Sunday, September 09, 2007
Sunday, August 12, 2007
France...
Well, that's it. We've left China behind us, thousands of miles away.
Somewhere, people are still eating noodles, carrying heavy loads, enjoying a cigarette playing cards or Mah Jong and some others are studying and teaching french.
All this while we are sipping a cup of coffee, eating croissants and pains au chocolat.
We've been lucky on the way back. Very lucky.
Since the last post, we've been to WudangShan, where we've met a very interesting french man, Marc, we discovered him through his blog and our landlady knew him so we decided to contact him. We met up for a dinner and then he decided to come with us to WudangShan to show us around. He knows the place very well...
Here's his blog, it's a very interesting and peculiar life you will discover if you take the time to scroll through his posts:
http://a-mon-ange-gardien.over-blog.com/
Then, we went back to Wuhan, and we stayed at a friend's house-Isabelle.
She welcomed us incredibly well and we really felt at home, that was a really great way to spend these last days in China and pack our luggage.
We then sent another 10Kg to France and we were ready for departure.
The whole trip went fine, they didn't open our bags, didn't complain about the overweight luggage and, obviously, our plane didn't crash. The only thing was when Lena wanted to leave Wuhan, they looked at her passport very carefully and they didn't seem to believe that she was a teacher. They made us wait for about 20 minutes until everything was cleared.
Probably thought she was from Xinjiang again!
Ok...
And now we're in my teenage room, crawling under all the boxes I have collected all these years... I'll try to put some order in my pics so we can keep this blog going for a while...And then we'll decide what to do with it.
Ok, see you....
ORElLena
Somewhere, people are still eating noodles, carrying heavy loads, enjoying a cigarette playing cards or Mah Jong and some others are studying and teaching french.
All this while we are sipping a cup of coffee, eating croissants and pains au chocolat.
We've been lucky on the way back. Very lucky.
Since the last post, we've been to WudangShan, where we've met a very interesting french man, Marc, we discovered him through his blog and our landlady knew him so we decided to contact him. We met up for a dinner and then he decided to come with us to WudangShan to show us around. He knows the place very well...
Here's his blog, it's a very interesting and peculiar life you will discover if you take the time to scroll through his posts:
http://a-mon-ange-gardien.over-blog.com/
Then, we went back to Wuhan, and we stayed at a friend's house-Isabelle.
She welcomed us incredibly well and we really felt at home, that was a really great way to spend these last days in China and pack our luggage.
We then sent another 10Kg to France and we were ready for departure.
The whole trip went fine, they didn't open our bags, didn't complain about the overweight luggage and, obviously, our plane didn't crash. The only thing was when Lena wanted to leave Wuhan, they looked at her passport very carefully and they didn't seem to believe that she was a teacher. They made us wait for about 20 minutes until everything was cleared.
Probably thought she was from Xinjiang again!
Ok...
And now we're in my teenage room, crawling under all the boxes I have collected all these years... I'll try to put some order in my pics so we can keep this blog going for a while...And then we'll decide what to do with it.
Ok, see you....
ORElLena
Sunday, July 29, 2007
KanDing and TaGong
Here I am, sitting in the little courtyard of the Loft Hostel in Chengdu, enjoying the wi-fi internet connection.
It's early morning and the air is still fresh and i can hear birds singing...Chinese life rumouring along the streets.
So, we are back in Chengdu after a few days trip to Sichuanese Tibet, ''the kingdom of Kham'' and I realize how much addicted I became to Internet.
So, we've been to LeShan to see the Great Buddha, KanDing (8 hours by bus from Chengdu) and then to the small town of TaGong (another 4 hours bus ride from KanDing).
That's quite a lot of bus and quite a few thrills if you consider the mountain roads and add to that the impressive way of driving that chinese and tibetans affectionate.
But we did alright and we are both alive today.
That little trip was very nice, the great Buddha is very impressive and landscapes were amazing, a mix of jungle, mountain and steppes. Yes, all that was really great.
But then something strange seems to have happened both to Lena and I. We grew bizarrely insensitive to all this.
We visit places, meet people, smile, eat and take pictures but no big emotion was actually overwhelming us.
I can't really say why this feels like it does.
Lena thinks maybe it's because we've done trips to similar areas before.
I wondered if it was because it was all really crowded with tourists and my adventurous ego wasn't happy with it.
Or if knowing that we are leaving China soon for good was somehow disconnecting me from it, so it wouldn't hurt as much. I don't know.
Did any of you ever feel something like that? Do you see what i mean?
....
KanDing is a pretty town surrounded by mountains and it was great to stroll its streets and breathe the fresh air, eat tibetan food and drink their delicious heated local barley wine.
A real pleasure. There, we stayed in the Black Tents Guesthouse, a pretty hostel in the centre.
The population is pretty mixed but you already feel that you are in Tibet and it all feels really good. They also have a wonderful monastery there.
On a morning walk alone, I met a 26 y.o. Lama who invited me to sit with him and then he took me to his room to offer me some Yak milk tea. He was one of the three teachers of a small monastery. He told me he studied 3 years in Tibet. That was a really special moment and i am very happy of having met him although our conversation was very limited.
Many tourists have had similar experiences, Lamas are apparently very open and hospitable.
TaGong is an even smaller town, at 3700m above sea level-the same as Lhassa-it really is a very pretty town. Khampa houses are made of stone and have many storeys, they are really beautiful.
The whole place feels incredibly much like the Far-West you see in Westerns.
All men wear hats, they have their large knives hanging at their belt, the wind blows and they ride horses or motorcycles.
People are friendly and will easily smile to you to show you their collection of golden teeth.
Women wear an incredible array of jewels and all have their hair tied in some beautiful way.
Striking similarities can be found between these tibetans (Khampas) and Mongols and, oddly enough, with Peruvians (at least from those I saw in some movies).
A wonderful thing to notice as well, is that many of them, including younger girls still wear traditionnal clothes and hairstyles, even though they have mobile phones in their pockets.
Of course, we were told they wear them less and less but still it was much more obvious than in other places we've been.
I mean, in Mongolia, many still wear traditionnal clothes, but most would wear their heavy hair jewellery only in festivals and celebrations, or you would see them in Museums.
But here, they wore them everyday. A real exhibition of colours and jewellery.
Speaking of festival, we've been pretty lucky in TaGong because we arrived just the day before a buddhist festival happening in their beautiful temple.
That's a 3 day festival but we just stayed for the 2 first days, we were really hit by the cold and under equipped since we had already sent all our winter clothes back to France-so we had to get back.
That festival is organized by Lamas and is happening every year. It's meant to teach or remind people of the various deities of buddhism, scare the kids and entertain the crowds, who bring their own benches to the festival, eat and drink their fill during these 6 hours shows.
Ok, i have written a lot already, my stomach is begging me to bring him some breakfast so i guess I'd better go now. I'll try to put some photographs in these days so you see what I'm talking about.
- - -
Friends, if you read this, we'd love to have a comment or a short mail just to let us know you read this blog once in a while, so I know i don't just write it for oblivion. Thanks ; )
It's early morning and the air is still fresh and i can hear birds singing...Chinese life rumouring along the streets.
So, we are back in Chengdu after a few days trip to Sichuanese Tibet, ''the kingdom of Kham'' and I realize how much addicted I became to Internet.
So, we've been to LeShan to see the Great Buddha, KanDing (8 hours by bus from Chengdu) and then to the small town of TaGong (another 4 hours bus ride from KanDing).
That's quite a lot of bus and quite a few thrills if you consider the mountain roads and add to that the impressive way of driving that chinese and tibetans affectionate.
But we did alright and we are both alive today.
That little trip was very nice, the great Buddha is very impressive and landscapes were amazing, a mix of jungle, mountain and steppes. Yes, all that was really great.
But then something strange seems to have happened both to Lena and I. We grew bizarrely insensitive to all this.
We visit places, meet people, smile, eat and take pictures but no big emotion was actually overwhelming us.
I can't really say why this feels like it does.
Lena thinks maybe it's because we've done trips to similar areas before.
I wondered if it was because it was all really crowded with tourists and my adventurous ego wasn't happy with it.
Or if knowing that we are leaving China soon for good was somehow disconnecting me from it, so it wouldn't hurt as much. I don't know.
Did any of you ever feel something like that? Do you see what i mean?
....
KanDing is a pretty town surrounded by mountains and it was great to stroll its streets and breathe the fresh air, eat tibetan food and drink their delicious heated local barley wine.
A real pleasure. There, we stayed in the Black Tents Guesthouse, a pretty hostel in the centre.
The population is pretty mixed but you already feel that you are in Tibet and it all feels really good. They also have a wonderful monastery there.
On a morning walk alone, I met a 26 y.o. Lama who invited me to sit with him and then he took me to his room to offer me some Yak milk tea. He was one of the three teachers of a small monastery. He told me he studied 3 years in Tibet. That was a really special moment and i am very happy of having met him although our conversation was very limited.
Many tourists have had similar experiences, Lamas are apparently very open and hospitable.
TaGong is an even smaller town, at 3700m above sea level-the same as Lhassa-it really is a very pretty town. Khampa houses are made of stone and have many storeys, they are really beautiful.
The whole place feels incredibly much like the Far-West you see in Westerns.
All men wear hats, they have their large knives hanging at their belt, the wind blows and they ride horses or motorcycles.
People are friendly and will easily smile to you to show you their collection of golden teeth.
Women wear an incredible array of jewels and all have their hair tied in some beautiful way.
Striking similarities can be found between these tibetans (Khampas) and Mongols and, oddly enough, with Peruvians (at least from those I saw in some movies).
A wonderful thing to notice as well, is that many of them, including younger girls still wear traditionnal clothes and hairstyles, even though they have mobile phones in their pockets.
Of course, we were told they wear them less and less but still it was much more obvious than in other places we've been.
I mean, in Mongolia, many still wear traditionnal clothes, but most would wear their heavy hair jewellery only in festivals and celebrations, or you would see them in Museums.
But here, they wore them everyday. A real exhibition of colours and jewellery.
Speaking of festival, we've been pretty lucky in TaGong because we arrived just the day before a buddhist festival happening in their beautiful temple.
That's a 3 day festival but we just stayed for the 2 first days, we were really hit by the cold and under equipped since we had already sent all our winter clothes back to France-so we had to get back.
That festival is organized by Lamas and is happening every year. It's meant to teach or remind people of the various deities of buddhism, scare the kids and entertain the crowds, who bring their own benches to the festival, eat and drink their fill during these 6 hours shows.
Ok, i have written a lot already, my stomach is begging me to bring him some breakfast so i guess I'd better go now. I'll try to put some photographs in these days so you see what I'm talking about.
- - -
Friends, if you read this, we'd love to have a comment or a short mail just to let us know you read this blog once in a while, so I know i don't just write it for oblivion. Thanks ; )
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Friday, July 20, 2007
Our arival in Chongqing...
I am too tired now to write about our trip so far and we are waking up early tomorrow to go and see the pandas near Chengdu. But here are some pictures to keep you waiting, that's ftom our arrival by boat to Chongqing, under a terrible storm...
There's more to come!
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Chômage! On a roll...
Voilà, j'ai reçu hier ma dernière paie pour mon travail de prof de fle à l'AF de Wuhan...
Ce qui signifie que je suis maintenant officiellement au chômage... ; (
Cela marque aussi la fin de deux semaines en apnée passée entre cours, déménagements et montage de mon documentaire sur les Ombres Chinoises à YunMeng (réalisé avec Cédric).
Le montage continue même si vu le peu de temps qu'il nous reste à Wuhan, il sera probablement terminé en France... Nous en sommes aujourd'hui à 6 minutes et il nous reste à rajouter une bonne dizaine de muinutes.
La soeur de Léna, Lili (photo) est venue nous rendre visite lors de notre dernière semaine en Chine et elles ont été bien occupées aussi...
Le programme:
Nous quittons l'appartement gracieusement prêté par nos amis Laure et Ludwig après-demain pour l'inconnu et nous quitterons Wuhan le 15 Juillet après la récéption du 14 Juillet donnée par le Consulat... Puis vacances vers des lieux encore non décidés jusqu'à mi-Août...qui marquera notre retour en France!
Thursday, June 28, 2007
After a long absence from the blog...
Hello everyone,
we know we've been really absent for a long time but for once, it's not that much that we've been doing nothing, but rather that we were VERY busy.
I've had a lot of work, I've finally made my first exhibition of photographs, as well as arranging the second exhibition of student's photographs.
Besides, I am currently working on a documentary about chinese shadow theater and that is a huge work, that takes me and my colleague an uncountable amount of time and hair loss.
Technology and editing programs are not always easy to handle when you're working on a new machine.
We've also had the chance to have a very good friend visiting us for the last 2 weeks and she just left a few hours ago.
Right now, we're in the middle of our boxes... Yes, the time has finally come to leave this great apartment. We're going to live for 2 weeks at a friends'apartment from saturday and...after these two weeks, I will be off contract and we'll try to visit some of china before heading back to...France.
Yes, folks, our chinese odyssey is approaching its term.
We'll try to keep you informed before it's completely over.
Love to all of you,
ORElena
we know we've been really absent for a long time but for once, it's not that much that we've been doing nothing, but rather that we were VERY busy.
I've had a lot of work, I've finally made my first exhibition of photographs, as well as arranging the second exhibition of student's photographs.
Besides, I am currently working on a documentary about chinese shadow theater and that is a huge work, that takes me and my colleague an uncountable amount of time and hair loss.
Technology and editing programs are not always easy to handle when you're working on a new machine.
We've also had the chance to have a very good friend visiting us for the last 2 weeks and she just left a few hours ago.
Right now, we're in the middle of our boxes... Yes, the time has finally come to leave this great apartment. We're going to live for 2 weeks at a friends'apartment from saturday and...after these two weeks, I will be off contract and we'll try to visit some of china before heading back to...France.
Yes, folks, our chinese odyssey is approaching its term.
We'll try to keep you informed before it's completely over.
Love to all of you,
ORElena
Thursday, May 24, 2007
To our dear teacher:
I think still remember that day the peasant workers closed the doors of teaching building. that is because of our school leaders haven't paid their wages in time.* I don't know how did you think about it. In addition, the refuse is thrown everywhere, the people spit randomly. Our English are so poor. You are so hold conversing with us... I think all these things are out of your expectation. I don't know how would these things being impact on such a girl teaching abroad. I'm sure that you would become appointed to us, our scool, even China pn these reasons.
Even though I still pray that you don't lose belief of us, our scool, our country. Please believe me. We can study English better and better. We will do our best on everything.
You are good teacher. How beautiful and kind you are. Thank you for teaching us so well, we hope you'll have a very nice time in China.
*Workers building a library of the college were on strike(they closed all doors of the main building), as they hadn't been paid for 6months. Looking for a way out I met this student and his friend who showed me a "secret door". A week after this incident he wrote me this letter. I post it as it was written.
Even though I still pray that you don't lose belief of us, our scool, our country. Please believe me. We can study English better and better. We will do our best on everything.
You are good teacher. How beautiful and kind you are. Thank you for teaching us so well, we hope you'll have a very nice time in China.
From your students.
(Please excuse me if I made some grammar mistakes)*Workers building a library of the college were on strike(they closed all doors of the main building), as they hadn't been paid for 6months. Looking for a way out I met this student and his friend who showed me a "secret door". A week after this incident he wrote me this letter. I post it as it was written.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Weekend in Xi'an,Shaanxi Province
This weekend we went to Xi'an, a city with a history of more than 3000years. It was an eastern starting point of Silk Road, this explains the presence of so many muslims in this city. There is a whole Islamic street with huge restaurants, snacks, shops. A visit to a chinese mosque was quite surprising: the architecture and writings being chinese and having nothing to do with mosques we've seen in Morocco for example.
Xi'an is a beautiful city, worth visiting. There are streets in ancient style, city walls from Ming dynasty(one of the few left in China), and the Drum and the Bell Towers. - In China almost every place of visit has been rebuilt some years ago (communists destroyed what they could), the government now develops tourism all over China and they go back to their history and start to exploit the fact that they had a rich culture and civilisation. They do it really well! And get lots of money for it.-
In one hour from Xi'an there is the Army of Terracota Warriors, which is a part of funeral objects of Emperor Qin Shi Huang's mausoleum. Not one warrior is the same, moreover, the soldiers have different ranks, clothes according to their rank, some of them hold weapons and some don't. There are also chariots and charioteers and 2 types of horses: those drawing chariots and those for riding.
The sight is really amazing and impressive!
To get back to Wuhan we had to take a sleeper bus as no train tickets were left. It took us 13hours and on Monday morning we were inWuhan ready to go to work.
OreLENA.
Xi'an is a beautiful city, worth visiting. There are streets in ancient style, city walls from Ming dynasty(one of the few left in China), and the Drum and the Bell Towers. - In China almost every place of visit has been rebuilt some years ago (communists destroyed what they could), the government now develops tourism all over China and they go back to their history and start to exploit the fact that they had a rich culture and civilisation. They do it really well! And get lots of money for it.-
In one hour from Xi'an there is the Army of Terracota Warriors, which is a part of funeral objects of Emperor Qin Shi Huang's mausoleum. Not one warrior is the same, moreover, the soldiers have different ranks, clothes according to their rank, some of them hold weapons and some don't. There are also chariots and charioteers and 2 types of horses: those drawing chariots and those for riding.
The sight is really amazing and impressive!
To get back to Wuhan we had to take a sleeper bus as no train tickets were left. It took us 13hours and on Monday morning we were inWuhan ready to go to work.
OreLENA.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Back in Wuhan
Well, we are now back in Wuhan, back to work...
I really am pretty busy and I think the way till the Summer break is going to be really tiring.
As you know, France has chosen its new President. That got me depressed for the week but I am now trying not to think too much about it. After all, french knew who they were voting for, now they'll get what they deserve.
France has chosen to send its principles into the shadows of the past, let it be.
La France ressemble de plus en plus à une chimère...
So long!
ORELena
I really am pretty busy and I think the way till the Summer break is going to be really tiring.
As you know, France has chosen its new President. That got me depressed for the week but I am now trying not to think too much about it. After all, french knew who they were voting for, now they'll get what they deserve.
France has chosen to send its principles into the shadows of the past, let it be.
La France ressemble de plus en plus à une chimère...
So long!
ORELena
Saturday, May 05, 2007
Hangzhou-Tea Museum
Unfortunately, clouds are now covering the skies of Hangzhou and it's been raing so we canceled the plans to move to a nearby city and we decided to visit some museums and do some shopping.
We are leaving tonight at 23:00 for Wuhan, so we still have a day in Hangzhou.
Yesterday, we have visited the Chinese National Tea Museum, the only chinese museum dedicated to tea.
It's located a little outside of the city, in the middle of the surrounding hills, circled by tea fields.
A really beautiful area. The Museum was nearly desert and that's a shame because that really was a pretty museum. It shows the history of Tea and many ustensils and tea wares from different periods.
The entrance of the museum
A view from the museum
A glass of Long Jing Tea, the famous tea from Zhejiang Province.
We are leaving tonight at 23:00 for Wuhan, so we still have a day in Hangzhou.
Yesterday, we have visited the Chinese National Tea Museum, the only chinese museum dedicated to tea.
It's located a little outside of the city, in the middle of the surrounding hills, circled by tea fields.
A really beautiful area. The Museum was nearly desert and that's a shame because that really was a pretty museum. It shows the history of Tea and many ustensils and tea wares from different periods.
The entrance of the museum
A view from the museum
A glass of Long Jing Tea, the famous tea from Zhejiang Province.
Friday, May 04, 2007
Hangzhou-West lake
I made some research on the West Lake, so famous in China. Here are some citations of what I have found.
From Wikipedia:
"West Lake (Chinese: 西湖; pinyin: Xī Hú) is a famous fresh water lake located in central Hangzhou, in Zhejiang province of eastern China.
The lake is divided by three causeways called Su Di (苏堤) , Bai Di (白堤), and Yanggong Di (杨公堤).
The name "West Lake" (Xi Hu) is also used by a large number of lakes in China and surrounding countries (with 800 West Lakes in China according to Lonely Planet). However, the lake in Hangzhou is the most famous of these, and the terms "West Lake" and "Xi Hu" generally refers to this lake.
The West Lake is said to be the incarnation of Xi Shi, one of the Four Beauties of ancient China. Hence, since ancient times, the West Lake was associated with a large number of romatic poets, profound philosophers, national heroes and heroines."
It' s a really beautiful place, well done and taken care of. The Chinese did a good job restoring historical places destroyed by communists during the Cultural Revolution. Now this place attracts more than 20million tourists a year!
During May Day holidays this place is crazy. So many chinese-surprisingly?- everywhere!!! Hotels are full, taxis busy, traffic jams everywhere. On the lake people walk in a line, otherwise it's a mess. That's when you realise that there are 1,3 billion Chinese on this planet.
Enjoy the pictures,
OreLENA.
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Hangzhou
So, today was our first day in Hangzhou!
The first thing to say is that it's terribly touristic...Every street is overcrowded and taking a cab or a bus won't really get you anywhere faster than your feet would. Kind of.
But enough said about the things we didn't like about Hangzhou: the weather was glorious, nearly too hot to be honest, and the XIHU (West Lake) really deserves his reputation. That's a very lovely lake, extremely well taken care of and beautified and arranged by the city for tourism.
You could probably spend 2 days to walk all around the lake and see all there's to see.
We'll try to upload some pictures a little later on (by the way, did you notice i added pictures to the Shanghai posts?).
Right now we are sitting in a very cool Cafe called Fotoyard Cafe, it's a cafe-photo gallery. A really nice one with very talented chinese photographers.
They even have a website you may want to check out:
http://www.fotoyard.net/photoshow_english/Findex.asp
OK, I'll just leave you now and join Lena in her degustation of Nepal Black Tea... ; )
ORElena
The first thing to say is that it's terribly touristic...Every street is overcrowded and taking a cab or a bus won't really get you anywhere faster than your feet would. Kind of.
But enough said about the things we didn't like about Hangzhou: the weather was glorious, nearly too hot to be honest, and the XIHU (West Lake) really deserves his reputation. That's a very lovely lake, extremely well taken care of and beautified and arranged by the city for tourism.
You could probably spend 2 days to walk all around the lake and see all there's to see.
We'll try to upload some pictures a little later on (by the way, did you notice i added pictures to the Shanghai posts?).
Right now we are sitting in a very cool Cafe called Fotoyard Cafe, it's a cafe-photo gallery. A really nice one with very talented chinese photographers.
They even have a website you may want to check out:
http://www.fotoyard.net/photoshow_english/Findex.asp
OK, I'll just leave you now and join Lena in her degustation of Nepal Black Tea... ; )
ORElena
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Arrived in Hangzhou!
Yep, we're in Hangzhou, all right!
Well, we can't say we've seen a lot of the city since we actually arrived around 6pm, it was already nearly dark and then it took us more than two hours to find a hotel with rooms available.
Yes, we didn't book ahead and sincerely regret it now. We are again in a Motel 168, which is actually a pretty good chain of affordable hotels, but the one of Hangzhou is really far from the city center... So we're already thinking of moving to another hotel tomorrow.
Ok, at least we have internet in the room so I just post this little message and will try to update some pictures.
Tonight, we had a nice dinner in a nearby restaurant:
-Water chestnuts with green chilis and bacon
-Chili beef
-Vegetable Spring Rolls
and some herbs we have no idea about their names.
We also had 2 local ''beers'' which were very rightfully called ''LIGHT'' beers...
They're the first beers i ever drank that have actually even less than 2 degrees of alcohol!
It really felt like bubbly water but was kind refresing, it's called XIHU, (west lake), in case you're interested.
OK, now I have to keep searching for another hotel so I'll leave you for now!
Stay tuned!
ORELena
Well, we can't say we've seen a lot of the city since we actually arrived around 6pm, it was already nearly dark and then it took us more than two hours to find a hotel with rooms available.
Yes, we didn't book ahead and sincerely regret it now. We are again in a Motel 168, which is actually a pretty good chain of affordable hotels, but the one of Hangzhou is really far from the city center... So we're already thinking of moving to another hotel tomorrow.
Ok, at least we have internet in the room so I just post this little message and will try to update some pictures.
Tonight, we had a nice dinner in a nearby restaurant:
-Water chestnuts with green chilis and bacon
-Chili beef
-Vegetable Spring Rolls
and some herbs we have no idea about their names.
We also had 2 local ''beers'' which were very rightfully called ''LIGHT'' beers...
They're the first beers i ever drank that have actually even less than 2 degrees of alcohol!
It really felt like bubbly water but was kind refresing, it's called XIHU, (west lake), in case you're interested.
OK, now I have to keep searching for another hotel so I'll leave you for now!
Stay tuned!
ORELena
Shanghai3
Yesterday was a day basically spent arranging the rest of our holidays. We bought tickets to go to Hangzhou (Zhejiang), that is suposed to be a beautiful city not very far from Shanghai.
Then we changed hotel, this one doesn't have internet unfortunately, and then we decided to treat ourselves and go eat some real good food.
We started with a really good and unexpensive Japanese restaurant (Ebi Sushi) and then in the evening we walked along Nanjing Lu all the way to the Bund... That was all extremely crowded and that gave us a real taste of the Shanghai we had imagined. Crowded streets full of huge neon signs, advertising screens, restaurants, bars, shopping malls and things like that.
This morning, we'll leave the hotel and then go take a train for Hangzhou at 2pm.
We'll try to post something from there but of course it all depends on us finding a hotel with an internet connection.
Have anice day!
ORELena
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Shanghai Museum
Well, I've just lost a looong message I had written about yesterday and our visit to the great and very modern Shanghai Museum, so I am really upset and I won't write it all again right now.
What I said was basically that:
-Shanghai Historical Museum is very well arranged, classy and very well lit.
-The collections are rich and interesting with plenty of explanations in english.
-You can have a look at their website:
http://www.shanghaimuseum.net/en/index.asp
-Chinese school kids visiting the museum were a real pain. They're spoilt, noisy, rude and nobody ever dare say anything to them. They used the museum as a crazy playground.
-We visited the Old Town and the Antiquaries market.
Amazing contrasts, nearly destroyed houses and poverty being juxtaposed to the skyline of the skyscrapers...Pretty impressive.
-Last night we went to Xintiendi, a really popular block with all the fashionable bars, restaurants and shops for foreigners and chinese who have too much money in their pockets. Pretty and fun but a little too expensive for our wallets.
-We don't know what we'll be doing today, nor where we'll be going but will probably stay in Shangai another day because we havent booked tickets yet.
Ok, see you soon!
ORElena
PS: I just got Segolene Royal's letter to the French Abroad and it's definitely more touching than the one Sarkozy sent some days ago.
And she even talks about ecology!
Crossing fingers 'till sunday...
What I said was basically that:
-Shanghai Historical Museum is very well arranged, classy and very well lit.
-The collections are rich and interesting with plenty of explanations in english.
-You can have a look at their website:
http://www.shanghaimuseum.net/en/index.asp
-Chinese school kids visiting the museum were a real pain. They're spoilt, noisy, rude and nobody ever dare say anything to them. They used the museum as a crazy playground.
-We visited the Old Town and the Antiquaries market.
Amazing contrasts, nearly destroyed houses and poverty being juxtaposed to the skyline of the skyscrapers...Pretty impressive.
-Last night we went to Xintiendi, a really popular block with all the fashionable bars, restaurants and shops for foreigners and chinese who have too much money in their pockets. Pretty and fun but a little too expensive for our wallets.
-We don't know what we'll be doing today, nor where we'll be going but will probably stay in Shangai another day because we havent booked tickets yet.
Ok, see you soon!
ORElena
PS: I just got Segolene Royal's letter to the French Abroad and it's definitely more touching than the one Sarkozy sent some days ago.
And she even talks about ecology!
Crossing fingers 'till sunday...
Monday, April 30, 2007
Shanghai
So we arrived in Shanghai and spent the first night at the house of some friends who could host us for a day. They really had a amazing appartment in a high tower...Pretty impressive.
The city is incredibly westernized and modern. There are foreigners everywhere and many places actually speak some english, that's really another side of China, especially when compared with Wuhan.
On the first day we went to see some skyscrapers and a really great Aquarium and the second day we had a walk on the Bund and crossed the River in a Sightseeing Tunnel, pretty funny but quite expensive for such a small ride.
We are a little unlucky with the weather since it's been pretty rainy all day but it gives Shanghai a little of a romantic feeling, somehow.
Ok, i have to go now, we'll try to visit the Shanghai museum this morning.
See you later!
ORElena
If you look carefully, you may be able to see a Zeppelin, near the sky scraper on the right...
This is the...ceiling?? of a cafe inside of a skyscraper!
The city is incredibly westernized and modern. There are foreigners everywhere and many places actually speak some english, that's really another side of China, especially when compared with Wuhan.
On the first day we went to see some skyscrapers and a really great Aquarium and the second day we had a walk on the Bund and crossed the River in a Sightseeing Tunnel, pretty funny but quite expensive for such a small ride.
We are a little unlucky with the weather since it's been pretty rainy all day but it gives Shanghai a little of a romantic feeling, somehow.
Ok, i have to go now, we'll try to visit the Shanghai museum this morning.
See you later!
ORElena
If you look carefully, you may be able to see a Zeppelin, near the sky scraper on the right...
This is the...ceiling?? of a cafe inside of a skyscraper!
Sunday, April 29, 2007
(We're back!) On the train
We're now in the train for Shanghai, an hour or two before arrival. This is the first time I actually use a computer in a train and that sure feels weird to be able to type and write nearly anywhere. (For those who don't know, I am now the proud owner of a black MacBook!)
I hope this will actually change some things and maybe make us post more?
We've been absent from the blog for a really long time and we've been really busy working. For some reason, I've been and am still constantly exhausted. Maybe because of the season, i don't know. The weather changes very fast and we go from pleasantly hot days to rainy and cold days.
Anyway...
I've bought a second hand bike, so I could ride to work everyday but it's been having problems with regular flat tyres and has now actually lost a pedal so it's actually spending more time in our living room than on the road.
---
Last sunday, French have been voting the first tour for their President. That includes me, having the chance to have a French Consulate in Hankou. That felt a little strange to go and vote for my country so far away from it and all the buzz that elections are creating.
This year, these elections are actually really important and worrysome. I really don't think I would like what Sarkozy would turn France into if he was elected. He is a dangerous man for freedom of expression and for equality between men... Unfortunately, it seems he is on good way to win these elections. I am not sure French are ready to vote massively for a woman, and especially one that hasn't been as careful in her words as some would have wanted...
Anyway, next Sunday we will know better.
---
Now we are heading to Shanghai for one week holidays, that will be nice to take break but I also want it to be really relaxing break, I need a rest.
Ok, that's all for today...
See you soon,
ORElena
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
PRIVATE MESSAGE to Ojitos Orelena from Adele Costillo
____________________________________________________________________________________Izzy to call me about how that. Debbie did terry please tell.
5GÏExcuse meL÷ªMg5sweeting!!dXFThis is6Ρ0Adele =]Better look over dinner was looking.
xwdBrian would understand the dragon
Rw7Ї⁄rØ ûK∏fΚäýo6þJu∞ÆçnDRIdVs2 ∅8Pyτkξo÷3œuqÈôriœË 1üòpN8LruëOoG⌊Sf½iψiDO8lÁÜEewá½ B¿²voCªiŠ¢1aè½" Ι9xfë8xa⊥¥¼c2LLev0ËbΝ2∗on9Ïog¾kkhï¹.dùe 3K»ĪUýs H∧5wáGya∉Q¸sÖBÇ ©úPe¿Ô4xWVQc0h«i28•t´èqeυe8d‹ã×!ÚYŒ hÌ∧YhÃ4oKk¨uR¥5'6μQrE⋅xedEÒ 98»cΘ⊥Lu¿85tË¿¨e2ΜT!Jake went inside the night. Smile as well he said
Öf3ĬTLë Iø2wW↵za4YfnapftXυu WÄ9ttÑ8oq¸p s¤ÒsKìchq1ºaæË8rΛ∑¦e®ë⇒ dØ⇔sŒ66o0Ú1mZ↓√eJÕϒ Ãzoh≅4çoc9Vt7l8 pEypu97h<0WoβXÍtG2co¿xósUÀ† Ø84wë8←iyÞ¥tWÌvhCRe îQey§Ato®µfuΗ1æ,f0î i½¡beESaC6£bTÌûerv2!Paige sighed and carol asked. Izzy for once more than ever
ℜχIGúýoÊVätoÆZ r39bÕ7ùi7MÜgNej U≅qb88Ëo9⊥voé∝⌉b70°smeí,42ø 0ÐDauÇÒnΗèrd∨D> ρìpa∴GD w7Ωbã4õi43pgዪ 1¼Œb3StuàUutÛLγtÌv⇒...Á∋B 74ea8±6n6Ψ1dûæ0 øξkχ71n8¶UoåP<w9Γn 5¼ah´U1oê7×wvN4 zuàtSm¯oUob ο§ΜunωIstVNet≤3 nÈutoˆÊh§Tje>ÔËmc99 Ξ79:ρ4l)Lot on his ankle and kept going. Carol had any questions about
k17Please god not that made. Jesus loves me out with one down
ûéWWhatever she pulled her because you more. Connor waited for sure he came back
êéûCé∇↑l74JiZNtcep÷k‘lz 3çDbºΩ’eTÙ6l06élZÁXo∠÷ÜwøGÌ 2Ψ6thdpo§íb Ø5¯v6qγi1⇔ℵeK®βwÏ¿q j9ßmmÂfyr2g Í5º(72m10Sëª)∇¦ó N¾ΠpÇ∩NrΚcTiqÂNvLýŠa³ÕPt»2Ke0S³ ØìÏpql⟨hî⁄¨oFnÐtGöCoüu4s0ƒ⌊:Another room is there was very long
http://Costillosvww.datingdear.xyz
Through the best thing that.
More rest before and went inside herself.
Both and helped himself with carol smiled. Can see why you both. What maddie but we went back.
Jake would understand that sounded in life. Okay maddie that could hear what. Song of time and izzy.
Him feel better go home. Called and found himself with us that. Abby went out there had never told. It would not even when they. Izzy would never thought it had stopped.
Family for me get married. Okay maddie hugged herself as they.
5GÏExcuse meL÷ªMg5sweeting!!dXFThis is6Ρ0Adele =]Better look over dinner was looking.
xwdBrian would understand the dragon
Rw7Ї⁄rØ ûK∏fΚäýo6þJu∞ÆçnDRIdVs2 ∅8Pyτkξo÷3œuqÈôriœË 1üòpN8LruëOoG⌊Sf½iψiDO8lÁÜEewá½ B¿²voCªiŠ¢1aè½" Ι9xfë8xa⊥¥¼c2LLev0ËbΝ2∗on9Ïog¾kkhï¹.dùe 3K»ĪUýs H∧5wáGya∉Q¸sÖBÇ ©úPe¿Ô4xWVQc0h«i28•t´èqeυe8d‹ã×!ÚYŒ hÌ∧YhÃ4oKk¨uR¥5'6μQrE⋅xedEÒ 98»cΘ⊥Lu¿85tË¿¨e2ΜT!Jake went inside the night. Smile as well he said
Öf3ĬTLë Iø2wW↵za4YfnapftXυu WÄ9ttÑ8oq¸p s¤ÒsKìchq1ºaæË8rΛ∑¦e®ë⇒ dØ⇔sŒ66o0Ú1mZ↓√eJÕϒ Ãzoh≅4çoc9Vt7l8 pEypu97h<0WoβXÍtG2co¿xósUÀ† Ø84wë8←iyÞ¥tWÌvhCRe îQey§Ato®µfuΗ1æ,f0î i½¡beESaC6£bTÌûerv2!Paige sighed and carol asked. Izzy for once more than ever
ℜχIGúýoÊVätoÆZ r39bÕ7ùi7MÜgNej U≅qb88Ëo9⊥voé∝⌉b70°smeí,42ø 0ÐDauÇÒnΗèrd∨D> ρìpa∴GD w7Ωbã4õi43pgዪ 1¼Œb3StuàUutÛLγtÌv⇒...Á∋B 74ea8±6n6Ψ1dûæ0 øξkχ71n8¶UoåP<w9Γn 5¼ah´U1oê7×wvN4 zuàtSm¯oUob ο§ΜunωIstVNet≤3 nÈutoˆÊh§Tje>ÔËmc99 Ξ79:ρ4l)Lot on his ankle and kept going. Carol had any questions about
k17Please god not that made. Jesus loves me out with one down
ûéWWhatever she pulled her because you more. Connor waited for sure he came back
êéûCé∇↑l74JiZNtcep÷k‘lz 3çDbºΩ’eTÙ6l06élZÁXo∠÷ÜwøGÌ 2Ψ6thdpo§íb Ø5¯v6qγi1⇔ℵeK®βwÏ¿q j9ßmmÂfyr2g Í5º(72m10Sëª)∇¦ó N¾ΠpÇ∩NrΚcTiqÂNvLýŠa³ÕPt»2Ke0S³ ØìÏpql⟨hî⁄¨oFnÐtGöCoüu4s0ƒ⌊:Another room is there was very long
http://Costillosvww.datingdear.xyz
Through the best thing that.
More rest before and went inside herself.
Both and helped himself with carol smiled. Can see why you both. What maddie but we went back.
Jake would understand that sounded in life. Okay maddie that could hear what. Song of time and izzy.
Him feel better go home. Called and found himself with us that. Abby went out there had never told. It would not even when they. Izzy would never thought it had stopped.
Family for me get married. Okay maddie hugged herself as they.
Saturday, March 31, 2007
PlantingTrees Day
Last Friday the Foreign Expert's Bureau of Hubei invited foreign teachers of the province to plant trees in the foreign expert's forest in Ezhou, Hubei. Ezhou has a long and rich history. In the Eastern Han dynasty, it was given the name of "E". Its administrative region was changed several times but the name stayed the same until the Three Kingdoms, it was made the capital of the Wu Kingdom by Sun Quan and was named Wuchang. Throughout China's history it has remained an important city politically, economically, and militarily with its strategic position along the middle part of the Yangtze River.(From Wikipedia).
Aurelien couldn't go, he was working. Me too but my classes were transferred to another day. There were 5 buses with foreigners accompanied by the government leaders and the police. It took us 90 minutes to get there. Then somebody from the government held a speech and opened a monument dedicated to the forest.
Each person was supposed to plant 5 trees. I did 4 but I also helped people from my school. We had fun! There I met a woman from Ukraine, she teaches Russian in Wuhan. I enjoyed speaking my language, it doesn't happen often now.
At 11.30 we were taken to one of the best restaurants of the city where we had good lunch!
oreLENA
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Fishing on the coast
Hello!
I just added a new gallery to my portfolio:
http://picasaweb.google.fr/Ojitos/FishingOnTheCoast
These are pictures taken on the Coast, near the city of Vinh; in Vietnam.
Hope you'll enjoy them!
I just added a new gallery to my portfolio:
http://picasaweb.google.fr/Ojitos/FishingOnTheCoast
These are pictures taken on the Coast, near the city of Vinh; in Vietnam.
Hope you'll enjoy them!
Monday, March 19, 2007
Along the Mekong...
Here are some pictures we took on our bike ride along the Mekong river, in Xishuang Banna.
This is from the road from Jinghing to Ganlanba (also known as Menghan)
This is from the road from Jinghing to Ganlanba (also known as Menghan)
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Jinghong-Pictures
Jinghong is a small city, which isn't so much in itself but it's located in XishuangBanna and is an easy spot to move around the region. It's very touristic (nearly too much, even) and is pretty mixed population-wise. There are many people looking Indian or Pakistanese...I can't really say since i didn't ask anyone. Everything is written both in chinese and in Laotian sunce it is not very far from the Laos border.
Lena practising with locals
One of the lakes in the city centre
Jinghong has a very beautiful botanical garden well woth the visit even though the entrance fee is really high. Go early if you want to have time to see it all and make the fee worth it!
Lena practising with locals
One of the lakes in the city centre
Jinghong has a very beautiful botanical garden well woth the visit even though the entrance fee is really high. Go early if you want to have time to see it all and make the fee worth it!
Pictures from the spring trip...
Since we started working again, we don't write so much, but here are some photographs to keep the blog going.
They are also meant to go with Lena's post...
Here is one of the twin pagodas in Kunming:
Some views from the Dragon gate hills...
On the cable car...
A beautiful temple, on the way to the Dragon gate:
They are also meant to go with Lena's post...
Here is one of the twin pagodas in Kunming:
Some views from the Dragon gate hills...
On the cable car...
A beautiful temple, on the way to the Dragon gate:
Thursday, March 08, 2007
More about Kunming
Aurelien has already started talking about Kunming. I want to add that it's really a very nice city. We spent there only three days, I would have loved to stay there longer...
One of these days we spent at Xi Shan (West Mountain), visited temples there and Dragon Gate (with its grottoes, pavilions). To get down we took a cable car, which was fun.
On Monday we had our visas for Vietnam and we started forJinghong, Xishuangbanna Region taking a sleeper bus.
We were in Jinghong in the morning, had our breakfast and found a hotel - 30 yuan one night (3 euros). It was very hot there, I had to buy sandals (which cost me 3 euros). I was enjoying fresh juices there, for a siberian girl it was a paradise! Banana, mango shakes, pineapple,dragon fruit, passion fruit juices. !!
One day we rent bicycles and went to Ganlanba, 28km away from Jinghong. After 3 hours of cycling around we finally found the road. Except for cars, buses, big trucks passing by, we were really enjoying the ride along the Mekong River, making stops to take pictures, eat and try fresh pineapple. For the first time in my life I saw how pineapples grow!
We were quite tired when we arrived to Ganlanba. Knowing that we can sleep and eat in a Dai Minority Park, we went there. It's a nice place but is not worth paying 50 yuan. After a short visit, we found a place to sleep – a traditional Dai house (which was not easy, as you don't see many people around, and those whom you see are not willing to talk so much).
One of these days we spent at Xi Shan (West Mountain), visited temples there and Dragon Gate (with its grottoes, pavilions). To get down we took a cable car, which was fun.
On Monday we had our visas for Vietnam and we started forJinghong, Xishuangbanna Region taking a sleeper bus.
We were in Jinghong in the morning, had our breakfast and found a hotel - 30 yuan one night (3 euros). It was very hot there, I had to buy sandals (which cost me 3 euros). I was enjoying fresh juices there, for a siberian girl it was a paradise! Banana, mango shakes, pineapple,dragon fruit, passion fruit juices. !!
One day we rent bicycles and went to Ganlanba, 28km away from Jinghong. After 3 hours of cycling around we finally found the road. Except for cars, buses, big trucks passing by, we were really enjoying the ride along the Mekong River, making stops to take pictures, eat and try fresh pineapple. For the first time in my life I saw how pineapples grow!
We were quite tired when we arrived to Ganlanba. Knowing that we can sleep and eat in a Dai Minority Park, we went there. It's a nice place but is not worth paying 50 yuan. After a short visit, we found a place to sleep – a traditional Dai house (which was not easy, as you don't see many people around, and those whom you see are not willing to talk so much).
We left the place as early as we could. We got back to Jinghong, had a good shower and went to discover local specialities, which were pineapple stuffed with rice, banana leaves, etc.
The other day we were leaving for Mengzi (16hours bus ride, terrible roads, bad sleep), hoping to take a bus there to Hekou, chinese city on the border with Vietnam. We were in Mengzi at 6 in the morning. The bus driver found a «taxi» for us in no time, and soon we were sharing it with 2 chinese, thinking that we were almost in Hekou.
(Unfortunately, I don't have a better picture of our taxi. But it gives an idea of what it was.)
When the taxi stopped, the chinese suggested to have breakfast ( a big bowl of noodle soup), after what he showed us where the bus station was. That's when we realised that we were still far from Hekou. "No buses to Hekou, you have to wait", - said a woman in the ticket-office. But for how long, she couldn't tell. We had no choice but having a seat and getting ready to wait for hours. In 15 minutes the chinese guy came to pick us up, he had found a car which would take us to Hekou (100yuan for two persons). Of course, we were happy that he helped us and that we would be in Hekou in about 2 hours (I saw that we were 160km away from Hekou). We were in Hekou 4 hours later, feeling no part of our body, having a head-ache and exhausted!!!
(Unfortunately, I don't have a better picture of our taxi. But it gives an idea of what it was.)When the taxi stopped, the chinese suggested to have breakfast ( a big bowl of noodle soup), after what he showed us where the bus station was. That's when we realised that we were still far from Hekou. "No buses to Hekou, you have to wait", - said a woman in the ticket-office. But for how long, she couldn't tell. We had no choice but having a seat and getting ready to wait for hours. In 15 minutes the chinese guy came to pick us up, he had found a car which would take us to Hekou (100yuan for two persons). Of course, we were happy that he helped us and that we would be in Hekou in about 2 hours (I saw that we were 160km away from Hekou). We were in Hekou 4 hours later, feeling no part of our body, having a head-ache and exhausted!!!
It was so hot there! We decided to cross the border first, as it closes at 4p.m. Chinese boys-customs were happy to see foreigners (they must have been really quite bored there). They checked every single visa in my passport, and didn't recognise Georgia's visa. I said it was visa for Georgia, but they couldn't understand the name of the country. It was funny but we were too tired to have fun with them.
An hour later, we were finally crossing the chinese-vietnamese border on foot. It feels so strange to find yourself in another country with a completely different architecture, language, money and one hour back in time just in 2-3 minutes. You just have to cross the bridge, it sounds so simple.
It was the end of our Chinese adventures. And Vietnamese adventures were waiting for us... The first was .......Vietnamese New Year....... Chuc Mung Nam Moi!!!
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Kunming-Pictures 1
Hello!
Ok, so we haven't really had time to order all our pictures yet, but at least we can start showing some here now!
So, when we left for holidays, our first step was Kunming, the capital city of Yunnan Province.
We flew there at night and slept in a lousy hotel...But we had a great surprise in the morning, only a walk away from the hotel there was a little lake completely crowded with hundreds of Siberian seagulls flying all around it and kids and elders feeding them.
It was really impressive and i took about hundred pictures of the birds, without great success i must admit. : (
My dad would have loved that!
Now, this is a little island on that lake when so many people gather to play music, sing, dance, or just relax. A really sweet place.
That is what we saw on some food stalls while walking at night. We didn't try it though. Can you see what it is?
Ok, that's all for today... There is more to come soon!
See you!
ORELena
Ok, so we haven't really had time to order all our pictures yet, but at least we can start showing some here now!
So, when we left for holidays, our first step was Kunming, the capital city of Yunnan Province.
We flew there at night and slept in a lousy hotel...But we had a great surprise in the morning, only a walk away from the hotel there was a little lake completely crowded with hundreds of Siberian seagulls flying all around it and kids and elders feeding them.
It was really impressive and i took about hundred pictures of the birds, without great success i must admit. : (
My dad would have loved that!
Now, this is a little island on that lake when so many people gather to play music, sing, dance, or just relax. A really sweet place.
That is what we saw on some food stalls while walking at night. We didn't try it though. Can you see what it is?
Ok, that's all for today... There is more to come soon!
See you!
ORELena
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