I found this guy singing and play music on Guangzhou Lu on my way home one night. I had never seen him before and he was the most amusing busker I have seen here. I loved his Elton John style glasses, strange clothes and the fact that he was wearing a short and tie. All… Read More »
It is really difficult to change money in China. Most banks insist on seeing a tax receipt to prove that you have earned the money legally. Some of us don’t have tax receipts so have to find the banks which do not ask for them. It is hard. And when you find a bank (eg… Read More »
Shocking story in the Shanghai Daily about the illegal trade in fresh placentas. The first sentence refers to placentas “selling like hot cakes”. The article then goes on to talk about how you can buy them on taobao (equiv to eBay) and how to make an animal placenta look like a human one by reshaping… Read More »
The silly season is here again when owners dress their dogs up in their winter outfits; boots, coats, leggings, hat, gloves and scarf and parade them on the streets to their admiring public. Then the obligatory dying of the poodles ears amd tails will begin. Actually I saw one today on Guangzhou Lu. A poodle… Read More »
Last year I got quite excited about the cricket fighting and this year I was keen to get back to the flower and bird market at the rear of the Confucius Temple. I was not disappointed. There I found hundreds of little tins containing little fighting crickets. Some crickets were very large and kept in… Read More »
I have decided to undertake a course on journalism and travel writing from the London School of Journalism. They have a lot of interesting courses which can be done via distance learning. So I have gone for the Freelance Travel Writing course and have completed the first module. It is interesting so far and I… Read More »
Apparently the streets of Nanjing were quiet over the Mid-Autumn festival. I wasn’t there, I was in Shanghai but I think they’s all came there, the place was heaving especially in the financial district across the river. The crowds made it difficult to walk in parts (just like in Ikea the day before!). I never… Read More »
Every Monday and Wednesday I go to a textile company and teach the son of the owner. Jimmy wants to study in the USA. Actually I think his father wants him to study in the USA. I think Jimmy wants to stay in Shanghai, eat hamburgers and surf the web in his bedroom but such… Read More »
I was in Shanxi Lu getting off line 1 and walking down the road to line 10. I was on my way to the Confucius Temple (I needed YuYuan station) where I wanted to take some photos. However, when I got to Line 10 Shanxi road station the police were turning people away and not… Read More »
The Jinling Hotel used to be the highest building in Nanjing but now it is dwafted by almost every building which has been put up in the last 10 years. It’s hard to believe that once you could see everything from the top. The Jinling Hotel is probably the best one in Nanjing. It is… Read More »