Signs of Spring

The impenetrable Shanghai permafrost is finally thawing and the final flurry's of winter weather are gradually subsiding to reveal a sumptuous spring.

Some homemade dumplings, one of the many perks of having a Chinese girlfriend that loves to cook. I'm using this blog to test drive my new camera (Lumix LX7) a replacement for the one that was removed from my rucksack about six months ago - I'm pretty happy with it thus far.

Deciding to make the most of a sunny Sunday afternoon we went to visit a nearby construction site where they are in the midst of building an old Chinese town. Mingming couldn't resist spending an hour or so foraging in the undergrowth in search of tasty tidbits - I'm eating the fruits of her labour as I type this. 

A Veritable Concerto Of Thunderous Noise. . .

So, last week was the Shanghai F1 and I figured that I’d be a fool not to go and experience it. I’d never been to and F1 race before, and I have a tendency to push myself into trying new things. The tickets cost a pretty penny and it took over two hours to get to the Shanghai circuit from where I live, but it was worth it.

My boss, an F1 veteran, suggested grandstand H. I bought some tickets online through the popular Chinese website taobao – quite similar to eBay.I thought it pertinent to purchase ear-plugs given that there were scores of sellers littering the entrance. Turned out to be a wise move, the sound reverberation around grandstand H is somewhat deafening – so close to the action that you can feel the vibrations shake yer bones. . .

Met my boss and some of his friends at the circuit, got a lift back with his friends driver. Stopped for a swift pint in an English style pub (made me miss Blighty) and then got on the metro for the final leg of my journey.

I found the experience tiring, it’s mentally tasking keeping track of what is going on during the race – far more relaxing and informative to be sat in-front of the TV at home, but I’ll certainly do it again sometime.

Bangkok

Travelling from Koh Samui to Bangkok was an experience that I don't wish to repeat. Following New Years Eve there was a mass exodus from the islands and all forms of transport were fully booked. I managed to find, with the help of some very kind travel agents, an escape route. We knew from the off that it wouldn't be pretty, but we weren't quite prepared for the ugly journey that ensued. 

We took the ferry off the island and got on a coach heading for Surat Thani train station. Our desire to get off the islands was due in part to the miserable weather that we had been experiencing; it had been raining heavily all day everyday for several days. . . The highways that we were on had flooded, I guess that the water was over a meter deep on some parts of the road, thankfully the coach somehow made it through;  but I wasn't looking forward to what I knew lay in store for us. . . 

Due to the shitty weather, and the dawn of a new year, fleeing tourists had bought-up all of the seats and sleepers on the train, our only option was to buy standing tickets for the 13 hour journey to Bangkok. I managed to get a hard seat, and hard it was. . . I spent several hours standing by the open doors 

Escaping Bangkok we went on a tour which took us to the bridge over the river Kwai. This is a modern bridge which I believe was built by the Japanese. 

After spending a night or two sleeping on a bamboo hotel and getting drunk with a bunch of Canadians, I went swimming with elephants. Quite an experience.

Rare photograph of me smiling, its doesn't happen often - I tend to gurn every-time a camera is pointed at me. Once on the elephant the keepers prod them so as to insight them to roll, all in an effort to get you wet.

Hell Fire Pass. I believe that prisoners of war were used to carve a path through this mountainous region so that a train track could be laid. Its difficult to get a sense of the scale from this single photo but I've included it because it shows an Englishman and his Australian wife, a lovely couple that I spend a day touring around with. 

Happy Happy Joy Joy. My friends and flat mates, couple from hell during the holiday - can't count the number of times they argued and 'split up'. Back together now and much more peaceful. 

Quite proud of this pic, I shot this at a tiger temple. Managed to catch the big cats playing and for once the camera cooperated and caught the action. 

Whilst waiting for our Vietnam visa's we signed up for a three day package tour - random tourist sights a few hours away from Bangkok. On the last day we visited a place with seven waterfalls. I ventured off by myself and headed towards lucky number seven, fortuitously number seven was the most beautiful of the lot. I had to put my camera into a dry-bag, swim through a pool and  scramble up some rocks to get there - but it was well-worth the effort. 

Koh San Road. It's notorious, purported to be hectic and CRAZY; to me it just seemed lively. I quite enjoyed the atmosphere, perhaps I've been in China too long. 

Koh Samui

After escaping the resorts of Koh Phangan we headed for the slightly more subdued Koh Samui. There isn’t a lot to do on Koh Samui so we rented some mopeds and drove around hunting entertainment. By chance we met a man ‘Mr Newie’ he’s a well-connected guy on the Island, he runs a snake show and is the announcer at Thai kickboxing fights. His shows had finished for the day but he told us where to go to see the boxing.

When we went to watch the kickboxing, we managed to get ringside seats.Not long after, Mr Newie arrived and took his seat which coincidentally was just in front of us. He remembered us and gave me a hand written discount voucher for his snake show. The boxing wasn’t great, quite a few young fighters and several women’s fights, but it was an experience none the less.

When we went looking for the snake show we stumbled upon a small temple which as it happens I had read about in one of the guidebooks. The temple itself wasn’t much to look at but inside there is a mummified monk in a glass cabinet. So you go up take a look at the mummy, sit down and this monk (a live one) chants, shakes your hand and ties a friendship bracelet around your wrist – dutifully we left a small donation.

The snake show was a strange experience. Mr Newie is more than a little crazy. . . and he has some unique catch phrases which he repeats quite frequently. During the show I held a scorpion and a couple of python. The snake handler kissed quite a few of his cobras and Newie suggested that members of the audience might want to try – offering a free taxi to the hospital if the snake bit you!

I didn’t kiss the snake. However that afternoon I did see a man eat a live scorpion and regurgitate it ten minutes later, while another guy pissed off a lot of snakes and deftly dodged their strikes.

After the snake show we went to go get our photo taken with a tiger. I love big cats, tigers are probably my favourite. When my mate Steve went to Thailand he had a picture taken of him spooning a tiger, I was rather envious and thought that I would try and equal or better him. Unfortunately the tiger place we went to was rather tame and the photo shoot was a clinical affair. I have some out of focus pics of me sitting with a tiger – the staff insist on using your camera to take the photos, they did a poor job of it. . . so I wont bother posting it. 

Thailand

This was, as far as I can recall, my first Christmas away from home.

We had spent a few days in Phuket drinking Mojito’s around the pool of a five star hotel and sleeping in a tent at the unrated resort next door; it doesn’t take long to become a Mojito connoisseur.

Christmas was looming and we didn’t plan on spending much time in Phuket, plus I had reserved several beech huts for the Christmas period on a remote beach at the north of Koh Phangan. It was a long bus ride and ferry trip from where to were staying to where we were going. Upon arrival we were met at the ferry port by the owners of the resort that I had booked us in to. It was dark and the meet-and-greet was an unexpected yet pleasant surprise. Eight people (with rucksacks) all piled into the pickup truck (5 in the back along with all the luggage) and set off for a bumpy ride along dirt track roads and through streams and fords that warranted an amphibian vehicle.

I knew that the beach was remote when I booked it, but it turned out that the owners of the resort had opened up just for us! We were the first guests of the season. It was nice to get away from it all and this place was ideal for relaxing, however, the weather wasn’t on our side. Christmas Eve the sky became overcast and the water level rose dramatically.

I woke up on Christmas Day to find the sea lapping underneath my hut. Some of the guests from other resorts started to flee, fearful of the sea. I picked up my book and sat on this swing for most of the day enjoying the dramatic scene and atmosphere. 

Later that day I climbed up the hill that was overlooking our resort (I say hill but it took an hour or so to climb - through some thick jungle) I like this photo because it captures some of the drama that was unfolding and gives a sense of the scale of the beach. 

The beach huts. Shuttered windows, double bed, mosquito net, toilet, electric socket, and a cold shower.

The electrical generator. I love the rusty roof and the jungle like surroundings - felt compelled to take a photo. Electricity was only on for a few hours each evening and there was no internet access - wonderfully remote!

Winter Holiday

So, working at a University has its perks such as long winter and summer holidays. In an effort to escape the incessant cold weather that Shanghai provides, I went to seek sunnier climes in other parts of South-East Asia.

The winter break started just before Christmas and lasts until late February. I’m now back in Shanghai and it’s still bloody cold, but it is becoming tolerable. I’ve somehow mustered the energy to sift and sort through the photographs that I took whilst on my travels and shall get posting some select choices shortly.

This is a picture that I took in Hangzhou, China. I spent a day here while waiting for a flight to Thailand. Hangzhou is described as a beautiful City with a plethora of idyllic lakes. It was bloody cold, shortly after taking this photo I retreated to the hostel I was staying at – which incidentally wasn't much warmer. . .   

Bally Qīpiàn

This weekend I was duped into taking part in a photo-shoot. I thought it might be a laugh and that there would be a bunch of us there, but shortly after my arrival I was (both to my horror and amusement) informed that I was 50% of the cast and that the setting was a romantic meal for two.

A little perplexed, and just slightly more awkward and self-conscious than usual, I dutifully took what was coming. Those of you that know me will be aware of just how uncomfortable I am when confronted with a camera – I can’t smile on cue, I’m generally sullen, so it’s frightfully apparent when I’m being urged to smile.

Anyway, I survived that ordeal and will be returning to the restaurant at some stage to collect my earnings – a free meal. Post shoot it as suggested that I go for a meal somewhere downtown Shanghai, “today has been pretty weird so far” I said to myself, "in for a penny in for a pound". . .
  

So I went downtown, still in my work clothes. I tend to dress quite smart for work – tailored shirt, trousers and coat, alongside my old brown brogues. Usually when going to central Shanghai I would expect to jump on the metro but this time I was being chauffer driven – I kid you not, that’s how these guys like to roll. As the plot unfolded it became apparent that I had unwittingly agreed to join my friend his family and their translator to go to the 160th anniversary party of Bally the Swiss fashion company. The party was bit of a damp squib, there was free champagne and an Asian film / model (who I happened to bump into in the lift) but apart from that it was all style and no content.  We left the real guests to enjoy the fashion show and I finally got to eat some food.

We regrouped after the meal and got back in the car and took a short detour around Pudong (which looks great when lit up at night) before heading towards an area known as the French Concession.  We picked up Ida (a magazine editor/fashion designer/model) on the way we then went straight to the nearest bar and devoured several rounds of drinks before changing  venue and spending  the rest of the night in ‘The Apartment’. At about 2 (quite early) we decided to call it a night and drive home to Songjiang. All-in-all it was an interesting day.