Erica Reunion!

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  Wuhan, Hubei, China
Sunday, August 31, 2008

Wed 27th - We had a mega lie in this morning in our comfy bed! It was soooo nice! Then we spent the day waiting around for the bus. We went to the market next to the hotel and we went for lunch but that's about it. We headed to the bus station early, just in case of problems but there were none. We got the bus fine and met a really nice couple from Vietnam who were heading to Wuhan University too. So at least we have people to guide us to the right place!

Thurs 28th - How difficult is it to find someone in China? Like trying to find a needle in a haystack! We went with the couple from the bus to Wuhan University but we couldn't find the foreign teachers building. We went to Anh's flat to use her internet but it wasn't working so we had to go to an internet café but hotmail wouldn't load. What were we going to do now?! Eventually we were able to log on to hotmail and we were glad to see Erica had emailed us with her address and phone number. Thank goodness for small miracles! It's a good job she had sent that too otherwise we would still be looking for her! We had to call her to get the number of her Chinese Guide so that Anh could call him for directions to Erica's apartment. 5 taxi's, several phone calls and 3 hours later we found the building that Erica lives in but we couldn't find a way in - we could see the building behind a street of food stalls but we couldn't find a street to lead us to the building. We called Erica again and she was able to come and find us! Thanks to Anh and Son we were there at last!

It was so good to see Erica and we hope that we helped her a bit too, as we know how daunting it is to come to Asia for the first time, especially China where hardly anyone speaks or reads or writes English. Erica's apartment is really nice and is near to East Lake. We couldn't see much of the lake today as it has been raining and foggy but hopefully we'll see it better before we leave. The furniture they have given Erica is really nice too, and there is a futon which was quite handy for Ed and me. Although when we pulled the futon out I sat on it and the whole thing caved in in the middle and swallowed me up! Needless to say Ed and Erica found this hilarious! So we need to watch out for that in the middle of the night!

Since we didn't get to Erica's until about 2pm and we were really tired, we have spent the day catching up and relaxing. We did go out to get dinner from the food stalls downstairs though. Tomorrow we will all explore Wuhan together.

Fri 29th - First task today was to go to the train station so that we could book our train to Beijing. We expected this to be difficult but we didn't expect the obstacle course we would have to cross! When we got to the station we realised that there was a lot of construction work going on and the driver had driven too far around the side of the station. So we had to walk back to the front of the station where the ticket office is located. Well, I say walk - it was more like clambour! As it was raining there was mud and slush everywhere and we had to climb through windows, jump off walls and slide down pipes in order to get across the work site. What fun! We were lucky to find an English speaking ticket agent and so were able to book the tickets fairly easily and then we went off on our way to Walmart so Erica could stock up with essentials. How we managed to spend over 3 hours in Walmart though I am not quite sure! It was like a never ending mound of shopping but it was really good fun! When we finally came out of Walmart we decided to treat ourselves to a pizza in pizza hut across the street. We were waiting for a table when we saw a couple of Chinese women go over to the salad bar on the one trip deal. Both women started to make a very intricate design on the side of their bowls using carrot sticks and cucumber. 20 minutes later and both women were still going, the carrot and cucumber piled high around the outside of the bowl and then loads of salad tucked into the hole in the middle. Crafty! If that was an Olympic sport, the Chinese would win gold every time! It was really fun to watch as they took really good care over their artwork!

We really enjoyed our pizzas, our first in months, and we even had dessert! We really splashed out!

Sat 30th - Today we took a taxi to the Yellow Crane Tower. This is a tower on Snake Hill, opposite Turtle Hill in Wuhan. It was built in memory of a priest who brought happiness and wealth to a family in a small village in repayment of a kindness they had showed to him. The priest painted a picture of a crane, which turned out to be magic, and lots of people came to see the painting, so bringing money to spend in the village shop. (That is a crane bird, not a crane machine!) The tower is a temple like building with 5 different level balconies, all with brilliant views over Wuhan. There is also a huge bell which visitors are allowed to ring, so needless to say we did! It was a really good tour with lots of interesting facts about the paintings and décor inside the tower. We were all glad we had gone.

On the way out of the tower we looked at the little boutique shops, with the Chinese knick knacks. They were really cute but very expensive!

Tonight Erica cooked us a delicious Asian meal and we had wine and chocolate while watching a DVD. Nice chill out night!

Sun 31st - We are leaving today and so spent the morning packing up and chatting. Then we went for an early lunch in the canteen opposite Erica's building. It was actually really nice food, which is good as the train food may not be! Then at 2pm Ed and I had to leave for the station. Saying goodbye to Erica was horrible - neither of us wanted to leave, but we have had a great time catching up with Erica again and good luck with the job!

Now we are waiting to catch the overnight train to Beijing, so update again soon.