Monday marked a special holiday in China… Singles Day! This is a day where single people celebrate the fact they are single by buying themselves gifts in the many online sales that are put on for the holiday. It is similar to Black Friday in America except you are buying for yourself rather than rushing to buy Christmas presents at discounted prices. The day was chosen because the number one is in the date four times representing people standing by themselves (but also they are standing together so… I’m not going to argue with the logic, I’m just saying) and more recently it has begun to creep it’s way into Western culture. Now if you know me you’ll know I’m not going to turn down a good excuse to shop, single or not! I didn’t go completely crazy though (with the Taobao app it can be all too easy to spend a small fortune) giving myself a budget to 1000 yuan. I decided to take advantage of the discount and buy myself a few items of furniture to make my little studio feel more like a home. When I arrived in China my apartment only had the bare essentials that any person really needs in their room; a bed, wardrobe and a desk. I honestly expected the items I bought to take up to a month to arrive but they have been slowly turning up one by one over the course of the week.
The whole app is in Chinese so sometimes I need a little help…
I have never put flat pack furniture together on my own and I really threw myself in at the deep end with the first piece of furniture to arrive. I wish I had taken a picture of just how many pieces this make-up table had come in because to look at it now you’d think it looks easy! As I unpacked everything I realised I had made a terrible mistake in ordering it, I had no instructions and not even the slightest clue of what I was doing! So I turned to WeChat (China’s answer to Facebook and WhatsApp in one convenient app that also lets you pay for just about anything from a snack at the corner shop to a flight!) and posted a plea for help. Thankfully my friend Luna messaged me and showed up with the tools to get the job done, along with about twenty tangerines and two mangosteens. The rest of the furniture has gone together without an issue, I’m still waiting on my bedside tables to arrive but my apartment is really starting to feel like home!
Fawn approves of the new furniture.
For those who don’t already know me and my friend Jess rescued a kitten last year and named her Storm because there was a typhoon forecast to hit our province in China the weekend we found her. While I was in Myanmar she escaped her foster home and returned expecting a litter of kittens! So I am now in the process of finding loving homes for them. This week kitten number one was adopted into his new family and although he is a bit scared of his new big brothers seems to be doing well.
One little kitten on his way to his new home.
Not to be out done by last week, this week decided to end with a scene that wouldn’t feel out of place in a Hitchcock thriller! I came out of the toilet last night and noticed the cats were all staring at something, I looked up expecting to find a moth or similar fluttering around the ceiling light but that is not what I saw… a GIANT wasp had invaded my apartment. In what I can only describe as the most dramatic hour of my life, I scrambled to get the cats into their cage before one of them tried to eat the wasp all while staying as low as possible as the wasp dive bombed my head! I was on the edge of a genuine panic attack but I couldn’t run out of my apartment and leave the cats behind and I was terrified to open a window in case more came in. I had no idea what to do and I could tell the wasp was getting agitated as it started flying into the walls more and more! Finally I remembered that the previous tenant had left a bottle of insect killer in the apartment and I rushed to find it. Usually I don’t kill bugs, I just feel that they don’t know how terrifying they are so it’s not fair to kill them for that, but this wasp was a real threat to the safety of myself and my cats. I don’t know if it would have done that much damage to myself but I wasn’t about to wait to find out and compared to the size of kittens I really think it could have seriously hurt one of them. So I sprayed it with the bug killer and hid in my toilet until I heard it hit the floor. This is when I discovered the second one! I swear this one was twice the size of the first one and I couldn’t figure out where they were coming from! (I think they came in under my balcony door as there were no windows open at the time they appeared). It flew into the kitchen area of my apartment and I sprayed it before hiding around the corner. I heard it drop but when I came round the corner I couldn’t find it anywhere. I think it went back out the way it came because a thorough search of the apartment has not uncovered it. My heart rate was well above what is healthy at this point and I had to sit on my bed and just breathe for a good ten minutes.
Double A battery for scale!
By this time it was about 9 o’clock and I hadn’t eaten dinner yet so I headed to my friend Rose’s restaurant because I was not about to cook after that crazy hour! Of the few times I have been sad or stressed in China I have always found myself at Rose’s restaurant and she has never failed to cheer me up or calm me down, often without even knowing she is doing it. She is so warm and happy that it is impossible to be sad in her presence! Her daughter is also such a lovely little girl and even though she can’t speak as much English as her mum she is always eager to talk to me (I’ve been a distraction from homework more than once since I arrived back in China…) So I ended up staying there until after midnight and made some new friends who invited me to go shopping with them next weekend.
If you are interested in my previous adventures in China click on one of these:
It’s official. I’m cursed! Ok maybe that’s being a bit over dramatic… but let me break it down for you and you’ll understand why I have come to this melodramatic conclusion.
About a year and a half ago here in Guangdong, China my friends and I took a little trip to our closest big city Guangzhou. While there, one of my friends tried to win me a large Stitch stuffed toy, it was basically impossible and as a consolation prize we were given these cute little plastic bracelets. I put mine on immediately, because I’m a sentimental human, and basically didn’t take it off… ever. Another friend later told me that the bracelet was good luck because it was red and had two carp fish tied to it, both of these things are strong symbols of luck in the Chinese culture. She also told me to wear it on my left wrist which is exactly what I did until about a week before I left Myanmar when it broke.
It lasted a good year and a half!
Now I was under the impression that if it broke then it’s time was up so my luck wouldn’t run out because it’s not like I lost it or took it off by choice, but what do I know about the inner workings of the universe mixed with ancient Chinese superstition? To misquote everyone’s favourite fantasy TV series “I know nothing”!
In true me fashion I didn’t throw the bracelet away, how could I when it had been part of me for the past year and a half?! I placed it carefully in my plastic folder of memories like I do with all the random things I’ve collected since I started travelling and I went about the rest of my week getting ready to move back to China.
This is where it gets crazy! I think that over the week my luck had stayed with me because the bracelet was in my room still sending out those positive vibes. Then we get to the airport and I have to repack my bag, removing the memory folder for later collection!! If you read my last post then you will know that my first week in China didn’t exactly go smoothly well this week continued that trend…
First my fridge broke and in this climate all of my food spoiled overnight as well as leaving me with a massive puddle of water in my bedroom that my six cats proceeded to wander through and play in! Then I dropped an entire mug of water on my laptop which honestly was the worst thing that could happen right before I start work again! I rely on my laptop more than anything else I own, more than my phone if you can believe it. It’s not only important for keeping in touch with people but it’s also the only way I can do my job, so this was the disaster to end all disasters! I acted fast, turning it off and upside down before I could even think about what was happening. Then I left it for two days and crossed everything!
Two days upside down seems to have done the trick…
So as you can see I have been rather unlucky over the past couple of weeks (more so than my usual minor incidents) and this was exactly the conversation I was having with my friend Rose when we figured out that the missing bracelet was the problem. Rose is from China and while her English is fantastic there are occasions when the sentences get a little confused. This was such a time. I was sat in her restaurant unable to finish my enormous portion of noodles explaining that I would love to take it home but my fridge was not working. This is how the conversation turned to the subject of my unlucky couple of weeks and she said the following sentence, “Your life has turned black, you are so unlucky.” (now whose dramatic?) Everything just clicked together in my brain suddenly when she compared my unlucky life to a colour. Red is a lucky colour, my bracelet was red, I don’t have my bracelet, now my life is black. I said this all out loud and she immediately confirmed my suspicions, I had lost my “mascot” and as a result lost my luck. She told me it would not return until I was given a new mascot and she was very clear, I had to be given the mascot I could not go out and buy a new one!
So here I am at the end of my second week in China waiting for a new mascot to enter my life. I’ve never really been a superstitious person but I have made jokes in the past about that bracelet bringing me good luck. What do you think? Am I cursed? Or is it all just a big coincidence? I’m just going to have to wait and see (and drink all of my water from a sippy cup like a toddler). In the meantime, everyone keep your fingers crossed for me and my unlucky life!
If you are interested in my previous adventures in China click on one of these:
Due to poor planning on my part, I spent a lot of time in Hanoi during my trip to Vietnam at the beginning of this year. In total I spent almost two weeks roaming the streets and frequenting various coffee shops, without drinking a single drop of coffee I might add. Usually I order a nice safe peppermint tea, failing that I’ll choose a mango smoothie! As you can probably guess, this will not be a list of where to find the best coffee in Hanoi. If that is what you were looking for then I suggest you look elsewhere (sorry). What this will be, however, is a list of the coffee shops I visited while I was there and my opinions of them. So if that sounds interesting to you, sit back, grab a coffee and read on.
My favourite travel word… probably because it sums up my life…
The Note ( Open 6:30 am – 11pm)
The Note Coffee was at the top of my list when it came to things I wanted to do in Hanoi. I know it probably should have been the temple of literature or a museum of some sort, but once you see the photos you’ll understand why I was so excited to check it out. It has to be the cutest coffee shop I’ve ever visited! Filled with notes of love left by visitors from all over the world, you can’t help but feel like the walls themselves are giving you one big hug. The peppermint tea was as good as any I’ve had and they do a fantastic matcha iced smoothie too if that floats your boat. I loved this coffee shop and I spent hours there writing blog posts and editing videos, and for most of that time I had a whole floor of the café to myself. If you love post-it notes and good vibes then I would definitely recommend a visit.
Even the mugs are friendly!A room full of love and kindness ❤Extra points for the whipped cream on top!
Where to find it: The Note Coffee is right in-between Hanoi’s old quarter and Keim Lake (great view of this busy area from the top floor of the café). Easily locatable on google maps, less easy to navigate yourself to if you struggle to dodge speeding motorbikes and follow directions at the same time! It’s located on the right hand corner of the lake as you come out of the old quarter and shouldn’t be too hard to spot, but I did miss it and walk right past it when I was looking for it…
Address: 64 Lương Văn Can, Hàng Trống, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội, Vietnam
Hanoi Social Club (Open 8am – 11pm)
When I saw a menu that said “gluten free, vegan spaghetti” I was excited but kept my expectations low. Gluten free pasta dishes can be a hit or miss situation at home, never mind halfway around the world in a country where gluten free is barely even translatable! I was actually pleasantly surprised and had myself a lovely meal. As if things couldn’t get better they even had gluten free chocolate cake! Add to this the homey, comfy atmosphere of the place and you’ve got yourself the perfect spot to hang out for an afternoon. It’s a bit on the pricey side but when you’ve been living off spring rolls for the past two weeks paying a little bit extra for a delicious spaghetti is definitely worth it! If you like a café with mismatched furniture, quirky artwork and dim lighting, then this one is for you.
You have to order a green drink in a place like this!
Where to find it: Within walking distance of the old quarter this hipster café is definitely in a central location, I did have a little trouble finding it though. It is located down a small side street that google maps has no knowledge of so it took me a while to figure out where to go. Once on the side street, however, it is easy enough to locate.
Address: 6 Ngõ Hội Vũ, Hàng Bông, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội, Vietnam
Hidden Gem Café (Open 8am – 11pm)
Hidden Gem is a unique and wonderful place with a great mission! Everything in the café is made from upcycled materials from the seats to the décor and even the cups you drink from! The café’s owner is a friendly man keen to talk about his ambitious mission to clean up South East Asia (and sell his motorbike tours of Hanoi). It is built over four floors, three of which have seating in all shapes, sizes and materials. On the ground floor you will find bike parking and smiling staff waiting to take your order, this is also where you get your first glimpse of the café’s upcycled décor with plastic bottle ceilings and water jug light shades. All around the café are posters about climate change and plastic pollution really expressing the inspiration behind the place. I returned to this café a few times and would recommend going in the evening as the atmosphere is truly at its best at this time.
Even the ceiling is recycled!The only spider I’ll ever call cute
Where to find it: When they say “hidden gem” they mean hidden! Well not really but it took me far too long to find this place. The hour long search resulted in a smashed up phone and an essential but brief trip to the next coffee shop I’m going to talk about. If I’m honest I just wasn’t using my eyes… as soon as I sat down in the coffee shop across the street I saw the sign saying “Hidden Gem Café this way” and felt like an idiot as I waited for my apple juice and desperately hoped my phone would fix itself. It is right on the edge of Hanoi’s old quarter and if you bring your brain with you really isn’t that hard to find, if all else fails find Always (the Harry Potter themes café) and look across the street, it will be right in front of you.
Address: 3B Hàng Tre, Lý Thái Tổ, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội, Vietnam
Always Coffee and Butterbeer (Open 8am – 11pm)
This cute little café needs some TLC but I loved it all the same. It is a Harry Potter themed café and has drinks named after different potions and beverages mentioned in the books and movies. Leave them a review on tripadvisor and you’ll even bag yourself a free deathly hallows necklace. It’s a small café with one floor and a small amount of tables but both times I went I was able to get a seat no problem. As mentioned above, I wasn’t very adventurous the first time I went, opting for what I thought would be a quicker option in the form of apple juice. Unfortunately for me in that moment but something that earns them points in reality, all their fruit juices are made from scratch and so my apple juice took at least ten minutes to come to me. By which time I had been staring at my intended destination for about eight minutes. Disastrous day it may have been, but discovering a Harry Potter themed café was definitely a bright side to my misadventures. When I returned, intentionally this time, I ordered a Felix Felicis (the famous luck potion from Half Blood Prince) and it was delicious! A mango smoothie floating on top of what I think was lemonade, whatever it was it tasted better than I just made it sound! If you’re a Harry Potter fan this is the place for you in Hanoi.
After all this time…
Where to find it: Located on the edge of the old quarter, if you see the Hidden Gem Café then look no further than across the street… the best way to find it would appear to be by looking for something else… (come to think of it maybe it is actual magic and not just a cute theme!) Nearby landmarks I can attest to are a phone repair shop (I’m not bitter I promise) and Highway 4 restaurant.
Address: 8B Hàng Tre, Lý Thái Tổ, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội, Vietnam
65 Coffee (Open 10:30am – 8:30pm)
This tiny shop is where I chose to spend a whole day watching the train pass through Hanoi’s infamous train street! As seems to be the theme with my travels, I was not actually looking for this coffee shop. In fact I was looking for one I had seen in a vlog when researching my trip to Vietnam (I know I might not have a solid plan but I promise I do at least a bit of research before I arrive in a new country). I located my predetermined café “Hanoi Train Track Café” only to find it had closed down. A bit disappointed but determined not to let it dampen my spirits I walked about five minutes down the track and was welcomed by a wonderful smile and told to sit by the owner of 65 Coffee. It was about 35 degrees so the first thing I wanted was a cola but as I said I did spend the whole day there so I eventually ordered myself a lemon ice tea (bet you thought I was going to say mango smoothie)! I must have been there from 12pm to 4pm but time flew by; chatting with other tourists and the shop owners, waiting for trains to speed past at unbelievable speeds for a residential street and making friends with a very dirty but very sweet dog. I definitely recommend this little spot if you are interested in checking out train street. It is much quieter than the other end which is usually crowded with tourists trying to get a snap of the unbelievable sight of a train driving edge to edge with people’s actual homes!
Not a mango smoothie!Everything else might be closed for Tet but not this little shop!
Where to find it: Well, the clue is in the last paragraph really but you can find this café on Hanoi’s train street. I walked there from the old quarter and it was manageable despite the heat. There are a few café’s along the street and if you are interested in train street I will be posting a blog soon detailing my day there.
Address: 65 Ngõ 224 Lê Duẩn, Khâm Thiên, Đống Đa, Hà Nội, Vietnam
For more of my travels check out some of these posts:
We arrived in Harbin on new Year’s Eve after a long and interesting journey by sleeper train. Once we had checked into our hotel and freshened up a bit, we decided to go for a walk down the main street to see if we could find a bar or a restaurant to spend the evening in and celebrate the changing of the year. The main street was beautifully decorated with fairy lights and lined with ice sculptures, some still a work in progress. Along this street you can also find high street stores, shopping malls, restaurants (yes there is a McDonald’s) and some of Harbin’s famous ice cream parlours. Apparently no trip Heilongjiang province is complete without ice cream and so, this is how we found ourselves in a bar at quarter to midnight ice cream in one hand and a drink in the other. I think the main appeal of Harbin ice cream is the novelty of eating it in sub-zero temperatures, but it is still really good ice cream so I do recommend giving it a try.
Harbin Ice CreamThe strongest Jack and Coke I’ve had in my life!
The ice festival in Harbin doesn’t actually start until the 5th of January so we travelled Yabuli for three days of snowboarding. Yabuli is located about three hours south of Harbin by train and is probably the most well-known Ski Town in China, boasting three major ski resorts. More about this in a later post though…
There are three main parks in the Harbin Ice Festival, two I would say are a must do and one that I would recommend you squeeze in if you have time but is not essential for the overall experience.
The snow sculptures were indescribably impressive!
The first park I suggest you go to is Sun Island Snow Sculpture Competition and Scenic Area. My research told us that it was best to see this park during the day and I do agree with this but make sure that you stick around for sunset as seeing the large snow sculptures bathed in the orange glow of the setting sun was definitely one of my favourite things about this park. We arrived just before midday and left as the sun was setting around half past three, spending roughly four hours there in total. I don’t think you need four hours to see the whole park, you could probably see everything in around two and a half hours, but we spent a good amount of time warming up in the coffee shops that are scattered around the park. Another reason we were at this park for so long was because of the amount ice related entertainment on offer, they had everything from giant ice slides to ice bikes and sledging. I pretty much had to drag Justin away from the attractions before I froze to death!
Sunset over the ice rink.One of my favourite features were the sculptures you could climb inside and become part of!He told me not to dab but I did it anyway…No such thing as too much fun!
Also on offer at this park, and included in your ticket, is a shuttle bus from the main entrance to various stops around the park and back again. We chose to walk around the park first and then got the shuttle bus back to the entrance because when the sun goes down in Harbin the temperature starts to drop really quickly!
Looking like a marshmallow is mandatory in subzero temperatures
The second must see park and main attraction of the Harbin Ice Festival is Ice and Snow world, also located on Sun Island. A popular option for visitors to Harbin is to do the Sun Island Scenic park and the Ice and Snow World park in the same day. This is definitely a good way to do it but is not necessary if you are in Harbin for more than two nights. We chose to do the parks on separate days as we had more than enough time in Harbin and didn’t want to feel too rushed.
Ice and Snow World begins to impress before you’ve even made it through the gate!
Ice and Snow World has been on my China bucket list since I made the decision to come to China way back in 2017 and it did not disappoint. I have never seen anything quite as impressive as the ice sculptures in this park. Before we travelled to Harbin I watched a few videos online and read a couple of blog posts as research for our trip, but even that did not prepare me for the scale of this place! The park has everything from to-scale replicas of famous landmarks to rides and slides made from ice. There were towers of ice blocks as tall as a block of flats and actual castles made from ice! Words honestly cannot do this place enough justice and even in photos it is hard to appreciate the wonder that is Ice and Snow World. I would say two hours is probably enough time to walk around the park and, as with the Sun Island Snow Sculptures, there are plenty of place to nip inside and warm up when the cold starts to get too much. We arrived around seven in the evening and stayed until the park closed at half past eight, we would have arrived earlier but I could not figure out how to get there. My advice would be to flag down a taxi and just show them a picture of Ice and Snow World, this is what we ended up doing and it was far easier than trying to figure it out on google maps!!
Replicas in ice form can be seen of famous landmarks such as the Roman Colosseum.The ice blocks are carved from nearby Songhua River.Fireworks over the Ice Sculptures of Ice and Snow World.The view from the highest point in the park is like nothing I have ever seen!
The third park I recommend taking a look at is Zhaolin Park. This park is free to enter and has more than 1,000 ice sculptures. These sculpture are more like what you would traditionally think of when someone mentions ice sculptures. Intricately carved designs lit up brilliantly with coloured lights line the pathways through the park; figures of animals, people and even an axe made up the art works alongside some smaller ice-block buildings. Don’t feel like you have to squeeze this one in if you are a bit short on time, it is worth checking out but there are ice sculptures dotted around all around the city so if you don’t make it to Zhaolin then you are still pretty much guaranteed to see one somewhere!
Zhaolin Park has some smaller ice buildings and has no entry fee.There were some incredibly intricate designs on display!Harbin’s main walking street is lined with ice sculptures during the festival.
Harbin was the perfect way to end off my year in China (I was originally meant to begin my year there but with the Chinese New Year festival they changed our orientation week to Beijing instead). The festival for me really summed up my experience in China, it is the perfect combination of Chinese culture and the “how is this real?” moments that were a running theme throughout my time there. If you find yourself in need of sub-zero temperatures and pretty lights then Harbin is the place to go. Given the opportunity I would return to the Ice and Snow Festival in a heartbeat and I wouldn’t mind another one of those ice creams either!
Why not check out some more of my adventures around China?
I turned 25 in December and inspired by the wonderful Rachel from Rachel meets China I decided to put together a list of things I want to do and achieve in the next five years. It’s just a bit of fun and I might not manage to tick off every single one of these items but I’m going to give it a good go! So here we are, thirty things I want to do before I turn thirty years old:
Everest Base Camp
Anyone who knows me we will not be surprised to see this on the list. I love me a mountain and Everest is the mother of all mountains. I’m not crazy enough to attempt the summit but base camp seems manageable. I may or may not already be researching a trip to Nepal for 2020…
Me and my team at the top of Kilimanjaro in 2016
2. Visit Cape Town Again
My first solo travel experience was way back in 2012 when I didn’t own a smartphone and Instagram wasn’t even a thought in my mind. There was no blogging or worldwide internet access back then, my only contact with home was an internet café which I visited once a week to sign into Facebook. Now I’m writing this post from a little coffee shop in Vietnam, WIFI is basically a human right and I can phone my mum from the backyard of nowhere if I really wanted to. Times have changed, and I want to visit the city that gave me the travel bug with this new-found connectivity so I can share it with my family the way I share my travels through Asia!
3. Become Fluent in Another Language
I’m not sure what language yet, the logical choice would be Chinese, but it is rather a difficult language to become fluent in, so we will see how that goes. I find it so frustrating to be in a country and not be able to communicate with anyone. I always try to learn a little bit while I’m in a country, as a result I can speak a few words of Thai and I can communicate in Chinese to an extent, but I am nowhere near fluent in any language apart from English and I really want to change that.
4. Climb Ben Nevis
This has been on my bucket list for a long time, but for one reason or another I have never actually gotten around to doing it! My mum recently climbed Ben Nevis and it has made me determined to climb it before I turn thirty. So, Scotland friends, who’s coming with me?
5. Travel the Mekong River
I don’t know how many people have seen Sue Perkin’s travel series about her trip along the Mekong river but ever since I watched it I knew it was something I wanted to do. The Mekong River starts in the Tibetan Plateau and runs from China’s Yunnan Province, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. It covers such a diverse range of countries and cultures as well as passing through some of the most beautiful natural landscapes in Asia. It is the travellers dream trip, well it is this travellers dream trip at least.
6. Learn to Swim
I know, I know how does a girl make it to the age of twenty-five without learning how to swim?! I really love the ocean and spending days on the beach but for some reason I just never learned how to swim. I put it down to a combination of Scotland being too cold to ever encourage swimming, a bad swimming teacher when I was really young and a fear of putting my head under water. I want to change this though as there are so many incredible experiences that I am missing out on because of my lack of swimming ability.
7. Study an Online Course
Again, I am not sure what yet, I have a few ideas but there is so much to choose from out there that I just can’t pick quite yet! Technically my original TEFL course was an online course but I did that when I was twenty-three so I’m not counting it!
8.Learn to Snowboard
This one I have already started on. I spent the first week of 2019 learning the basics in Yabuli and I can’t imagine a better way to have started my year! I have learnt that I need to strengthen my core if I ever want to be able to stand up on a snowboard in a dignified manner, but I think I made pretty good progress in the three days we had. Practice makes perfect.
Pretty sure I fell over about five seconds after this was taken…
9. Road Trip America
This is another thing I have wanted to do for a long time, but this one requires a bit more planning. I hope I can do this before I turn thirty, but it might be a bit of a big ask considering the amount of money and time it will take. I’m leaving it on the list though because you never know where life will take you and if the opportunity presents itself then I will be there with bells on. Also, it is the perfect way to visit all my American friends that I have made over the years!
10. Learn to Surf
Ok this one is going to take a bit of work. First, I as I mentioned earlier I need to learn how to swim and then I need to gain some upper arm strength and maybe work on my balance a little bit but after I sort all of that out then I WILL learn how to surf! I have actually taken one surfing lesson before, in Cape Town, but I can’t exactly say it was successful… see photos below.
This is the best of a bad bunch of photos of my attempting to surf in Cape TownNot very glamorous…
11. Start Writing a Novel
Inspired by my lovely coffee shop best-friend who for about three years told me every shift that my life could be the next disaster novel; I have decided that maybe I can change some of my utterly embarrassing, sometimes wonderful and completely bizarre life experiences into an interesting book. I have always fancied myself as a bit of a writer anyway, hence the blog… This is probably on every hipster, traveller, art student, millennial’s list but that isn’t about to stop me from trying.
12. Go Interrailing
I’m a bit late to the game on this one, I know, but I realised recently that I have hardly seen any of my own continent which is really bad of me! If you don’t have a clue what I’m on a bout interrailing is a railway ticket available to European residents that allows them to travel through Europe by train for a lot cheaper than other forms of transport. Most people go inter-railing when they finish secondary school, but I was more interested in travelling to Africa than exploring the countries closer to home. Not that either one is better than the other but maybe I should have gone inter-railing sooner… did someone say Brexit… Hopefully I still have time!
13. Get My Kilimanjaro Tattoo
I have had a tattoo planned to commemorate my Kilimanjaro climb since I got back from the trip, but tattoos aren’t exactly cheap, and this isn’t a small tattoo. Most of my tattoos have a meaning behind them and I like to mark special events or experiences by getting a tattoo and this particular one is long overdue!
14. Go Full Vegan
I am currently a vegetarian and have been for about three year now, but I know that I can do better. I’m not here to preach that everyone should be veggie or vegan, but I know myself how much healthier I have been since becoming a vegetarian and how much better it is for the environment. I know it is not impossible to be vegan while travelling and it has been pretty easy to be vegetarian this past year, so the transition shouldn’t be too difficult. The only thing that has put me off so far is having Coeliac Disease and being vegetarian is already a pretty limiting diet so adding Vegan into that mix is a bit of a daunting prospect.
15. Become Good with Money/Learn to Budget
This sounds like a pretty simple thing to do but anyone who knows me will know how much I like to shop, and this can be my downfall when I am trying to save money. I have started at this already, I found a really good travel budget app which has been helpful on my Vietnam trip so far. I hope that by keeping a record of everything I spend I can stop myself from buying things that I really don’t need. This will also help me save up for more adventures so that is my main motivator right now.
16. Visit Australia
Some people might not know but I was supposed to be heading to Australia about this time according to my original plan. The plan was six months in China, six months in Vietnam and then a year in Australia… well it’s safe to say that plan went out the window. Instead I spent a year in China and now I’m off to Myanmar for six months and Australia is but a distant memory of a plan that never came to be. This is just the way I live though; I plan and it changes about as quickly as I make it. I do still want to visit Australia though so hopefully I will make it over there before I’m thirty!
17. Learn to Love Exercise
It can’t just be me, surely, but exercise is my least favourite thing. I am probably the unhealthiest human I have ever met if I’m honest. I have just never found a form of exercise that has kept me interested for long enough to keep me healthy. I used to run twice a week when I was training for Kilimanjaro and I was definitely fitter back then than I am now, but I can’t say I loved running. I just didn’t want Kili to kill me! I love hiking, but this isn’t always an option, so I can’t really use it as my main form of exercise. I tried kick-boxing in Uni and did actually really enjoy it but after I finished Uni I just stopped. Any suggestions for a fun form exercise that I can do while travelling are greatly appreciated!
18. See the Sunrise Twice in One Day
Ok, this one might be nearly impossible but I’m putting it on here because I really do want to do this. It’s going to take a lot of planning and good amount of luck but I think I can pull it off. Anyone crazy enough to try this with me?
19. Learn How to Play a Musical Instrument
I played keyboard and guitar when I was younger but I cannot remember any of what I learnt so I will pretty much need to start from scratch. I am hoping, like riding a bike, that some of it will come back when I start learning again but I know that it is probably wishful thinking. I don’t know what kind of instrument I want to learn yet, but it does need to be portable so maybe the Ukulele is my best option?
20. Go to a Red-Carpet Event
I’m not talking super fancy here, any sort of event or party with a red carpet. I just want to feel posh for a night!
21. Climb Mount Fuji.
Ever since Blue Peter went to Japan way back when I was still in Primary School I have wanted to climb Mount Fuji and see the cherry blossoms in Japan. The climb can take anywhere between eight to twelve hours but thinking of the view from the top is all the motivation I need to put this on the list!
22. Invest in Good Quality Camera Equipment
I love my camera and it comes everywhere with me but when I bought it I was a skint student who went for the cheapest option to get her started in the world of photography. I want to improve my skills as a photographer and one of the ways to do that is to start collecting good quality equipment. At the moment I only travel with one lens, the one my camera came with, mainly to save space in my backpack, but hopefully I can expand my collection to include a few more lenses and a better-quality body.
23. See Llamas and Alpacas at Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu has been on my to-do list for a while now, but recently my incentive to travel there was renewed after seeing how many llamas and alpacas are left to wander freely around the site. I’ll admit I’m not really that obsessed with llamas and alpacas themselves but the contrast of seeing their adorable, goofy-looking faces in such a historic and grand setting is what drives me to add this to the list. Add to this, the fact that I can’t look at an alpaca without thinking of my friend Evie and the joke “We’re going on an adventure? Alpaca my bags, then you will understand why this particular item holds a special place in my heart. This means that, if I can convince her, Evie will hopefully be coming with me!
24. Hike the Inca-trail
Leading on from the last goal, I have heard from a number of people that the best way to experience the Inca ruins of Peru is to hike the Inca-trail. There are apparently much bigger and older ruins along the trail than Machu Picchu itself but for some reason Machu Picchu is the one that gets all the press. Also, by now you must know, I love a good hike!
25. Read Lord of the Rings
I’ve seen the movies, I’ve read “The Hobbit”, I’ve even seen the extended editions of the movies but I still have not read the books. I have my Kindle now, so there is no excuse not to read them. By the time I turn thirty I will have completed the set.
26. Take Part in a Fun Run/10k Run
Ok, I was going to say “run a marathon” but we all know that’s a bit of a tall order for me! I’ve never taken part in anything like this and I hated cross country at school, but I think that was mainly because they made us do it in winter! As I said earlier in the post I used to run twice a week, so I know I can do it, but I need to get my fitness level up again before I can even think about taking part in something like this. Here’s hoping the next five years will bring me the motivation I need to tick this one off the list.
27. Become the Kind of Person Who Can Pack Light
I cannot for the life of me figure out how to pack light! How do people do it? When I pack it’s like my bag shrinks to half the size I thought it was and suddenly I’m squeezing my laptop in between my hiking shoes and wash bag while my bikini and beanie hat fall out the other side! I like to pack for all eventualities but I think I need to stop doing that and learn how to pack what I need and in case of emergency just pick it up at my destination. You would think as well that my inability to pack light would stop me from buying too many souvenirs but nope! I am left at the end of my trip with a bag fuller than I came and have been known of occasion to actually buy a bigger suitcase/extra bag just so I can actually take everything back with me!!
28. Try Out Bullet Journaling
I have always found bullet journaling fascinating; from intricate designs to minimalist layouts, it’s seems like such a beautiful and personal way to organise your life. I have started this one already, at the beginning of January I bought a cheap notebook from the local supermarket and started my journey into the world of bullet journaling. My plan is not to buy any of the fancy materials or specifically designed notebooks until I can prove to myself that I will keep it up for a whole year. So far so good…but we are only one month into 2019!
2019, the year I begin bullet journaling!
29. Go On Safari
Technically I did this in South Africa but it wasn’t a wild safari, it was more like a large animal park. It was a lovely experience and the park was full of rescued animals that had either been caught by poachers or transferred from zoos but I want to see these animals out in their true wild natural habitat.
30. Become Completely and Truly Confident in Myself
This one’s a biggie! I know it takes a lot of confidence to go out and travel the world solo and I know that on the face of it I probably look like I’m killing the confidence game. But in reality there have been days during this past year where I have stopped myself from doing things I want to do because I convince myself that I can’t actually do them. One example of this that sticks out in my mind, and that I kick myself constantly for, is when I was in Chengdu. I had just parted ways with my friend the day before and I had a whole day left to explore the city on my own. I had a really successful morning locating the ancient city ruins that I had decided to visit but then when it came to the afternoon I couldn’t find the confidence to go out and find the temple that I had planned to see. I spent an hour in a restaurant trying to sum up the courage to get out there and find my way to the temple but instead I chose to just walk across the street and visit the Chengdu museum. This was still a really good afternoon but it was not what I had really wanted to do. So by the time I’m thirty I want that little voice in the back of my head to know that when it speaks I won’t be listening anymore and that it can’t and won’t hold me back from seeing all of the wonderful places this world has to offer!
Check out some of the adventures I had before my 25th year:
Pictionary; the Christmas day family games sesh is never complete without it but in the classroom it becomes more than a party game, this is where Pictionary becomes a powerful tool for learning. Pictionary is great for teaching English because it requires the whole class to participate. It is the perfect game to get students thinking and talking in English, especially if they are new to the language.
At the start of term the Chinese teachers always decorate the blackboard beautifully.
I tend to use Pictionary as a cooler or filler, but it can work as a warmer just as well. You can use it to recap last week’s lesson and see how much of the language they remember or you can use it to round up your lesson as a fun way to make the new vocabulary stick in their minds. The way I usually play is I split the class into two teams and select a student from each team to come up to the board. I then ask the student to pick one of the new vocabulary words for that day (this usually takes a minute as whatever I suggest they complain it is too difficult to draw, but after a bit of encouragement I usually convince them it’s not so hard). Then the class has to work out what they are drawing and the first team to shout the correct answer gets a point. Using the point system really gets the students engaged in the game. When my students play they play to win and it can get quite competitive! You can make it so that the winning team gets a prize, but I have found that just the thrill of winning is enough to motivate the class to participate.
I’ve played Pictionary in my large classes and with my one on one tutoring.
I have found Pictionary works for all ages; I have played it with kindergarten, I have played it with grade one and I have played it with grade eight. No matter what the age the competitive energy has been present and everyone gets involved. Even the moody teenagers who thought they were too cool in the beginning couldn’t help but shout out the answer when the rest of their teams were struggling to figure it out!
Drawing is the perfect filler for young learners.
Pictionary has been my secret weapon from day one of my TEFL journey. I think my love for this game a kid really helped me to sell it to my students as a fun game. I was excited about the game and this enthusiasm was infectiously passed on to my students. The power of this activity to engage students in English makes it without a doubt my favourite classroom game. When other games have caused my students to groan in protest Pictionary has never failed to energise them. The best part is that you can play this game with minimal materials; as long as you have a pencil and paper, a blackboard and chalk or a whiteboard and pens then this game is possible.
For more TEFL tips why not check out one of these posts?
December 29th, the day after my 25th birthday, I boarded my first ever sleeper train. It is a backpacker rite of passage when travelling through Asia to take at least one journey on a sleeper train and, having been in China for a whole year, I figured it was about time I gave it a go! Besides, I had only ever heard good things about China’s sleeper train network.
Snow on the tracks delayed our train by about six hours!
Let me tell you first of all that the thirty-six-hour journey between Guangzhou and Harbin is not for the faint hearted! One hard sleeper ticket buys you a bunk in a six-bed compartment that is roughly the size of a large cupboard. Justin had taken a sleeper train before so reserved us each a top bunk as, in his opinion, it was the best option. It does offer the most leg room of the three and you do have easy access to the luggage rack, but that would probably be where the benefits end for me.
This is me for two nights…
As I settled down in my bunk I suddenly remembered how much I disliked small spaces… The space between the bed and the roof of the train is not even enough to sit up in which does lead to a feeling that the you are the last sardine being pressed into the tin before it is vacuum sealed and ready for the shelves. Getting up and down from the bunk was a whole other struggle for me and my non-existent upper arm strength, the top bunk is about twice my height! The sight of me trying to pull myself up onto the bed must have given a few passengers a good laugh. Take care on the steps, they are about the size of cd covers and they can be folded away so double check they are still there before you get out of bed. There are designated smoking areas on the train but either people were just ignoring them or maybe the doors weren’t closing properly because all I could smell was cigarette smoke which is not what I would call a pleasant smell and definitely did not help me sleep. Our train also ended up delayed by about six hours which put our journey time up to forty-two hours, almost a full two days!! On the plus side I did read about ninety percent of “Eat, Pray, Love”, a book I have wanted to read for about a year so it’s not like I wasted my time in sleepless solitary confinement.
My Kindle saved me on this trip!
At the end of the day it got us where we needed to go for next to no money, so I can’t complain too much. You get what you pay for, and the heavy duvets were definitely appreciated as we were travelling in winter! All I can say is that the sleeper train is an experience that everyone should try at least once. I have been told since that I was unlucky and that the cigarette smell is not usually a feature of the sleeper train experience. If you have been to the gym more than five times in your life, then pulling yourself onto that top bunk also shouldn’t be an issue for you like it was for me (maybe start the push-ups now though, just in case).
Final verdict: do it for the backpacker points, but I highly recommend choosing a shorter journey than Guangzhou to Harbin… much, much shorter…
Sleeper train from Guangzhou to Harbin: 600 yuan (about £68), 42 hours
Flight from Harbin to Guangzhou: £186.98, 4 hour and 40 minutes
Welcome back to TEFL Tip Tuesdays, this week I want to focus on speaking the same language as your students. I know this sounds counterproductive, but stick with me…
When introducing a new topic in English it is important to keep students interested and the easiest way to do this is to make it relatable to their own lives. When I say speak their language, what I mean is use their interests to communicate the topic to them. Find out what movies they like, the music they listen to, what they do on the weekend and translate that information into a fun and engaging lesson plan. My eighth graders are really into Marvel films so it is easy to get them engaged in a conversation if it has something to do with Captain America or Spiderman. I recently did a lesson where I asked my students to write me a scary story and you would be surprised how many of them involved Marvel characters saving the day!
I wasn’t looking forward to teaching teenagers, but they’re not so bad really.
These themes are so simple to work into all stages of your lesson from warmer, to practice and production, all the way to your cooler. It is even better if you share the interest and are able to show off a bit of your knowledge on the subject. For example; a lesson on the future can be easily focused around Marvel movies because of the very nature of the movies themselves, use the ideas from the movies to inspire a conversation about how we might live in the future. Will people have superpowers in the future? Will we travel to other planets in the future? These are some great questions that get students thinking in future tense without them even realising they are learning something new, because the theme is so familiar to them.
Charades is a fun cooler to end a lesson on movies.
If you take an interest in your students you will soon notice a change in attitude towards you. It can be quite common for students to see the foreign teacher’s class as a time where they can switch off and stop learning for one hour of the day. While I think it is important for students to be relaxed in my classroom I obviously still want them to learn something from me. A classroom full of teenagers can be a challenge to control, they believe they have much better things to be talking about than the rules of the English language. Gaining their respect by getting to know them, even a little bit, is one of the best ways to control your classroom. If even one student starts to actively participate in your lesson then they will want the rest of the class to play along too, this will cause a ripple effect and soon you will find that it is the students asking for people to be quiet and listen instead of you!
For more TEFL tips why not read one of these posts:
I arrived in Chengdu with one plan and one plan only: visit the Panda Research Centre! With four days to explore the city it was clear I was going to have to add some other activities to my itinerary, so I did a little research and discovered the Leshan Buddha just outside of Chengdu.
Despite being the largest stone Buddha in the world, the Leshan Buddha was not exactly easy to find and definitely took a bit of planning to get to. Leshan is a town about an hour away from the city of Chengdu if you take the bullet train, which I recommend! Travelling by train in China is cheap and the trains are comfortable and air conditioned, so if you have the option of travelling by train then I would take it over a coach journey. Book your ticket in advance using the Trip (trip.com formerly known as Ctrip) app, the ticket should cost about £9 per person each way and the app makes it so easy to pick up your tickets from the station.
trip.com is the easiest way to book trains in China.
When you arrive in Leshan head right out of the train station and cross the road to the bus station. From here you take the number 13 bus and it should only cost about 1 yuan (roughly 10p). There is another bus that goes to the Buddha from the station as well and either one is fine, just ask one of the members of staff in the station if you are unsure. The bus goes all the way to the gate of the Leshan Giant Buddha, so it is ideal!
The bus takes you right through Leshan town and across the river to the Buddha entrance.
When you arrive at the gate there are two options available to view the Buddha:
Option one – take a boat ride down the river, 70 yuan (about £7): the boat ride lasts about twenty minutes to half an hour and gives possibly the best view of the Buddha. The boat stops right in front of it and you are able to take in the sheer size and scale of the sculpture without the crowds.
The boat has a open viewing area as well as an indoor seating area.The boat stops for about 10 minutes in front of the Buddha, plenty of time for photo opportunities.
Option two – go into the park and climb the cliff face that the Leshan Buddha was carved out of so many years ago, 80 yuan (about £8): this option really gives you a real sense of how difficult it must have been to carve such a giant figure out of the rock that sits right on the river edge. The climb also shares a side of the Buddhist culture and history of the site that is not visible from boat. Stone steps that lead you to the clifftop are accompanied by many more small stone carvings, some worn and eroded by the weather and others perfectly preserved but all equally beautiful. Once you have reached the top of the stone staircase you are greeted by the Buddhist temple and the smell of burning incense as it floats throw the temple doors. From here you are level with the Buddha’s head and have the perfect view to count the 1,021 buns in his coiled hair! If you are willing to wait in the queues then you can take the narrow stone staircase down to the giant feet of the Buddha, each foot is large enough to fit 100 people each.
The Leshan Buddha temple.Worshipers light candles at the entrance to the temple.The Leshan Buddha has an impressive 1,021 buns carved into his stone head.
We chose to do both the climb and the boat ride and if you have the time then I would recommend doing both. The two options give such different perspectives of the site and it is so cheap to do that it is definitely worth it.
I had absolutely no idea that this incredible statue existed until I was looking into things to do in Chengdu and I am so glad I took the time to visit despite how difficult it was to find. It is definitely a whole day excursion but completely worth it if you have the time. I hope this little guide will help if you are heading to Chengdu because it is incredibly easy to get to when you know how!
Check out my last blog post if you are looking for more inspiration for things to do in Chengdu.
Think of Chengdu and the first thing that comes to mind is, of course, the Giant Panda Research centre but as I found out recently there is a lot more to this ancient town than the fluffy face of the world wildlife foundation.
Young Panda Cubs at the Chengdu Panda Base
Chengdu is the capital of Sichuan province in Western China and has some outstanding places to visit that weren’t even on my radar before my visit in July. It took four hours to travel to Chengdu from Xi’an on the fast train, I accidently booked myself onto a first-class carriage but no complaints from me (that leg room was more than worth the extra £5)!
The metro system in Chengdu is easy to navigate for the most part, as long as you check the map before you get on the train it is almost impossible to get lost. There are however a few places that are not accessible by the metro lines such as the main market street, the panda base and the Leshan Buddha which is actually located outside of town (I will be writing a separate post all about how to get there soon because it is a bit more complicated than other attractions in Chengdu).
My accommodation was perfectly central and easy to get to from the main railway station when I arrived in Chengdu. I stayed in a quirky little backpacker’s called the Blacksmith Hostel and I have to say you definitely get what you pay for. If you are looking for luxury then I maybe wouldn’t stay here but it was perfect for me and my tight budget. My only complaint would be the lack of insect screen on the windows as the room was almost constantly filled with mosquitoes and I ended up covered in bites, literally from head to toe! The toilets and showers were both accessed from the balcony which made the thought of going to the toilet slightly unappealing in the middle of the rain storms that frequented my stay. I maybe wouldn’t stay there again, but it fulfilled it’s primary purpose of somewhere to pass out at the end of each day.
I spent 3 full days in Chengdu and hardly even scratched the surface on what the city has to offer but if you are heading there anytime soon then these are the places I recommend visiting;
The Chengdu Research of Giant Panda Breeding
No trip to Chengdu is worth the journey if you don’t make it up to the research base on the outskirts of the city. This is usually the main reason people visit Chengdu and it was definitely my motivation for booking a trip to Sichuan province. The base is currently home to around 83 pandas varying from new born cubs to adults and is by far the best place to see these adorable creatures up close. The base has been working in Giant Panda conservation since 1987 and has played a huge role in taking the bears off the endangered species list. It rained the entire time we were at the base, but it was still one of the best experiences of my life. Being able to see pandas up close and watching them interact with each other was beyond anything I had ever imagined before. There are plenty of places to eat around the park as well as a panda museum and red panda enclosures; definitely enough to keep you occupied for a whole day.
You’ve never seen a happier human than me next to a group of panda bears!
The Leshan Buddha
The largest sitting stone Buddha in the world, Leshan Buddha has to be seen to be believed! This impressive stone structure took 90 years to build and was completed only after the death of the Monk who originally commissioned it. There are two options to view the Buddha; you can take a boat down the river to right in front of the towering monument or you can view it by climbing to the top of the cliff face it has been sculpted out of and descending the steep stone steps that are carved all the way down the side of the figure’s surrounding walls. We opted to do both, and I would highly recommend this if you have the time.
The Buddha from the boat
The Buddha from the boat
Boat ticket
Chengdu Museum
Firstly, this is a completely free activity, so you have no excuse not visit the museum! Secondly, I spent so much time wondering from floor to floor and learning about Chengdu’s history that the place was closing by the time I strolled out of last exhibit… oops! Seriously though this should definitely be on your list of things to do if you are interested in the history of the places you visit. The museum covers everything from the first settlers in the area all the way up to the present day including a very detailed and fascinating showcase of traditional Chinese shadow puppets. Add to all this that it is right in the centre of town you really have no reason not to have go and check it out.
I waited ten minutes for this guy to leave so I could take a photo of the shadow puppets and ended up liking the photo with him in more than the one without…
Jinsha Site and Museum
While you can find most of the information about the Jinsha site in the Chengdu museum if you are interested at all in archaeology then it is worth-while going to the Jinsha site to see the excavation process. As well as the impressive archaeological site there is a whole museum dedicated to the important finds found on location including the beautiful “Golden Sun Bird” a ring shaped piece of foiled uncovered in 2001 and the “Golden Mask” an eerie gold mask believed to be over 3,000 years old. Also on the site is a beautiful bamboo garden and “ebony forest” surrounding the two museum buildings.
The excavation site at Jinsha Site Museum
I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of history there is to find in Chengdu. I arrived knowing only that I was desperate to visit the Panda Base and left with a deeper understanding of the city and it’s culture. I could easily return to Chengdu and have a completely different list of things to do, there is just so much to this city it truly took my breath away. I know it is easy to book onto a tour that takes you to Beijing for the Great Wall of China, to Xi’an for the Warriors, Chengdu for the Pandas and back again, all in one week! But, if you can, I highly recommend spending at least a week in Chengdu in order to fully experience everything this city has to offer.
