九个月在亚洲

9 månader på eurasiska kontinentens ostkant. 9 months on the Eastern side of the continent.

Irony

Publicerad 2012-08-13 16:22:00 i Allmänt

Ironic that in China, of all countries, I can access my blog without problems, while I need to use a proxy in Singapore. I have decided that I shall move to Wordpress and therefore not update here anymore. The posts I have written so far will be here until I can move them to Wordpress too. That I won't be able to access my blog in China will be a disadvantage, but not being able to access my blog in my current home country, Singapore, is an even greater disadvantage. See jiugeyuezaiyazhou.wordpress.com.
 
勿行!

我可能應該寫漢字...七月十六日-七月二十二日

Publicerad 2012-07-22 19:14:27 i Allmänt

Well then, another week has passed. School in Singapore is getting closer, meaning that I have had to spend quite some time with course syllabi and pasting together a schedule for the week. As it seems now, I will have school 3 days a week (Tuesday to Thursday) although I am highly uncertain if it really will work out, as few students get the exact schedule they want to.
 
Pictures from 16th of July and onwards.
Spooky!
A little drizzle is not going to keep me from swimming! The temperature was wonderful! Otherwise I would perhaps not hype Kenting as much as people do, I have to say that littering was a major problem in the town.
Skadeglädjen är den bästa glädjen, eller hur det nu lyder.
Mm, delicious tacos in Kaohsiung, 100 yuan. The bus trip from Kenting cost 347 yuan and it took 2,5 hours. The buses are supposed to run all day, all the time, so no real need to plan ahead.
This is probably even tastier than tacos: mango ice cream, mango, mango juice and sweet milk on rippled ice. Too delicious to describe, but it would be toppled a few days later, by an even BETTER ice cream... Stay tuned!
Someone care for a trip to Jeju?
Kaohsiung being a slightly larger city, it was perfect to go to the cinema. 260 yuan.
Just my luck...
Delays mean time to visit tax frees. This would perhaps have been something for Ouliwei?
Swedish literature is invading the world!
Eventually I did get out of Kaohsiung, looking down at mainland China here. The trip should have begun at 14.10, arriving in Hong Kong at 15.50, costing approximately 1 400 kr. Instead we left slightly more than an hour delayed, but the flight time was reduced to merely 1 hour and 10 minutes.
New strange money. Hong Kong has probably the most complicated cash system in the world with three private banks issuing all banknotes worth 20 dollars or more (the 10 dollar note is issued by the state), meaning that of every banknote, there are 3 versions circulating, not the mention the fact that the banks seem to enjoy altering the design of their own banknotes every year, creating a jungle of different looking money.
Taking the bus from the airport is much cheaper than travelling by train. I took this bus to Tsim Sha Tsui, costing 33 dollars, lasting some 45 minutes.
At the waterfront in Tsim Sha Tsui, looking at the skyline of Hong Kong. I managed to find some more functions on my camera, such as taking pictures in different colours. I really love sepia, it gives the picture such a warm feel.
Waiting for the famous light show, that I heard about by accident when I went to the waterfront. The light show is nothing special, really, but it is given at 20.00 every evening. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays the narration will be in English, Sundays in Cantonese and the rest of the days in Chinese.
My Chinese visa application has been handed in, now I can only wait. I really like this Bank of China building, it looks so... vital.
Sitting on the bus to Victoria Peak, looking out the window. The road was narrow, with a steep gorge right next to it. Travelling by city bus to Victoria Peak is much cheaper than travelling by tour bus or the peak tram. This trip cost 9,80 dollars from City Hall.
The classic view from Victoria Peak. I'm living on the other side of the water, in Tsim Sha Tsui in Kowloon, 5 minutes from the waterfront.
Driving on the left. So charming!
I really like the font they are using!
As I would later find out, taking a boat from Tsim Sha Tsui to Hong Kong Island is much cheaper than travelling by metro.
Tram is also cheap, 2,30 dollars no matter how far you travel. Travelling from one end to the other takes way more than an hour, so if you don't want to spend tons of dollars on a tour bus, this is a very good substitute.
These incense sticks might take a while to burn up...
Wasn't there someone who liked Dextro?
I love the colours and lighting on this photo! The building is as beautiful as ever!
Nice to be greeted with this sign when coming home... The typhoon was however lame, T1 is the weakest signal on the scale. I have experienced worse storms in Sweden.
Now here's the best ice cream on earth: mochi ice cream! WHY is there no mochi ice cream in Sweden!?
I haven't seen this delicacy in Sweden for years!!! I am really beginning to love Hong Kong!
If I would start to miss Swedish sweets, they are never too far away.
This weeks travel map is not particularly exciting.
 
勿行!

臺灣跟大陸不一樣.七月九日-七月十五日

Publicerad 2012-07-15 18:24:58 i Allmänt

My first week of travelling on my own. Here are the pictures! I am very surprised there aren't any Swedes here, I only encounter Finnish people all the time. First in Hualien, then on the boat to Lyudao.
I forgot to bring my sunglasses, not for the last time... I am wondering, though, who came up with the stupid idea to put WHITE tiles in front of Chiang Kai-shek's Memorial Hall? I practically had to walk with my eyes closed to get over the square.
Someone had left fruit in the park: some squirrels came to enjoy watermelon in the heat.
The world's second tallest building (or maybe third, I think Tokyo Skytree might be a bit taller, now that it's finished) Taipei 101.
Inside the shopping centre beneath Taipei 101. This fountain looked quite fun: there were lots of holes in the ground and the water would erupt randomly from different holes. Lots of children were playing there, trying to avoid getting wet. The shopping centre had other interesting things as well, such as the grocery store with REAL cocoa powder (unfortunately I can't carry it with me) as well as a wide array of cheese, butter, sour cream and the most delicious sandwiches ever. I also found this book shop with a lot of English titles, although my main interest were the maps: I managed to find a map of 中華民國, the Republic of China, displaying all areas claimed by the country I'm currently in (including all of mainland China, Mongolia and areas currently in possession by Afghanistan, Russia and India, to mention a few).
In one of the shopping centres next to Taipei 101 I found this jigsaw puzzle shop with puzzles with motives from anime and Disney. No shopping, though, my backpack is more than full already.
Salmon, fried in butter, found at Shilin Night Market. Delicious!
A very price-worthy dessert: an enormous pile of chocolate, banana and something icy for merely 70 yuan!
The one and only, original 臺灣的珍珠奶茶! Here they however seem to give you like a litre or something of the drink, it is impossible to drink it all! Comparing with the ones sold in Shanghai the beverage seems to contain more milk here and the "pearls" are much tastier.
太熱了! Even at night it is unbearably hot!
Considering that in Sweden I can not carry my bicycle anywhere on public transportation, Taipei is really generous no matter that some stations are closed to the possibility to take bikes.
Nice with a temple that is not a souvenir shop and with free entry. Something for the People's Republic to think of.
Travelling southwards to Hualien. As you may notice, the transcription to Latin letters is not quite consistent on the two signs. Pinyin is a difficult issue on Taiwan, them having two different pinyin (hanyu pinyin, the same as on the mainland, as well as tongyong pinyin, invented on Taiwan). Depending on how much you like mainland China, there will be different views on which pinyin system to use. This means that in practice, most major cities use some sort of ancient Wade-Giles system when transcribing their names (the same thing with ordinary people when transcribing their personal names), while computers work by writing with zhuyin, a character system that works a bit similar to hiragana/katakana or the Korean alphabet, where every character represents a sound. As the system is so chaotic, people here are really bad at pinyin and asking them to write anything in pinyin to make it easier for me to pronounce is pointless. Oh, and about the train, I think it left around midday, as I arrived in Hualien at 15.10. The ticket cost 440 yuan.
I would love to swim... Everyone that goes to Hualien visits the Taroko gorge, as did I. I took the bus from Hualien bus station at 9.00 to Taroko Visitor Centre. The trip took around 40 minutes and cost 92 yuan. Do note that no change is given, you have to carry the exact amount. At the visitor centre there was not much, they don't hand out helmets anymore, no matter the signs you might see in the gorge about them doing this. Helmets are handed out farther up in the gorge. Therefore I set out to the Shakadang trail, beginning 1 km away along the road from the visitor centre. The Shakadang trail is a piece of cake to walk: 4,5 km one way on an almost flat surface. The views were beautiful and free!
In the forest along Shakadang.
Here but no further. It would be possible to continue walking in a loop from Shakadang trail end, but it requires a permit, so I had to turn back to the beginning of the trail.
I have never seen so many butterflies in my life as along the Shakadang. They were available in all colours and this one was as big as a small bird!
After Shakadang I set out for the Eternal Spring Shrine trail a short walk away. This one is much hillier and more tiring to walk than Shakadang, although compared to Taishan this still was a piece of cake. This is the suspension bridge right at the beginning/end (depending on where you start to walk along the trail). It was a bit scary to walk across it, as it was shaking and I was way higher up than I would like to fall...
View from the Bell Tower on the Eternal Spring Shrine trail.
Butterflies were not the only animals in the gorge: I saw animals all the time!
The Eternal Spring Shrine. This was located at the end of the trail seen from where I began: apparently the trail was closed for maintenance today, which I didn't notice until I got here, as they had only put up the notice on this end of the trail. I had wondered while I was walking why there were no other people at all in sight. From here I took the bus back to Hualien, costing 104 yuan and taking about 45 minutes.
Having some Taiwanese 火鍋, hot pot. The portion cost 100 yuan and included free drinks from their drinks buffet (not too large) as well as FREE ICE CREAM FROM THEIR ICE CREAM BUFFET!!! As the 火鍋 was rather 還可以 (so-so), although enormous for 100 yuan, it was perfect to end the dinner with some ice cream to get a nice taste in your mouth before leaving. This restaurant is located in central Hualien, right to the east of a very new McDonald's and a shop called 199, if I remember the number correctly.
Time to leave Hualien. I took the train to Taitung leaving at 08.20, arriving around 11 (we should have arrived right before 11, but we were a few minutes late). The ticket cost 345 yuan.
From Taitung station I went to the bus stop to take the bus to Fugang harbour. There are 6 buses a day, so it can hardly be called a frequent service. The trip cost 42 yuan and took about 45 minutes. Both the train station and the harbour are located far from central Taitung, so I did not really get any picture on what kind of city Taitung is.
Tickets to 綠島, Lyudao (sometimes translated to Green Island), are bought! A round trip ticket cost 920 yuan, as you can see on the blue part of the ticket. This boat trip is VERY well-known to make people seasick even in good weather. I was however spared from this, but instead I got to sit and listen to other people vomiting during the 55-minute-long ride, beginning at 15.30 (I think this might have been the last boat for the day, or maybe there was one more, the boats stop going very early). The rough sea begins almost instantly as the boat exits the harbour and continues until it stops at the harbour on Lyudao, Nanliao harbour. If you are inclined to get seasick, you most likely will get seasick on this trip, as even during an excellent day as this the waves were high (of course there was some variation in their height, but it was not such a smooth ride as the one from Qingdao to Incheon or from Yeosu to Jeju). On this ticket you can notice another Taiwanese peculiarity: the date. As they use Republic of China years here, currently it is year 101. I was talking with a Taiwanese on the train and talking about old events in the 1940s made him have to start counting what 1949 is in Republic of China years. Interesting.
 
From the Nanliao harbour, I had been promised pickup service by my hostel: as I walked along the pier, looking at the signs people were holding I couldn't see my hostel until at the very end, by the scooters... After what felt like an eternity of crazy overtaking of other scooter drivers (no helmets, of course) we finally arrived at the tiny Gongguan village on the Northern side of the island. I wonder what they would have done if I had had a large suitcase with me, as it could hardly have been fitted on top of a scooter.
First time I see this kind of warning sign! After leaving my bags I went for something the islanders never do: I went for a walk. There was lots of amazement over this strange 外國人, foreigner, walking 3 km to the lighthouse. On Lyudao people take their scooter even to their neighbour. I saw no crabs, though.
Right below the lighthouse there was this amazing water pit: for not being a hot spring the water was astoundingly warm! I was getting ready to gasp for my breath when putting my toe in the water, but instead I was pleasantly surprised. I had not brought my swimsuit with me, but I didn't care, I swam in my underwear. This is one of very few places on Lyudao where you are allowed to swim, as the sharp coral reefs and the high waves in combination with the cliffs have made the local authorities to ban swimming along most of the coast. Therefore, this pit is a must-visit if you want to swim!
The lighthouse at sunset.
On my way back I was getting rather hungry, so I stopped at one of the million 250 yuan barbeques they have on the island. I got to eat as much as I wanted from their buffet, but right as the sun had set it was starting to rain these insects from the sky. I don't know what was wrong with them, they were flying around like crazy, colliding with everything. As the biggest of them were of the size of a 5 kr coin, it was quite unpleasant. Three of them fell onto my grill: two of them I managed to swipe away, but the third one got stuck with its feet and died.
Vad är detta för lol-färdsätt, pall på flaket av en bil? Var är mitt trepunktssäkerhetsbälte!? On my way to go snorkelling. The entire excursion, booked by my hostel, cost 300 yuan and we got all the equipment needed as well as 30 minutes of floating around on the reef, looking at the colourful fish. The corals themselves are not particularly colourful here, the patterns were more interesting. I was once again the only 外國人, foreigner, so the safety instructions included were not of much use for me as they were only given in Chinese.
I rented a bike for the day as well! 200 yuan for a... ridable... bicycle. Riding a bike is pure freedom! Once again I was stared at with disbelief: will I really be riding a bicycle, not renting a scooter instead? The weather would be so hot! As I have never driven a scooter, I did not want to rent one now either. Scooters being the main mode of transport here was very clearly noticed during the snorkelling excursion as well: suddenly all of us participating jumped on their scooters to drive to the beach where we could access the reef, when they noticed that I only had a bicycle, meaning that someone had to sacrifice himself and take the 外國人, foreigner, with him.
Riding along the west coast of the island. The cars and scooters were few and far between, only my bicycle, the waves and I!
At one of the world's only 3 salt water hot springs, the Jhaorih hot springs (Zhaori with hanyu pinyin, outside Taipei area most places use tongyong pinyin with which zhaori is spelled jhaorih). Some of the pools were too literally hot springs, making it difficult to stay there for too long, but luckily there were pools to cool down in as well. Entrance ticket was 200 yuan.
The eastern coast of the island was quite rough to ride along, as the road climbed very high up. For almost 3 km (I think) there was constant uphill... The view over the Pacific Ocean was rewarding, though.
Should you visit this ice cream bar in Gongguan village on Lyudao, mind the threshold at the door, as I stumbled on it both on my way in and out... My toe is still hurting.
Wiie, jag haver orkat studera hur man får självutlösaren på min kamera att fungera! Här haver jag fått en sticka i hälen.
The announcement in the middle made me confused at first. The first announcement (not shown in picture) would probably be very calming for Ouliwei to know, as they were warning against venomous snakes.
On my final day I thought I should visit a cave I had seen a sign about the day before when I was riding my bicycle, the Swallow cave. Swallow cave was nothing special though, only lots of birds inside. On the outside there was however an interesting debate between some crabs going on that I listened to and observed for quite a while, until a group of screaming tourists arrived and the crabs ran away under the large rock to the left.
Time to take the seasickness express back, leaving Nanliao harbour at 12.30, travelling for 50 minutes. One of the people working at the hostel told me to sit in the back if I would not want the trip to be so bumpy: the waves sure were a lot less noticeable.
A simple meal on Taitung railway station. As there are only 6 buses per day from Fugang harbour and none of them would fit if I wanted to get to my train, I had to take a taxi. The 10,3 km long journey cost 305 yuan (although he charged me only 300). Starting fee is 100 yuan, then it rises 5 yuan for every 230 metres. The trip took about 15 minutes.
Waiting for the train.
Arrival in Fangliao. My train left Taitung 16.00, arriving in Fangliao at 17.43. The trip cost 138 yuan. From Fangliao it is possible to take the bus to Kenting if you exit the train station, walk right ahead past the part of the street with tiles and turn left around the corner at the first road you come across. Here you will see some seats on the street next to 7-Eleven: this is the Fangliao bus stop. Here is a hole in the wall where you can buy tickets. This side of the street is where buses towards Kaohsiung depart, the Kenting buses depart from the other side of the street where there is a sign with a big mouth. The trip cost 184 yuan and the trip took about 1 hour and 15 minutes. The buses run all day (I have read rumours about them going 24/7, I am not sure whether this is true).
The bus does not announce stops, rather people seem to get off at random places just by telling the driver. I am not sure if this is really how it works or if the driver was just being nice. Luckily, someone wanted to get off right in front of my hostel, so in Kenting I did not have to walk at all, just step inside. Now I'm sitting in the lobby, enjoying the views of the night market outside.
 
And a map of my travels.
 
勿行!
 

Ingen kinesisk rubrik, är inte i Kina! 2 juli - 8 juli

Publicerad 2012-07-10 19:31:51 i Allmänt

I am currently in Taipei and I'm really liking the city, never mind the problems I encountered at first. The Internet connection is a million times better here than in Shanghai, so I may upload more pictures  than I have before (as you may notice from my last post as well, written in a small South Korean village), My stomach is however not as enthusiastic about Taipei as I am.
 
In case somebody wonders why I write so detailed about transportation, I do that as I know that somebody might be searching on the Internet on how to travel the same stretch as I have already travelled: it is therefore convenient for this person if they can read it here. I have noticed myself when looking on the Internet on how to get from point A to point B that it would be very convenient if people who wrote about them making this trip would include infromation on how long it took, what it cost and how exactly did they travel.
 
Some pictures from our travels in South Korea last week.
Our train from Seoul Yongsan station to Yeosu-Expo station, leaving at 11.15, arriving at 16.16. As we were on a budget we chose this cheaper Mugunghwa (spelling) train, costing us merely 26 400 won. I was a bit unsure about where we would actually get when we went to Yeosu-Expo, as it is hard to find any map I can read online (Google Maps only display Korean names when zooming in: as I can't read Korean, they are of no help to me). The station was located right outside one of the gates to the World Expo, on the Eastern part of the peninsula that Yeosu City consists of. From the station we took a taxi to the nearby village (they charge a flat rate of 3 000 won for this), but as we found out later, at least some of the public buses are free. Bus line 2 takes you from the Expo station bus stop to the village closest to Expo (I don't know the name of it, not central Yeosu).
Yeony, me and Sunny. Yeony and Sunny are the mascots of the World Expo. After some walking we finally found ourselves accommodation right next to the fish market for 50 000 won (for the room, as we shared it, it was 16 667 won per person) per night in a Korean style bedroom where we slept on something between a mattress and a blanket on the floor. Very cosy, but no Internet.
A café with a (in my opinion) strange name, but with a kind owner. Ouliwei is, as always, enjoying a caramel macchiato. No matter how tiny a Korean café would be, they would ALWAYS have caramel macchiato on their menu.
The Swedish showroom at the World Expo! The ticket to the Expo cost 7 000 won, student price after 13.00. The ordinary price would have been 20 000 won for the same ticket (after 13.00), if I remember it correctly.
Sitting in the air.
The Big O, the centrepoint at the Expo.
Detta var någon sjöfartsutställning, roligt att Sverige fick med fiaskot Wasa som ett exempel på hur man INTE bör göra...
K-pop consert at the Expo! I don't know how to spell the singers name (apparently very famous in South Korea), but her songs were nice!
Lights, water and fire show at the Big O.
Waiting for our boat to leave for Jeju. This was one of the trickier parts of the trip to find: I found only a handful of resources on the Internet mentioning a ship from Yeosu directly to Jeju (as it would be very convenient not having to travel to Mokpo or some other harbour first to catch a boat). I think the name of the boat is Cordelia, tickets one way to Jeju cost 19 500 won and the ship departs from Yeosu International Ferry Terminal (which is where we bought our tickets, right next to Expo gate 2) 08.40 several days a week (but not all). The trip is supposed to take 5,5 hours, but we were rather delayed due to a reason I couldn't hear when they announced it, our delay was almost 2 hours.
Wandering around Geumneung, the village where we stayed. The accommodation we found on the Internet was ridiculously cheap, so we booked it instantly when we found it. The name of the hostel is H3 Hostel, located in the tiny village of Geumneung, right to the south of Hyopjae, where the famous Hyopjae Beach is located. Our hostel was within walking distance from the beach, making it a very price-worthy option for accommodation. The bus from Jeju City Intercity Bus Terminal to Geumneung cost 2 500 won, although several times when travelling this stretch we were charged a different amount.
Geumneung Beach, the less-known, but equally as beautiful beach as Hyopjae. Being less touristy, there are however much less services nearby. The sand is not shown on this picture, it is located below and behind the wall running behind the statue. The island in the background constantly reminded me of an elephant resting spread-eagled.
Found this delicious green tea milkshake at the café next to Hyopjae Beach! Ouliwei is having her millionth caramel macchiato.
This day we set off to climb the volcano Hallasan, that the entire island of Jeju actually consists of. We were however a bit late, the trail leading to Hallasan's crater was already closed (you really need to be VERY early to get there), so we got the choice to climb up to Saraoreum crater instead. As we had been physically rather inactive for so long, we decided to walk the 5 (?) km to Saraoreum instead. On the way we saw this deer next to the trail, eating and not caring about us walking next to it.
Resting in the crater. After Taishan climbing to Saraoreum was a piece of cake.
The crater.
At the edge of Saraoreum summit. Photo frenzy! The cloudy weather however makes all pictures of the impressive view very dull: seeing the greatness on picture is not possible.
Jeju Love Land! I don't know how many pictures and what pictures I am allowed to display here, as my blog is non-sexual, but here are a few. Love Land is one of Jeju's most famous sights, displaying several pieces of art of sexual nature. The art has been made by students from Hongik University in Seoul, a funny coincidence, as while staying in Seoul we actually lived in the same area as Hongik (our metro station was Hongik University as well). The entrance ticket to Love Land was on the expensive side, but as the mountain the day before was free, we could spare the 9 000 won it cost to get in here.
A direction sign.
Getting nice jumping pictures can be hard, this must be the fourth time i jumped and Rebei tried to take a picture of it.
As you might notice from the pictures from Love Land, the weather was sunny, which on Jeju means the same thing as HOT. We sat too long on the bus from Love Land back to Jeju City, meaning that we lost quite some time getting back, so when we finally were back in Geumneung/Hyopjae, it was evening and the perfect moment to take a dip.
My last day on Jeju was spent on the beach, reading Harry Potter und der Stein der Weisen and swimming.
My plane waiting to take me to Taipei. Jin Air flies from Jeju to Taipei a few times every week, Sunday is at least one of the days they fly. My ticket cost about 2 200 kr, I don't remember it exactly and with my Internet bank remade slower, I don't want to check it either. At the check-in desk they were looking a bit wondering about my passport, as it lacked a visa to the Republic of China (Taiwan), but I assured them Swedes can travel to the Republic of China for 90 days without a visa. The plane left at 19.40: flight time was supposed to be 2 hours and 10 minutes, but I think we actually flew for only about 1 hour and 15 minutes before we began landing. We were then circulating around Taoyuan airport for a long time, before we finally landed.
I did not expect a meal on such a short flight as this: a pleasant surprise indeed!
I won't have to starve as our favourite Western restaurant in Shanghai is present here as well! The trip from Taoyuan airport to Taipei station took about 40 minutes by Kuo-kuang airport bus. The metro line to the airport is not supposed to open until next year, so I had to take the bus. The bus system was a bit confusing with lots of different operators operating different routes, but Kuo-kuang takes you to a few different locations in central Taipei. As I arrived rather late in the evening, there were not that many operators left, but Kuo-kuang had services until midnight, if I remember it correctly. The trip to Taipei station cost 125 yuan, from where I took the metro to Ximen for 20 yuan. Just to clarify: all prices I name yuan on Taiwan are in Republic of China yuan (also known as Taiwan dollars), NOT the People's Republic of China (mainland China) yuan.
 
Finally a map showing how far I got during the week.
 
勿行!

不可以!六月二十五日-七月一日

Publicerad 2012-07-07 15:48:37 i Allmänt

The first really sunny day here occured today: it was magnificent! The sea was turquoise, the beach looked whiter than ever. Sadly I have to leave tomorrow, although I will most likely have time to enjoy beautiful beaches later on as well.
 
Some pictures from our first real holiday week, beginning 25th of June.
Three happy mountain climbers eager to climb 泰山, Taishan (Tai Mountain). Entrance ticket at Hongmen cost 127 yuan. The picture was taken right in the beginning of the ascent: their faces 3 hours later were somewhat different...
Some of the thousands of steps we had to climb.
Halfway Gate to Heaven! Merely 2 hours of climbing left!
Resting before the final few hundreds of steps before the Southern Gate to Heaven.
Xu xiaojie klarade sig också till Södra porten till himmelen! The view down was exhilirating!
At the top, 1545 metres above sea level, 3 hours and 35 minutes later! Let's go back down!
Not so happy anymore. The descent took some 2 hours: the final half from Halway Gate to Heaven down to Hongmen bus stop was pure torture. My legs were trembling and every step ached in my thighs. For the next 4 days I had a MINOR steps and stairs allergy.
Time to leave Tai'an. Att klättra upp på Taishan skall bringa mognad i bestigaren: i Ouliweis fall är jag dock inte helt säker på detta...
At Qingdao beach! The G246/247 leaving from Tai'an 09.25, brought us here in some 3 hours after we had paid 150 yuan.
At the food market in Qingdao you could find all kinds of delicacies, such as starfish, scorpions and grasshoppers.
In Qingdao they don't quite seem to get the thing with Christmas decorations: you usually don't leave them hanging until June.
The boat tickets with Weidong Ferry to South Korea are bought! A student ticket, including the harbour tax, cost 675 yuan in economy class. The boat leaves at least on Mondays, Wednesday and Friday at 17.00 (although we were somewhat delayed) arriving in Incheon at around 11.00 (10.00 Chinese time), but boarding is almost 2 hours earlier. Buying tickets on the day of departure would not have been a problem for us as the boat was far from full (perhaps because it was Wednesday), but we had reserved tickets in advance (although without some knowledge of Chinese it can be complicated).
The GS25 convenience store on the ship played some real party music! We sat outside, playing cards and just enjoying. The ship has a kind of a spa (a sauna and 3 pools as well as a tiny gym) FOR FREE! I really came to like this ship, it was wonderful! Never mind that it might in theory have been possible to buy an aeroplane ticket for almost the same price and get to South Korea faster: sitting in the sauna, feeling the waves was so soothing!
On our first morning in South Korea we were greeted with excellent weather as Tonatiuh smiled at us! From Incheon harbour we walked towards Dongincheon metro station, but as our bags were rather heavy, we took a bus the rest of the way. Had we had less luggage, walking to Dongincheon station would not have been a problem. From Dongincheon station metro line 1 took us the whole way to Seoul.
After resting on a boat for 19 (?) hours we had more than anough of energy to go to the Lotte World amusement park in Seoul! I never really understood what kind of ticket I got: mine cost 19 000 won. After 16.00 the ticket is cheaper, although in my opinion it still should have cost 31 000 won. Well, I won't complain that I was able to save 12 000 won.
Some strange ice cream they sold at Lotte World. The ice cream consisted of tiny orbs of chocolate "ice cream" (they did not quite feel like ice cream in my mouth).
Lina kom från Shanghai och mötte upp oss över helgen!
At one of the royal palaces in Seoul. The name of this one is VERY tricky, but I think it was Gyeongbokgung. The entrance fee was 3 000 won.
On Saturday we went to see the (in my opinion) coolest place in South Korea: Panmunjeom! The three soldiers in the picture are South Korean, guarding us against potential aggression from the grey building in the background, located in North Korea. The three blue buildings are located on top of the border: the concrete block between the buildings (separating the white gravel from the grey one) is the border between South and North Korea. We got to enter the conference building to the left of the soldiers after standing in a row here for some minutes, taking pictures of North Korea.
Now we are all standing in North Korea! Våra kära klasskamrater som läsa japanska kommo också till Seoul och följde med på utflykten. This half of the building is located in North Korea, but while the tourist groups are visiting from the South, access from the North is supposedly restricted. This is the only place where you can enter North Korea visa free and somewhat conveniently (there were some rules we had to follow to participate in this Panmunjeom tour and we had to pay 78 000 won to get here, but it is still far simpler and cheaper than going on a tour inside North Korea).
The Bridge of No Return. Once you cross it, you won't come back. The other end of the bridge is in North Korea.
All the impressions on our tour were too much for some who couldn't resist dozing off.
Delicious Indian food in Hongdae! The mango lassi was to die for!
Delicious Korean food in central Seoul! It was rather spicy, though, but unfortunately the staff don't understand my favourte restaurant phrase, 不太辣! (not too spicy)
While wandering around Hongdae (the part of Seoul where we stayed) we couldn't avoid noticing this and wondering what on earth these joints are serving.
 
I understand that I have mentioned a lot of places that aren't perhaps that well-known: here's a map of our summer holiday travel so far:
 
勿行!

没您的事儿!六月十八日-六月二十四日

Publicerad 2012-07-05 12:44:55 i Allmänt

Finding time to write when constantly on the go is hard, but right now I have some spare time in my hostel. I actually wrote a post some days ago, but )/"&(/&#(¤%#/&%¤/# blogg.se logged me out automatically for writing for too long, meaning that my post vanished.
 
The final days in Shanghai and the trip onwards, beginning 17th of June.
Olivia is jealous of my vegetarian burger at Helen's in Hongkou district, Shanghai.
School trip to Baosteel factory to the north of Shanghai!
Snark.
Inside the UFO atop Radisson Blu at People's Square. For once they had alcohol-free drinks not only soft drinks or water.
Mat på midsommar! Sällan haver knäckebröd smakat så gott! Sill var däremot lika äckligt som förut.
Our four teachers enjoying some Swedish midsummer food.
After the dinner, it was time to go out to Bar Rouge, a nightclub on top of a building on the Bund. They had a Sweden night with Swedish music!!! The most amazing night out ever. The picture is from the terrace: jumping around to Euphoria and Dancing Queen with this in the background was a true experience!
3 timmar sömn senare voro vi pigga och glada på tunnelbanan på väg mot järnvägsstationen! The train trip from Shanghai Hongqiao with the D320, departing 10.23 costing 245 yuan, to Qufu East took 5 hours and 3 minutes. Qufu East station is located in the middle of nowhere: taking a taxi to the city centre seems necessary. Getting the drivers to use the taxametres was impossible: 30 yuan for the trip between the city and the station was the cheapest offer we could get.
Enjoying some 火锅, hot pot, for the first time!
Ouliwei paying her respects to the Great Sage 孔子, Confucius, in front of the gate to his grave. The three Kongs, Confucius-related sights (孔庙, Confucius temple, 孔府, Confucius home, 孔林, Confucius family grave forest), in Qufu cost 150 yuan for a combined ticket (190 yuan if buying them separately). The sights were however heavily commercialised: I would perhaps not pay that amount again to see the sights. As the city of Qufu is really small and contains nothing else to see or do except the Confucius sights, it can easily be skipped from the travel itinerary through China, unless being a huge admirer of Confucius. 孔林, the forest with the graves, was in my opinion the most pleasurable sight of the three Kongs.
Here he rests, Confucius.
Sittandes i en mikroskopiskt liten mopedtaxi från Konfucius-skogen tillbaka till hotellet.
Xu xiaojie found an unexpected extra source of protein in her hamburger at McDonald's in Tai'an: a fly. The trip from Qufu East to Tai'an with G148, leaving 18.23 and costing 30 yuan, took some 20 minutes. At Tai'an station we once again had the problem that the station was located FAR away from the city, but Tai'an being a bigger city, there were some buses to choose between. Bus number 18, costing 2 yuan, takes you to the old railway station (where the slower trains still stop) in the city centre.
 
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学校姐。六月十一日-六月十七日

Publicerad 2012-06-21 18:09:46 i Allmänt

In a week from now I will already be in Seoul! These last days are incredibly busy: tomorrow will vanish entirely in school and at the Midsummer party we are arranging with our classmates. The bags have therefore been packed already to be ready on Saturday morning when the train to the North leaves.

Some pictures from the last entire week in Shanghai, 11th-17th of June.
Aixien.
Plugget inför tentamen tog väldigt hårt på VISSA.
På skola.
The exam has finally been written!
Under bordet.
Booking plane tickets can be astonishingly complicated.
Och diplom.
Ouniweiya gets her diploma. Everybody passed the exam.
Och diplom.
Rebei.
Och diplom.
The diploma and I.
Och diplom.
Shalina.
Och diplom.
Xuaixian.
Tårta
A combination of birthday cake and "last day of school" cake. I am really getting old...
Med klassen.
Karaoke with our class!
Med glasögon.
Vuxenpoäng: 293802348039480324. Ser jag inte kultiverad ut?
På Teppanyaki.
At a Teppanyaki buffet with a chef at our table cooking all the food we ordered. 168 yuan seems to be some standard price, as it seems most Teppanyakis charge that.

勿行!

厕所们。六月四日-六月十日

Publicerad 2012-06-20 11:02:10 i Allmänt

On Saturday morning I will leave Shanghai for good, the one-way ticket was bought today.

Some pictures from the week beginning with 4th of June.
Ägg.
This disgusting egg appeared to have begun to develop a baby chicken.
Från Laomatou.
I celebrated Sweden's national holiday at Laomatou, overlooking the World Financial Centre in the distance.
Kvällstid.
The mandatory night time picture.
Apor.
Likt apor på Kebabs on the grille. Det fula namnet till trots kom detta att bliva en av våra favoritrestauranger. I really recommend a visit Kebabs on the grille if you grow tired of Chinese food: delicious and price-worthy Indian and Thai food! Located in the Central Plaza on the west side of People's Square.
I Franska koncessionen.
The Propaganda Poster Art Centre is located in the cellar of a residential complex, impossible to find unless you know it is there. Lots and lots of propaganda posters from the Mao period. Taking pictures inside was not allowed. Entrance fee 20 yuan.

勿行!

请勿懂!五月二十八日-六月三日

Publicerad 2012-06-17 11:15:26 i Allmänt

Less than a week of my stay in Shanghai remains. Time really has passed quickly. Before I notice I will be sitting on the train back to Sweden.

More pictures from my adventures, this time from the 28th of May and onwards.
Sjön i Nanjing i bakgrunden.
In Nanjing. The train trip from Shanghai took 1 hour 19 minutes, leaving 15.00 and cost 140 yuan. We were aiming to climb the Nanjing city wall, but it proved to be hard to find the entrance. We got to look at the wall from this hill instead.

På Stora bron över Långa floden. Ena riktiga sagonamn. This magnificent bridge across the 长江 was finished in the 1960s, hence the statues. The bridge is some 6 km (?) long: walking from the closest bus stop to the top of the bridge took quite a while.
Är det?
Is this a language or does this bus company just feel cool when they have some Latin letters on their bus?
I Nanjing.
Monument at the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall, commemorating the 300 000 victims of the Nanjing Massacre, killed by the Japanese soldiers during the Japanese attack on China in the 1930s. It was rather terrible: the soldiers were competing in killing civilians, the more you massacred, the higher status you got. Free entry.
Iris
Iris statue, holding a peace dove in the park outside the Memorial Hall. Taking pictures inside the different halls was not allowed.
Si le.
Utslagna efter museibesöket.
Upp.
På väg upp för Lila berget.
I Nanjing
The one and only!
Ming.
Ming tombs. 70 yuan.
Sun Yat-sens.
After a somewhat long hill, some 300 steps to reach the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum. Free entry.
Från mausoleet.
Nice view! After this we returned to Shanghai with a slower train leaving 18.32, taking 4 hours 11 minutes, costing 47 yuan.
Pudong.
Taking a Pudong picture from the Bund is a must.
På Hongkou Plaza.
Convenient with food constantly rotating within reach. The sushi tasted well as well.

勿行!

...没有没...?五月二十一日-五月二十七日

Publicerad 2012-06-14 10:24:03 i Allmänt

The exam has been written, so de facto my summer holiday has begun. We will still have a week of school, though.

Some photos from the Eurovision week!
Utsikt.
View from the headquarters of evil. People's Square and Park below.
Kannibalism
A menu. How about some Japanese cousin?
Rhäbecquah haver problem.
Rhäbecquah hade problem med utsikten i och med den strategiskt utplacerade affischen i fönstret.
:(
The most disgusting meal ever in Shanghai.
På Massé.
Brunch at Massé, celebrating Sweden's victory in the Eurovision Song Contest!
I Shanghai.
A funny house in Shanghai. I have read about the history of this building, but forgotten everything. I remember that it had something with Sweden to do.

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对极了!五月十四日-五月二十日

Publicerad 2012-06-07 13:09:57 i Allmänt

It is unbelievably humid and hot right now, it is like sitting in a rainforest while sitting inside. School is getting close to an end: our exam will be in merely a week from now.

Some pictures from the week beginning 14th of May.
I Hongkou Plaza.
Titanic in 3D for 35 yuan: such a rip-off! This cinema had just opened in the new shopping centre next to our metro station.
Mat
Mat på the Bund. Eftersom jag hade halsfluss, så kunde jag inte äta annat än glass.
Jiuba.
At Barbarossa, where the discussion topic game was given birth.
På natten.
The headquarters of Evil.
I Hangzhou.
An evening at the famous West Lake in Hangzhou The train trip took some 1,5 hours, leaving at 15.00 from Shanghai, 93 yuan one way. Right after this picture was taken, I got otitis, inconveniently enough.
Vid Västra sjön.
The sun has set.
Över Västra sjön.
The Su Causeway crossing the West Lake.
På Västra sjön.
Going by boat on the lake for 45 yuan.
I Västra sjön.
On an island in the West Lake.
I Västra sjön.
Lotuses.
Popmajs.
Salted popcorn! In China they have this disgusting habit of sweetening popcorn: normal (salted) popcorn can be somewhat challenging to come by. Luckily, a Carrefour opened close enough our home to make it worth a visit.
Vid Dapuqiao.
In a Shikumen area close to Dapuqiao. Somewhat too expensive for us.

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你知道什么意思?五月七日-五月十三日

Publicerad 2012-06-04 15:48:26 i Allmänt

Näst sista skolveckan haver börjat. Standardfrasen "Vi komma ju vara här så länge" börjar bliva allt mindre aktuell. I och med min effektivitet i dag är jag nu ledig hela kvällen, vilket lär medföra tittande av Desperate Housewives.

Some photos from the week after our holiday week. As the days were getting rather ordinary, fewer and fewer photos were taken.
Rebecca ockuperar mikrofonerna.
Rhäbecquah taggar karaoke! 58 yuan per room for one hour of singing.
Sång.
Bakgrundsdansösen friskar upp sig med 可口可乐.
På SISU.
Visiting a school with Chinese students studying Swedish as their major. Lina var väl förberedd med en presentation.
Presenterar.
Helena var en av kineserna som presenterade sig, bland annat med sång.
Strutsar.
Strutsar på Shanghais zoo! Entrance fee 40 yuan.
På zoot.
A lesser panda.
På zoot.
A not so lesser panda.
Nos.
Rather cute.

A lazy day at 星巴克.
På Xingbake.
Någon var missnöjd.
勿行!

你说的不对。四月三十日-五月六日

Publicerad 2012-06-03 10:56:35 i Allmänt

Planning my trip home in December/January is fairly exciting, as it seems that it is possible to get it cheaper than I had imagined. I shall hope that everything works out fine.

Some more pictures from our holiday week of the International Labour Day.
På Shanghai-museet.
Gold in the Shanghai Museum. Free entry.
På Shanghaimuseet.
Modern banknotes are way more convenient, as fitting A4 sheets in my wallet would involve to much folding.
Svårläst.
Xu 小姐, vad betyda de här tecknen?
På Shanghaimuseet.
Our Chinese textbook concentrates on teaching us how to discuss differences between Chinese painting and oil painting. Necessary vocabulary to know when visiting Shanghai Museum!
Järnvägsstationen.
Holiday in Tokyo! The flight took some 3 hours to Ibaraki Airport to the north of Tokyo. As the airport is very small, it can be hard to catch a bus to Tokyo. Making reservation to the Spring Airlines airport-Tokyo shuttle bus is advisable (the contact details are available at the Spring Airlines homepage). Showing a Spring Airlines flight confirmation on the same day that you travel with the shuttle bus gives you a cheaper bus ticket, 500 yen one way for the 1 hour ride (1000 yen without Spring Airlines flight confirmation).
Kvällsmat.
Yummy Japanese food. Everything I ate in Tokyo was delicious!
I Tokyo.
At the Imperial Palace. Unfortunately it began to rain while I was wandering in the gardens.
I Tokyo.
The Pokémon centre (Hamamatsucho station) in Tokyo! One of the main reasons to go to Tokyo at all!
Eufori!
Euphoria!!!
Yamanote.
"This is a Yamanote line train bound for Shinjuku and Ikebukuro."
I Shibuya.
Supposedly the world's most crowded pedestrian crossing in Shibuya.
I Harajuku.
A delicious pasta, pizza and dessert buffet in Harajuku for 1150 yen!
I Tokyo.
The controversial Yasukuni shrine. Japanese soldiers who were killed in the Second World War are commemorated here. As both China and Korea views Japan as an aggressor in the war, it is in these countries deemed highly inappropriate for higher Japanese politicians to visit this shrine.
I Tokyo.
Shinjuku, the capital of Tokyo.
I stora lass.
Ice Cream City in Namjatown. ALL kinds of ice cream can be found here. Entrance fee to the Namjatown amusement park (Ikebukuro station) where this is located is 300 yen (only the entrance fee, no rides on the attractions).
Glass.
May I tempt you with squid ice cream?
Glass.
Or how about some delicious garlic and mint?
Glass.
In the end I decided to eat some ox tongue, double cheese, black sesame and wasabi ice cream. The double cheese was my favourite, although none of them tasted bad.
Ej öppnat.
The Tokyo Skytree, the world's second tallest building, in the background. It opened 22nd of May, which meant that it was not yet open when I visited it. The gold-coloured building is the headquarters of a brewery: the building is supposed to resemble a glass of beer with foam on top.
Sista natten.
Last night in Tokyo was spent in Shinjuku.
Ibaraki.
Farewell Japan!
Spring Airlines.
The plane from Shanghai arrived on time, meaning that we could depart on time. The 3,5 hour flight back was much more pleasant than the flight to Ibaraki, which was a horrifying experience indeed with constant turbulence. It was like sitting in an earthquake.
På gatan utanför.
Hem ljuva hem, home sweet home!

勿行!

你叫什么意思? 四月二十三日-四月二十九日

Publicerad 2012-06-02 15:11:46 i Allmänt

Back from Nanjing I once again have time to write. The Massacre Memorial Hall in Nanjing is sure worth a visit, in spite of the disgusting photos. Do count on being a sight yourself if you don't look Chinese: one man even came and sat next to us, shouting to his friend to take a photo quickly before we left. They did not care to ask us if we would mind them taking a photo of us.

Some pictures from the week beginning with 23rd of April.
Exakt.
Tömningstiderna på dessa rariteter i gatubilden äro minst sagt exakt angivna.
Tempel i Shanghai.
Qinci Yangdian Taoist Temple in Shanghai. Entrance fee 5 yuan. Although it is new, I really liked the interior. It was somehow so peaceful and calm and as it is too new to be a major tourist spot, it meant that I was the only foreigner there among a handful Chinese engaged in some ceremony.
Kommunism.
The museum commemorating the first meeting of the Communist Party of China, that took place here in Shanghai, close to Xintiandi. Free entry, but a ticket needs to be picked up outside the museum.
Över bron.
Early Saturday morning in Suzhou, famous for its gardens. Very early in fact, as the impolite ticket vendor in Shanghai only wanted to sell me a ticket to an early morning train leaving at 7.00, arriving in Suzhou at 7.25. Cost 40 yuan one way. It is wise to go to the train stations early, as you need to pass a security check and there might be a queu (although they are rarely particularly long). The most time-consuming part is in fact locating which platform your train will be leaving from, as there usually is a huge board with ALL of the departures of that day slowly rotating in a list, which means that you may need to wait for a while before your train appears on the board.
I Suzhou.
Getting a cold in Suzhou won't be a problem, as ginger is readily available.
Turister.
Liuyuan was fairly crowded already in the early morning. Entrance fee 40 yuan.
Träd.
While I was enjoying the chattering tourist groups, my roommates were freezing on a mountain with their horses in Gansu and sweating on a 沙滩, beach, on Hainan respectively.
Vet ej.
I can't tell if this was 京剧 or 越剧, but it was some kind of Chinese opera.
Djupt.
A minor mishap...
Suzhou.
The Confucius Temple in Suzhou.
Endast i Suzhou.
As with everything delicious in China, this comes from Taiwan. A bean dessert with something ice cream-like that is not ice cream.
På museet.
Living silkworms in the Suzhou Silk Museum, entrance fee 15 yuan.
Av siden.
This carpet was indeed beautiful, but somewhat too expensive.
Upp.
I'm going up, up, up, up, up... Entrance fee 25 yuan.
Från luften.
Suzhou's suburbs seen from the pagoda.
Höghastighetståg.
Back to Shanghai with a gaotie, a high-speed train, departing 19.02, arriving 19.27 in Shanghai, 40 yuan.
Bron med 9 hörn.
The bridge with 9 corners in the shopping area next to the City God Temple in Shanghai.

勿行!

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