I'M HERE

Just arrived in Buenos Aires. Pretty cream-crackered (knackered) after my three flights and eleven hour stopover at gate ten of Sao Paulo airport (where there is absolutely nothing to do).
ButI'm here now and the weather is awesome. I'll be having a bit of a siesta before going exploring. Here's a couple of snaps to make you jealous of the blue skies. One from the airport road and one from my hostel balcony. As you can see, my camera is on the blink.

FAMILY LOVE AND PAINTBALLING

Went paintballing this weekend for my brother's birthday. Great craic, but plenty of hot heads. The highlight had to be when I attempted to storm the marines fort. After b¥sneakig to the top of the hill my cover got blown. I made a run and dive for the fort. As I landed inside I was quickly stamped to the floor as one of my brothers pinned me down with his boot across my neck and my lovely little sister shot me at point blank range in the back of the head. Gotta love them siblings :o)

BEIJING DAY I

04.08.07
Arrived in Beijing early this morning after a long sleepless night.
Taxi to Far East International Hostel, checked in a slept a couple of hours.
Dandered around Tienanmen Square, then picked up post restante letter from post office and tried to pick up train ticket (for Mongolia), but office was closed.Had dinner with fellow roommates Christian and David (Austria and Spain) , then boozed in the courtyard. Then a bunch of us hit Suzie Wongs Nightclub for some dancing.

Photo: My ticket for Suzie Wongs Nightclub.

XI'AN DAY II

03.08.07
Chilled day. Tried to sleep in as much as possible in preparation for my overnight ‘soft seat’ (non-reclining) journey to Beijing.
Checked out the markets and practiced haggling Chinese style (using a calculator).
Said goodbye to David at the station and went our separate ways. Glad I slept in late as sleeping on 'soft seats' is almost impossible for me. Especially with the woman across from me having the audacity to put her stinky feet on my chair right beside me.
Read a little, and dozed a bit, but couldn't sleep all night.
Photo: Sign in train toilet "No sprinkling. Take care of electricity"

XI'AN

02.08.07
Arrived super early in Xi'an this morning, about 5. Taxied it to the hostel with David. Checked into the wettest, most humid room I’ve ever been in and slept for a couple of hours. Hostel seems cool and half the price of Shanghai.
Queued up in the street at the ‘ticket office’ to get our tickets. I'm heading north and David west. No sleepers left, so both stuck with soft seats.
Then went to see the Terracotta Warriors. Met an American called Brad from Tennessee on the bus out there. He was doing 5 weeks volunteer teaching somewhere nearby.
We checked out the warriors together. Was good craic and Brad was good for a laugh, but the warriors themselves were less than impressive.
Headed back together and had a beer in a park.
Then Dave and me headed back to the hostel for a siesta.
Met a cool Israeli/American journalist and had dinner with him. He’d been in China only a month or two and his Chinese was awesome.
Had some lamb kebabs and Indian type bread down at the market with a bunch of cheap beers and then played drunken pool in another hostel.

SHANGHAI - XI'AN

01.08.07
Dave and I left shanghai for Xian. About 20 hours on the train. Hard sleepers.
Slept a wee bit in the morning then got up and chilled with some Chinese people.
Hard sleepers are good as you have a bed and a little space, but are still very sociable as there are no compartments. It’s like a dormitory on the train.
Chatter with university student called Candy. Really intelligent. Talked about everything and she seems very clued up to the outside world's view of China.I found the whole 'one child per family' quite hard to grasp. It was strange and sad to think that (probably) no one on the train had any brothers or sisters. Had dinner in the food carriage. Greasy,but filling and not too expensive. About 25 yuan each.
Read a wee bit and did our best to chill out in our cramped top bunk.
Once we figured out how to turn off the loud speakers which sounded to be booming out propaganda and terrible Chinese music we were able to relax.

Photos (from top): Dave trying to get comfortable on the cramped bunk, friendly and intelligent university student Candy, my attempts to sabotage the carriage radio - I covered the speaker in duck tape until we realised there was a speaker switch below it. Doh!

MAN IN THE MIRROR

If you get what you want in your struggle for self
And the world makes you king for a day,
Just go to a mirror and look at yourself
And see what that man has to say.

For it isn't your father or mother or wife
Whose judgement upon you must pass,
For the verdict in life that does count the most
Is the one staring back from the glass.

He's the fellow to please, never mind all the rest
For he's with you clear up to the end,
And you know you've passed your most difficult test
If the man in the glass is your friend.

You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years
And get pats on the back as you pass,
But your final reward will be heartache and tears
If you've cheated the man in the glass.

Author unknown
-----------------------------------------------

When I was traveling in Australia I became friends with a great guy called Troy. We worked together at a campsite and often got drunk together on cheap four-litre boxes of goon (wine). Troy was young, but had already spent some time in prison. One evening over a few drinks at the campsite he recited this poem. He told me he had learned it in Baggo Road Prison in Brisbane. Apparently in the same prison a few years earlier a convict wrote this poem. The convict was on death row and wrote 'Man in the Mirror' four hours before his execution.

WHICH WAY'S HOME?

NEXT TRIP

In less than three weeks I'll be in Buenos Aires, Argentina. As awesome as it is being home and seeing everyone, it's time to go again. So it's off to a new continent for a look around. I have a return flight scheduled for the end of February, but if I like it out there I might just hang around. Why not?!

Image courtesy of Andy Warhol. Cheers Andy.

FAST FOOD NATION

Well, it breaks my little backpacker heart, but today I forked out for organic apples and fair trade bananas, something I rarely do because of the large price difference. I'm currently reading Fast Food Nation after years of 'not getting round to it' and realising just how important it is pay more attention to who is producing our food and how they are doing it.

SHANGHAI II

31.07.07
Went to Yuyan Gardens and Museum of Urban Development today with Dave and Karen. Both were nice, but not amazing. Museum had interesting model of what Shanghai will look like in ten years, and also a cool 360 degree cinema tour of the future city. The gardens were okay, but touristy and I'm a bit spoilt after so many Japanese gardens.
In the evening Dave and I went for an amazing feast at a Cantonese restaurant with Ping and her friend, Nina. Then off to a club called Babyface for a little dancing.
Last night Dave and me ended up eating on the street again. In the wee hours of the morning we hit our 'regular' noodle stall which is temporarily situated near our hostel each night. Always seems appealing after a loads of cheap Chinese beer. This time there were other customers eating too. Sat on tiny plastic stools amidst the city's rubbish we scoffed fried noodles and tried to make small talk. Three girls shared their dishes with us and were very nice, but not a word of English. A cool, but mean looking guy sat alone eating. When there wasn't enough stools to go round, Dave offered him his knee to sit on. He then warmed to us, but never smiled. He looked about 16 with a mustache and after throwing his chopsticks onto the street with a look of disgust, he offered us a cigarette each. Everyone in Shanghai reminds me of my friend Matt Porter.
Photos (from top): Urban Development plans for Shanghai, Yuyuan Gardens, Me, Ran and Dave in Ucool hostel.

SHANGHAI

29.07.07
Arrived in Shanghai this afternoon. Boat journey was awesome. Beautiful big moons both nights. Totally changed coming in to China. Very muggy, polluted, brown and busy.
Shanghai is huge and dirty; I like it. Great hostel near the Bund; free beer, decent lounge and brand new (not finished might be a better description).8 dollars a night, 20 boys per room. Ran the manager is fun and very helpful, if a little camp. Went drinking with David, Karen and Linns the Swede.
30.07.07
Visited Shanghai Museum with David and Karen. They're great travel companions and I'm glad not to be alone in Shanghai. Museum had some amazing old furniture and cool masks. Probably really old.
In town people throw rubbish everywhere. Great street food. Drink beer in the streets. Today 38 degrees and humid.
Not a word of English from taxi drivers or workers in hostel. Needed body language gestures to find toilet.
This evening met Ping (who works in the ferry gift shop) for a walk on the Bund. Bund is nice at night.Photos (from top): 1.David and Karen, excellent travel companions, 2.Dirty water coming in to China, 3.Old mask, 4.Ping and I on the Bund.

JOURNAL ENTRIES

No exciting adventures of late so I will post some journal entries from my trip home.

SHANGHAI FERRY 27.07.07
Departed 12:00 today. Still hammered drunk from messy night out in Osaka with Dublin Mark. Old Chinese man and his granddaughter in my room. Also a Japanese university student. Nice cabin. Beds have curtains, there is a sitting area, tv, table and window looking over sea.
Leaving Japan beautiful blue skies. Passing land most of the way; Kyushu.
Seen five dolphins from the deck and two flying fish.
Chilled on deck this afternoon with beers. Bout a dozen backpackers on board. From all over. Really cool to hang out with interesting but humble travellers who have been to many more places than me, but aren't full of themselves. London Ed was particularly intelligent and well-informed without being arrogant about it.

SHANGHAI FERRY 28.07.07
Chilled day and drunken night on board. Great craic with the lads. Played ping pong with some Chinese people, then beer up on the deck as the sun went down.

Photos: London Ed and Me, A lifeboat.

MORE BABY SNAPS

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