Grand Noble Hotel Dongguan

Today another shopping day downtown.

First stop, and eye doctor for Amy's father. There the girls working there loved qiqi, one even gave qiqi a birthday present, an embroidery that she made herself.

Later some more shopping and then after dinner, qiqi visits a traditional Chinese medicine pharmacy and doctor.

... is still very much like a cruise ship with balconies, pools, and sailing themes in the interior. The lobby is still kept in its original condition, and the rooms are exactly how they were on the ship. My room was really nice, but I didn’t have time to really enjoy it because I had to be up and ready for my workshop in 6 hours! So after knocking back a double shot of So-Co in about 10 min (thanks to months of practice at the El Patio), I was fast asleep in my bed ready for the ...

Today we picked up our rental car and also switch hotels. At the first hotel, there was too much dust in the air and the traffic was too confusing because they are building a subway station close by.

The second hotel is an apartment hotel, where we stayed for 1 night. there was heat there, and it is pretty cold here for this time of year. So far they are having the coldest November on record!

... scene. Concerned about my food miles, I tried the local brew. Tsing Moa or something, I won’t be doing it again. It goes flat as soon as you pour it and is completely tasteless, perhaps they should try putting melamine in it. The other new teacher is from Geelong and has just moved here from mainland China with her kids, whilst her husband is still working in China, a couple of hours by train. The Italian restaurant was actually Chinese selling their own version ...

I will be updating this entry on a regular basis with stories and pictures that don't necessarily warrant a whole new entry. * For instance, the fact that there is a shortage of diesel fuel over here, and it is very common to see a couple hundred yards of truck backed up at the gas station, because the station is out of gas. * It had been a while since we got a massage, so we went to get ...

... as HK and mainland China currency. The official languages of Macau are Chinese and Portuguese. There is a lot of European architecture due to the Portuguese colonists who settled there, amongst more traditional Chinese architecture and the most garish of Las Vegas style super casinos. Yes, Macau is apparently fast becoming the Vegas of Asia.

... programs, and in July, took a 5 day certification course through Global Tesol College. I wasn't necessarily planning to go anytime soon, I just wanted to have the certification behind me for when I was ready to go. By October, my job as a BCeSIS trainer wasn't fun anymore, and the money was no longer worth it, so I decided to pursue ESL. I spent hours getting my resume package together so I could start applying for ESL jobs. When I finally ...

Paul Theroux said that China is full of ghosts - ghosts of the violence and madness of China's 20th century history, and more specifically, the Cultural Revolution. The more I read about the Cultural Revolution, the more these ghosts haunt my mind's eye. The other day I was trundling down Nancheng Walking Street - the big pedestrian shopping strip near my place. It was all perfectly innocuous - the slightly brazen goods and kitsch clothing for sale, people running about spending their ...

... now I have dock time in Vietnam (can't get off the ship until 2 hours after we're allowed off). I'm going to fight it though, because my Dad's coming to visit in Vietnam, and I'll be damned if I'm going to be kept waiting on board while he waits for me (that would be total BS). So yeah, life's great, I'm a badass with my new plastic snoopy watch, and it's starting to get to the point where you can't walk 15 feet on board the ship without someone stopping you to say hello. Life ...

I have undying admiration for the work ethic for many of the Chinese people I meet and see in the city. These people work so hard for such long hours, the ones who have nothing and those who are wealthy alike. There's a fierce determination you can hear or watch people at work, and you're consistently aware of it. It's not just for show. By comparison with people in other cultures I know, there is little complaint. Perhaps there ...