3 September 2012
Cool weather is cool
Today was much cooler than any other day since I arrived in China, and it was great.
This evening is my last night in Nanjing, tomorrow I go to Hangzhou which is sort of the other side of Shanghai. The train will actually go back through Shanghai to get there, but as far as I know I dont have to change trains, what could possibly go wrong?
Getting from the Hangzhou station to my hotel is according to google a 5.2km walk, with my bags. I am a month early as the metro in Hangzhou opens on October 1. I remain determined to not use a taxi though!
If you did happen to visit China, you will most likely go to Shanghai, especially if you come from Australia. I strongly advise you to spend at least some of your time in Nanjing if thats the case. It is very easy to get to. Heres a few reasons why -
You will be the only western person you see, well not quite, I saw a big fat guy getting driven around in a Bentley.
There are no scammers at all looking for westerners to rob in the form of massage or watch sales.
There is a lot more history.
Theres a cool mountain, which I only scratched the surface of.
The food and shopping and transport is all just as convenient as Shanghai.
Its much nicer to walk around due to being cleaner with big trees everywhere.
You will have been to a place your friends probably dont know anything about. Which is a shame. Be more educated!
I dont need much encouragement to take photos of myself.
This is one of the temporary construction worker villages. You see them everywhere. They dont look too bad, you get to stay in the middle of the city for what I imagine is 'free', every hut seems to have its own air conditioner.
Its somewhat surprising that most of the shops in Nanjing are not the same as Shanghai. This is an electronics multi storey superstore very similar to those in Japan. Indeed the name is Japanese but I have not seen Yamada in Japan. Shanghai does not have this.
Similarly the convenience stores and supermarkets are different brands, as are the bubble tea stands, main noodle chains, hairdressers and tobacco stores.
China finally found a use for all the western style toilets they removed from Beijing after the olympics (its a real problem, look it up!). A toilet waiting area with real toilets!
I had to ninja this photo as it is actually a ladies toilet.
I am not afraid to photograph someone elses photo shoot. The little girl holding the balloons is taking this very seriously, barking orders at the model and the photographer.
My dinner. And officially a no noodle day, surprised? However once again what I ordered caused a drama, the other diners got up to look at what I was eating. The only thing I can think of is that I ordered off the lunch time menu and they decided it would be easier to just accommodate me than to tell me that I cant have it.
I noticed everyone else had only bowls of noodles.
Also I didnt order a drink, but got what I thought was a glass of coke, but turned out to be some sort of black sugar fake tasting juice, with added sugar. Its as if it was the syrup for making grape soda or similar. After I drank it I could see everything with a kind of strobe effect!
Perhaps this was my punishment for ordering off the lunch menu?
Its me, with a cool building and my extra large shorts. I have been wearing the same clothes for 3 days straight now. In fact ever since arriving in Nanjing.
I thought today might be the day for a new outfit but the cooler weather meant I could get another day out of this one! The laundromat is the enemy of the holiday, the only thing I hate more is taxi's. Both are admissions of failure!
Heres another way China is different to Australia. Taxpayers here get their own service hall. Where you get to hang out with the other taxpayers and tell stories about how much you have contributed to society whilst enjoying a tea and moon cake.
In Australia they have similar centres, but they are for the people who dont contribute at all to go and collect the money taken from me to waste on beer, smokes and gambling.
And before anyone says 'but you can afford holidays in foreign lands' let me point out my holiday costs LESS than the tax I would have paid from living in Australia for the same period.
I am quite serious! I save money whilst on holidays.
If you are worried about what you might eat if you come to Nanjing, because the prospect of eating a bowl of no idea floating in god knows what terrifies you, fear not! There are these stores all over that sell only imported things like breakfast cereal and chocolate and peanut butter and whatever else nucular families seem to need.
Dont worry, I am well aware that I am an arrogant asshole!