the hole day at the island I went home to catch for some sleep, just so I could have some energy for the evening. Me and some guys took the bus to the nightmarket at Zhongzhan road for some barbecue and beer. Me and Diederik had found one place there that sold draft beer in 5 l barrels. So we started to buy one (cost was 30 kui) but we where a quite big group so it went out quite fast. After some French people also came we just had to have one more. The French convinced us to go to the beach .
Still have not found a way to run, there are not really any places to run that are good, usual its to crowded or it is to much stairs and roads to pass. So the only real thing to do is go to the running track, and run about 20 laps…. Not so fun, and its still so hot, although it should be good tonight when it have rained.
Haha, Carl Bildt is at the moment in CCTV9. Nice that all commercial here are showing that china is growing and moving forward, very optimistic propaganda : )..
There is much that happened all days, usual I forget the things because its so much, is there anything you guys wounder about just post a comment and I answer it as fast I can.
Gulang Gu

Beautiful country, telephone guy ,swineflu and dumplings

Why is Sweden such a beautiful country ? Today I spoked with a new guy and girl that where new in our class and when I said that I was from Sweden they not so surprisingly says “Ohh, I think Sweden is such a nice country”. Many time when I meet people from asian country the loads of the time express them like that, all thought they never have been there. Of course its very polite and so but sometimes you just wonder where they got that idea from (not said that Sweden is´nt a bad place).

We also have a telephone guy in our class, with that I mean he has a phone, and actual want us all to notice that. And I really think that all in our class notice that the first time he didn’t switch of the sound, but the second and third time yesterday in a range of like 15 minutes we all thought about kicking him out. I think he just don´t understand why he should put the phone into silence mode. Today was no exception, even that our teacher had said that all should keep the phone off or silence. The thing would not mather so much if we all just sat down and did our things for us self, but now its when the teacher having lectures. Well enough about this.
Started oral speaking class today, its one of the two optional courses that I´m going to take (have´nt decided about caligrafi or kung fu). We are having a really funnie (NOT!) guy in our class that are playing smart guy and ask question all the time (not so smart question even if he think so). Me and Yerkin (Kazakstan guy) where quite sick of him after half of the class. Guess nationality ? All USA of course, some of them is just to much…..

Was also catching this thing about sleeping, even if Chinese can work hard and study hard they also have the ability to sleep everywhere. I really have a hard time to sleep in public, those have not! She just took a half hour nap, well I could not do that.

Today we had to fill in a form about questions about the flue, like they asked if we had any caught or fever. Or if we had been in contact of any with this things... Of course the right answer was NO, even if I have had a caught and now two guys that have fever.. So they also have started to check that it is only people that have permission to enter the campus that really do that. In this case its teacher, students and older people. Older people can go in because its parks in the campus and all parks are free for older people so they have a place to hang out. Hehe, one guy had forgott his student ID so he could not come in, and he got really upset about this, loads of curses in both Chinese and english.

We have also found a nice dumpling place where you can eat a lunch for about five kui. The problem is that they not really have any menu, so I will practice my chinese so I can order some other dishes :)

The days pictures

So now its friday and barbecue and beer, actual I found stout so i will try that one at home before I go to the barbecue, altoughte I don´t have so high expectations...

Reflections

Some reflections over what have happend the last weeks. The opening ceremony was quite interesting, it started that somebody talked in about 10 minutes to all foreigners in Chinese(this due that most of us don´t speak so much Chinese, this is one major reason why we came her…). But after that a other guy came up and welcomed us. And surprisingly after about a half hour in the room, which felt very long when it was about 35 Celsius in the room, a police women came up and spoke very long about regulations and laws…. Typical china many laws and regulation, although not so many follows them, the most interesting regulation was that we should not swim in the ocean. When he said that all western guys started to whispering , this made the police women repeat it all over again. And the guy after the police women also repeated this “don´t swim in the ocean, its very dangerous”.
The classes is also very different compared to what I´m used to, here we are pronouncing the words all together which making me feel that I´m back in the first grade when practice English. Although I think its good for me to get the right tones in the beginning, it feels that I also should learn some more words so I can understand what the restaurant people are gagling about when I try to order food.

As I meantion before there is not going to be much food made in my kitchen, but its still nice to have one, because now I can make “Palt” and other things that I soon will miss…

They say the traffic in china is horrible, but even if they uses all carlanes when they drive its actual goes so slow that I never seen the speed goes faster then 80km/h.

Now I will go and play some football, but I also uploading some picture from our listening class. She was asking what we had done this weekend and most of us had went to this so called beach party, and she said that next time we went out we should take her with us, when is that happend in Sweden, that the teacher invite herself/himself to a party ?
Listening Class

Party Weekend!

This weekend have been all about party! At first me, Joe (american), Diedirik (Dutch) and Yerkin (Kazakstan) went out for some beer and barbeque and after go to some nightclub. There are many clubs here in Xiamen, but the problem is to know where to go to. There are many "china-style" clubs with only tables and loud music and no dancfloor. Those are not so good usually but are for people that have´nt tried them a experience. We when in there but realized that a beer was 40 kui and water 10.. Quite far from our budget, altought its luckey there is supermarket outside so you can go outside and have a beer. They also had barbeque so I think I eat at least four times that evening :)

Yesterday there where a supposed beach party, in the begining it was a real disappointment, because of the lack of people and the fact that it was in a resturant. As I understod they had´nt the goverments permission to be at the beach, this due it going to be a big exhibition this week so they want the beach to be clean.

After a while people in the resturant started move from the table and when to the big dancefloor, not dancing , just standing and look at the stage. Some guys started dance but me and Diedirek decided to go outside for some beer. We bought some and took them into the resturant and just played cool. There where no reaction from the staff so we did this the hole time :) Altought the beer was´nt so expensive it was cheaper this way. The party really took off after a while, missfortune there where some breakdancer stealing the hole dance floors attantion for a while. We all got bored to see them dance so we moved a little bit from them and started dance, awsome!

Oh, actuall we meet our first racist chinese guy here in Xiamen. It was at friday night a real drunk guy said to us to fuck off and go home. I just said heard some chinese afterwards he said those worlds so I did´nt realy understood why he said it, but I still wanted to reply something so I said to him in chinese "so you can speak a little english" and afterwards just turned my back from him and walk away.

I have some photos from the beachparty, and also some from Diedireks balkony wich is awsome!!

Diedireks Balkony
Beach party

DinnerParty, lost cellphone and first day at school

The day after yesterday we where a bunch of guys that went out for some food and beer, just for celibrating that we had done the health check. It was awsome, we where totally 15 persons that where eating and drinking. The food was awsome and I think we where at the resturante at least for three houres. We drank loads of beer and I almost fell of my chair when I would pay, 27 kai!!! (For you guys that don´t know what a kui is it about 1kui = 1.05 SEK).

After that we where heading for the french guys apartment (a big one only about 100m from the beach) for continue the party. After a very dizzy night I ended waking up in my apartment without a cellphone, gah! Not again, its the third time I visiting China and this is the third time I lose it or break it. It never happends in Sweden.

I bought a new one, 320 kui, a okey Nokia :) A great one compared to my old, this has camera and all this new things as MMS and stuff.

Linking to some picture at the dinner/party:
Hugh dinner with loads of beer
And also some picture from my supermarket, where you really can buy fresh fish:
Supermarket