Some of my fellow foreigners or waiguoren as incredulous Chinese people like to helpfully point out loudly a dozen times a day. (l-r Andrew, Sarah Beth, Matt, Michele and Lori) This was a recovery coffee shop stop after a long night of free booze and dangerous dancing.
The Quesadilla Queen, Madeleine, who feeds me regularly. As you all know, my favourite pastime in the Whole Wide World is eating. I'm delighted to have found someone with a very well equipped kitchen, who's not afraid to use it.
Time off involves all sorts of highly constructive things such as shopping, drinking, eating in and out, going to the beach and sometimes something a little more highbrow like Visiting Other Places for Cultural Purposes...
Photo by Jana Franke
Shoppio
Lori taking shopping very seriously.
Photo by Michele Chapman
Road trip for dinner in Ganyu, another district in Lianyungang, around an hour away. The driver was extremely amicable and later that night/morning took us out for dinner #2...
Photo by Michele Chapman
The drivers friends mothers restaurant. Or something. Either way, we were treated to masses of food and galons of baijiu. Ooph.
Photo by Michele Chapman
The results of two dinners and gallons of baijiu.
Photo by Michele Chapman
Park-nic
Photo by Michele Chapman
Park-nic
Three of my closest buddies here, Michele, Andrew and Madeleine.
Andrew's blog. Ahem.
My hat proving to be popular at a shao kao (BBQ)This girl, whose family run the shao kao, is due to give birth at the same time as Hannah & Neil., so we got chatting and hatting.
Dinner at Bob's house with his family. Bob is a master at face-massage so I also let him wear my highly popular hat.
This is, seriously, one of the best places to buy clothes in Xinpu. Cheap, cheerful and often bonkers.
Just riding your bike for half an hour and counting how many near-death experiences you have or witness is a blast, or going outside to buy something can be both challenging and exciting and can often end in unexpected results. I popped into a bakery to buy something for a picnic in the park and got talking to the chef who owns the bakery. His name is Barry and he used to work in Shanghai. The conversation ended with him inviting me and my friends to an a la carte evening at the bakery. This is not unusual; there are many evenings where The Foreigners are invited to some venue to drink all of the free drink they can and eat all of the free food as it is seen as prestigious to have all of those white faces at your joint. This can backfire - a few weeks ago, the foreign ladies (there are only five of us. Most of the foreigners are guys) went to a wine bar and were informed it was Ladies Night and that the wine was free. We made the very most of it and stayed until they kicked us out. When we returned the following week we were informed that only one wine was free and we had to buy food to qualify. Lesson learned.
As I spend more time here and get to know the city, it is revealing its secrets and proving to be a delightful place. In a combined : coffee shops, good food places, bars, places to buy very special things like lasagne sheets or the freshest fish you've ever seen, most of which is still wiggling around in the plastic containers at the side of the road.
It was a happy day when I found this little treasure. Unfortunately I rescinded dairy when I left the UK so a nice cup of builders is a thing of the past, however it's still a good cuppa and as you know, tea is difficult to find in China...
I've been taken out on a variety of raucous evenings that seem to go on for days but pass in an instant and have included banquet style feasts, dancing in clubs (thought I'd stopped that around 8 years ago), singing at KTV (China's karaoke rooms) and ending up in the early hours eating even more food at someone's friends/mothers/drivers/cousins restaurant. Everything is so cheap and the working hours so few that it's possible to live like a king/lunatic.
I'll have a side order of I-can't-breathe please. The No Smoking revolution that's sweeping the West is a totally alien concept here. Cough.
This is my favourite restaurant in China. No honestly! It is a Jiaozi (dumpling) place near my apartment and the lady who owns it is a sweetheart. She knows when to pick up my diary to look at my funny western squiggles, or when to talk at me or when to sit in silence chopping veg because I'm in recovery mode. I found it by accident and have taken almost everyone I know there and they collectively agree that it is AWESOME. She makes one kind of Jiaozi, which is spinach, ginger and spring onion. It costs 6 kuai (60p) for a big serving and she always dishes up with a big smile and a giggle!
Photo by Michele Chapman
You will find fish drying at the window, or garlic drying on the floor which adds to the aromas in this place. Magic!
Generosity is everywhere if you are open to it and leave your cynicism behind, and offers of food and drink abound. Company is not a problem either. Everyone is curious about the waiguoren and you will find yourself walking down the street, or sitting in a park, or riding on your bike or indeed doing anything and before long someone is alongside, chatting to you and wanting to know where you're from, what you are doing, how much do you earn and where's your husband. Even if you cannot understand a word and convey this, they will happily chat at you until you forcibly part ways. It is in no way intimidating or aggressive, it's pure joyful curiosity that I have learned is abundant here. It took a while but now I have become oblivious to the staring and instead embrace the 'Hallo!' that I hear dozens of times a day.
Whilst having lunch with Lori this lady walked straight toward us, sat down and chatted until we left. She was lovely and eager to know all about us. I love the chutzpah of the Chinese! An elderly gentleman who was flying a kite joined us too and attempted to move us out of the sun into the shade. It seems inconceivable that anyone would allow their skin to turn 'black' in the sun. The Chinese have a thousand ingenious ways of covering up. White skin is seen as superior. If you browse the aisles of any personal products store, you will see bleaching agents in many of the skin products.
Coffee AND wifi! Apparently coffee shops are still a relatively new introduction. I for one am jolly pleased that they are here even if sometimes your drink is served with tapioca type jelly blobs in them. This particular blobby drink was a concern. The synthetic mystery that stands in for cream remained firmly attached to the rim, even after I had drunk the entire contents of the cup. I never question what muck I have just ingested as I fear I might actually find out.
Andrew, Sarah Beth and Dipsy.
Xinpu Park lunch spot
How many beers can you carry on an e-bike?
Painting party at Michele's place before she leaves in a few weeks:
Photo by Jana Franke
Fruits of my labour :-/
Lunch at Jana & Glenn's. YUM!
A gift from Sue who stayed with me for a week
No explanation needed!
Homemade mini-pizza, made with weird sweet bread (there appears to be no other kind in China. This means I rarely eat bread any more either.), seaweed and a grimace.
A gift from my bosses.
A lovely pair. Everything is seasonal here. I am mourning the loss of broccoli but hey! Look! Coconut! This is not typical here so I was delighted when we found a food festival near the canal, and within it a stall selling coconuts for 10 kuai (£1). It is sold with a straw bunged in to drink the juice straight from the centre. Yum.
CangWu Park, the home of kite flying and lunchtime sunbathing:
Kites are big news in China. You'll see everyone from elderly folk to young men in leathers flying them every day. A lovely pastime that prompted me to invest in a fish shaped kite of my very own.
Bubblegun
Sunnies shopping
More things to carry on an ebike
Earring shop
How super stylish is this little guy?!
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