4 month check-in

I cannot believe I have been home nearly 4 months. More importantly, I can’t believe that I have been home 4 months and I’m still living out of a suitcase! Finally it seems like in the next few weeks I will be able to get my stuff out of my parent’s garage and into my new flat, which is very exciting.

I know it’s just stuff, but not having it all around me means that I still feel a little bit in limbo. Life doesn’t really seem real if that makes sense. It still feels like I’m in that waiting phase, just waiting for the next move, the next step, the next thing to come along. And it’s taking a little while for my head to catch up and realise ‘this is it, this is life now’.

And I have to admit, I miss my life in Shanghai. Not so much the air and the craziness but the way I lived. Travel, food, art, culture, friends, no responsibilities. When you do come back and you have to book your mates in for nights out 3 months in advance, it makes you appreciate how easy it is to send someone a WeChat message on a Saturday afternoon and just toddle off to the pub.

None of this means I’m not enjoying being back. I am. I just feel the odd little pang when I get group texts from people still out there, or pictures from my friend who has just spent the last week on a beach as it’s October bank holiday time (this time last year I was in Singapore).

Back in the real world, things are going well. I’m working, spending time with friends, there may be a new ‘someone’ in my life, loving spending time with my niece and family, going to lots of gigs and am heading off on holiday to Egypt in a few weeks.

And to deal with the itchy feet I have booked the trip of a lifetime – Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and a little bit of Thailand, departing March next year – very excited about that! Only question is do I do a stop off in Shanghai?!

Things I miss and things I don't...

Top 5 things I miss about Shanghai:

1.   Cheap transportation. Yes, for the most part you were taking your life into your own hands and had no guarantee that your driver wasn't going to fall asleep and crash you into the central reservation, but it was just so cheap!! And the subway – 30p a journey! As long as you could deal with feeling a sardine surrounded by irritating fellow sardines playing on their phones, it was fine.
2. Lunch breaks. Actually taking an hour away from your desk and sitting and having a nice lunch with your colleagues.
3. Sherpas. Restaurant food delivered to your house, along with booze! What’s not to love!?
4. The lifestyle. Drinks after work, long weekend brunches, art, history, travel, having a cleaner, doormen, no responsibilities and everything is just easy and chilled out. I really miss that.
5.  Every bar having table service and no dress code. Flip flops, ripped jeans and someone taking your order without any bar loitering. Perfect!

 Top 5 things I do not miss about Shanghai:

1. Taxi drivers. Annoying, rude, crazy people who felt the need to drive like a formula 1 driver and couldn’t stay in one lane for more than 2.5 seconds. And more often than not they would fall asleep on you on the way to the airport. Or try to scam you out of money. Or just point blank refuse to take you somewhere. Or all 3.
2. No central heating. The bloody winter was freezing!
3. Not being able to see the sky. When I first said I was going to Shanghai, a lot of people said to me ‘won’t the air bother you?’ and I hadn’t really thought about it. What I found was the bad air didn’t bother me as such, yes there were days where it gave you a headache and I couldn’t wear my lenses but generally it was fine. What bugged me more was not being able to see the sky and just living under this grey smog cloud for weeks on end. I think there was one point there early in the year that I didn’t see ‘sky’ for over 6 weeks. That’s depressing.
4. Bureaucracy. Want to get some money out of the bank? Take your passport, work permit, residence permit, blood type, urine sample, second cousin’s next door neighbours date of birth, and your first born, and you might have a chance. Or maybe not.
5.  Internet!!!!!! I honestly didn’t realise how much I relied on the internet until I moved to China. No google, no gmail, no maps, no Facebook, no twitter, no YouTube, no Instgram, no BBC (depending on what they were reporting on this week), no Netflix! And everything being so heavily censored. And the feeling that if you stepped out of line, you’d be in serious trouble. I have tried to be as honest as possible about everything that happened to me in China, but there’s certain thoughts and opinions that I wouldn’t post up whilst I was still on that side of the firewall. I’m sure they’ll make their way onto this blog at some point – or maybe not if I actually want to go back someday…
6. And one bonus one - the music scene. If you didn't like EDM or hardcore dance (I don't), you're kind of limited!

Repatriating

I have officially been home for seven weeks now, which is weird. On the one hand, I don’t feel like I ever went away, and Shanghai feels like a dream that happened to someone else. On the other hand, those last seven weeks have completely flown by.

I've been keeping myself busy. Spending time with my niece (who now knows who I am – yay!), catching up with friends, setting up my own company, and actually working! I was really lucky to pick up a contracting role as quickly as I did, and now I've just managed to land another one for 6 months, which is a relief and gives me a bit more stability which is good.

I've loved being back home but it’s not been easy. Part of you expects that people’s lives are going to have been on hold whilst you’re away and things are just going to fall back into the same patterns now you’re back. And of course that’s not the case, nor should it be. Of course you want your friends and family to be progressing and living their lives, but when you feel like you've missed out on so much, and you’re missing your friends and your life in Shanghai, it’s difficult. And not having a real base, and all my stuff being spread between somewhere in the North Sea on a boat from China, with me, or at my parents, it’s really easy to feel a bit lost and discombobulated (as my best friend put it, who has been my lifeline!).

I definitely feel like I've come home a different person. Aside from the odd readjusting meltdown (!), I’m calmer, more confident in who I am, less stressed and a lot less scared. I guess after you've moved to China on your own, nothing else feels that scary! 

Coming home..

It’s official. My notice has been handed in, and I am coming back to the UK, almost a year to the day after I left for Shanghai. It wasn’t an easy decision, and there were lots of factors in play. Ultimately it came down to what was going to make me happy, and being back in the UK with my family and friends would do that.

Moving here was, without a doubt, the best thing I have ever done. I feel so different as a person. Despite  the bolshy exterior, I’m one of those people who had never travelled alone, never been in a restaurant alone, never been in a pub alone even! The fear of the unknown crippled me – which I think links back to my extremely control freak-ish personality – and actually coming here I even shocked myself! I’ve banged on about this a lot but I am so proud of myself for doing it, for doing something so completely out of character, breaking out of my comfort zone and going for something I really wanted. In the last year I have dipped my toes in the sea in Singapore, stood on the Great Wall of China (twice), seen the Terracotta Army, drank beer with strangers in Hong Kong, climbed a fort in Macau, eaten street food in Seoul, and stood on top of one of the tallest buildings in the world in Tokyo.

And of course, I have lived in Shanghai. One of the most vibrant, exciting, crazy cities in the world that I’m so happy to have been a part of for a little while. I have had so much fun here! Walking past the Pearl Tower every day on my way to work. Screeching along to Katy Perry songs at KTV after a lot of Coronaitas. Seeing the old people dancing in the park. Jazz festivals in the sunshine. Countless brunches and happy hours. Fantastic parks, museums and galleries. And most of all, the friends I’ve made, some of whom I’ll keep in touch with for life. Trust me, there’s a million things I won’t miss, but I am sad to be leaving.

It’s been a crazy year….

The mundane..

I’m not sure at what point I stopped writing about life here. The last few blogs I’ve written have read more like Lonely Planet travel guides. I think it’s because life here is becoming…well, life. Bordering on the mundane and ordinary. Nothing is really surprising me about Shanghai at this point. 3 people and a kid on a scooter? Normal. Dog wearing trainers? Normal. Old people dancing with swords in the park? Normal. Paying 20 quid for a bottle of wine? Normal. Getting out of every taxi ride just happy to be alive? Normal. Homeless guy with a pet monkey? Normal. You get the point. The novelty has worn off somewhat. 

That’s not to say I don’t still enjoy it, I do. But there’s few things now that I discover in everyday life that make me go ‘Oh wow that’s so random!’ Maybe now I’m just used to the cacophony of randomness that makes up this city. 

My parents were here a couple of weeks ago (hi mum and dad!) and that was good fun. But it did confirm my point above that nothing really surprises me about China any more. For every exclamation of ‘look at that!’ I was unfazed. But it was also really nice to see Shanghai again from a newbie’s eyes, because when you live here every day you forget how much of a culture shock it was at first.

Hong Kong and Macau

So for Chinese New Year I decided to join the mass migration and go on a little trip. Downside? Chinese New Year is similar to school holidays back home in that travel firms hike up the prices to extortionate amounts. I left it a bit late to book anywhere but it got to the point where it was cheaper for me to fly back to the UK than it was to go anywhere within a 5 hour flight radius of Shanghai. Flights to Japan are normally about 200 pounds, they were 900.

There was one place closer that had relatively cheap flights (about 200) so off I went to Hong Kong. It was on my list of somewhere to visit, so I was excited, but at the same time I think I could have done with a beach trip.

I decided to spend 2 full days in HK and then a day in Macau as you can get the ferry there from HK. For those not familiar with Macau, it’s similar to Hong Kong in that it’s technically ‘owned’ by China but is classed as a ‘Special Administrative Region’ as it used to be a colony. Just as we handed back Hong Kong in 1997, Portugal handed back Macau in 1999. It’s also known as the Vegas of China as the biggest draw, apart from some of the World Heritage Sites, is the casino strip.

The first thing that surprised me was that my flight to HK was empty. Given the ‘mass migration’ tag I expected there to be a lot more people but I had a whole row to myself. Getting through immigration at HK airport though was another story, took ages!

My initial impression of Hong Kong was that it is a cross between Shanghai and Singapore. As with Singapore you can still see the British influence, English is widely spoken, the cars drive on the ‘right’ side of the road, the public toilets aren’t holes in the ground…But it has a much more metropolitan feel which makes it like Shanghai. But the air is better, it’s not as crowded, and you don’t have to fight your way onto the subway every day!

One thing I didn’t actually realise until I started researching that Hong Kong is actually made up of a few islands- Hong Kong Island, Lantau and Kowloon being the biggest. I was staying in Causeway Bay, which is on Hong Kong Island and fairly central to everything. As in Singapore, the metro is clean, efficient and easy to use which made getting around really simple.

The biggest disappointment for me was the weather. When I told people I was going to Hong Kong, the reaction was ‘go to the Peak’ ‘go to the high bars to see the view’. Sadly, the weather was so bad (misty and drizzly) the whole time I was there that I went to the Peak, and couldn’t see a bloody thing. Such a waste. Also, due to Chinese New Year a lot of the markets were shut/reduced so I don’t think I got the full effect.

I did do a lot of walking. I tend to seek out the ‘older’ sights rather than pretty skyscrapers, probably because I work in a pretty skyscraper and I’m surrounded by some of the best in the world all day long. So I spent a lot of time visiting temples and parks and nunneries, which was beautiful, and surprisingly not that busy. It was really nice to see all the temples decorated for Chinese New Year, and see everyone doing their blessings and prayers. But I still smell of incense.

Considering that apparently HK is normally busy during CNY, I didn’t think it was that bad, but maybe I’m just used to the madness of Shanghai by now. The only real queues I saw were the ferries to Macau and for the cable car which takes you to the Big Buddha (world’s biggest apparently, which I’m pretty sure I saw in Koh Samui…), which I did on the second day. Luckily, I had pre-booked and paid for a cable car ticket, which I was grateful for once I saw the queue. A very helpful guy told me I still had to queue, which was approximately 2.5 hours to buy a ticket, and then another 2 hours to get in a car. Once he realised I’d pre-paid, I walked straight past the queue, straight to a ticket window, and 15 minutes later I was in the air. There is also an advantage to travelling solo sometimes –as a ‘single rider’, I got my own express queue on the way back and didn’t have to queue at all! The downside of that is you’re generally crammed in a car with a whole family, all of whom are taking pictures with their selfie sticks and clearly talking about you…

So, temples, Buddhas and incense, and then Macau. As I mentioned, the queue to buy tickets for the ferry was about 2 hours long, so I went to the ‘Premier’ queue which was 20 quid more expensive but I could get on a ferry straight away. Well, not quite, as I had to go through immigration again, which I have to say in HK is almost as bad as Heathrow in terms of how long it takes. So I actually missed my designated boat, but they put me on the next one.

I was disappointed that there was nowhere outside to stand, you had to be inside which was a bummer as I wanted to take photos. Not so bad on the way there, but on the way it was a catamaran, which meant I spent the entire time trying not to be sick.

Macau was…strange. I got off the ferry and the only transportation options seemed to be a 2 hour long queue for a taxi, or a bus to one of the many casinos. There was a ring road and a harbour and not a lot else. I saw a covered walkway heading to a casino which seemed to be in the direction I wanted to go in, so off I went. The upside of walking bloody miles is I think I got to see the ‘other’ side of Macau – which looks a lot like Hong Kong, apart from the Portugese street signs. As I’m not that fussed about gambling, I decided to make my way to the UNESCO World Heritage sites, of which there are a few. As I meandered down deserted side streets with closed shops and no people, I started to wonder if I’d gone the wrong way. And then I saw this….

…and these…

It would seem because I walked instead of getting a cab, I came to the show from the back! Anyway, so once I’d seen the ruins, walked round the fort and headed through the melee of people taking selfies, I walked round the Heritage Centre, fought my way down one of the most crowded streets I’ve ever been on, and made my way back to the harbour. Again, as I decided to walk, I managed to walk past a lot of the casinos and also saw the Macau Tower (which I did not go in – see my previous point about skyscrapers). I then headed back to HK, just in time for the New Year’s Fireworks before collapsing in my hotel.

So all in all, a good trip. Next on the list – Hangzhou, Suzhou, Guilin, Beijing (again), Xi’an, Seoul, Pingyao, Zhenjiang, Nanjing, Tokyo, Kyoto and Beijing again! It’s going to be a busy few months!

Xin Nian Kuai Le!

A couple of weeks ago it was Chinese New Year, which meant we all got a week off work. The official year this year is Year of the Goat, or Sheep (no-one can seem to agree).

Things I learnt about Chinese New Year:

1.    The start of Chinese New Year marks what has been called the ‘biggest annual mass migration in the world.’ Approximately 2.8 billion people leave China’s cities and head anywhere else, either home to be with their families, or on holiday somewhere. Shanghai Daily reported that on the last day of the holiday, over 9.4 million rail trips were made, as well as 73.6 million road journeys. To put that in perspective, it’s like everyone in the UK (including London’s population doubled) hitting the UK’s roads all on one day.

2.    It’s loud. Fireworks and firecrackers are said to ward off evil spirits, so firecrackers at 7am are the norm for a week. That was fun.

3.    There are different spirits/gods/themes for each day. For example the fifth day is the ‘Day of Wealth’

4.    Red is worn and used everywhere to bring good luck and prosperity

5.    Traditional red paper lanterns and decorations adorn houses for the same reason and to ward off spirits

6.    Cash is king. No-one gives gifts, actually they give Hongbaos which are little red envelopes stuffed with cash

7.    Burning incense is the thing to do when you visit temple at Chinese New Year. The smell is still in my clothes

8.    Shanghai is super quiet. This year more so as it normally has lots of lantern festivals and New Year events, but they were all cancelled due to the stampede which killed over 30 people on the Bund on New Year’s Eve. But even without that, the shops are shut, the streets are empty and you can actually get a cab.

9.    Air pollution gets worse due to the amount of firecrackers and incense being burnt!