Vagueness and the Aftermath - A sporadic diary

[The_nun]

Have fun, be careful and stay safe.

[I KNOW IT]

When you make friends in China , one of the first greetings is " have you had dinner" .

This all dates back to the days of  the famine due to the bright idea by Chaiman Mao to encourage the Chinese people  kill all the sparrows .
He forgot that the sparrows actually did some good by eating insects . So without the sparrows the insects were left to thrive and ate all the crops leading to widespread starvation throughout China. ( very abbreviated version ) .

So eating has become very big part of  everyday Chinese life as in history they never knew when they would get there next meal .You could actually set your watch by their meal times .
.
The point of this rambling is also the Chinese do not waste food  due to their history .They will literally eat every part of an animal.
From Chicken feet to fish eyes .
I have never tried chickens feet and have no intention of doing so , but my friends have and they say they just taste like gristle .
I don't think they scrape the rough skin off here Ralf they just boil / fry them and eat them with claws still intact . Lol .
Oxtail is also popular here but expensive as is pig skin surprisingly .

[I KNOW IT]

Another unique experience is a trip to the food department in the local Walmart. There are dozens of tanks with live fish , crabs etc . You get a fishing net a fish out what you want put it in a bag and go to the counter , get it weighed a pay for it .
It's quite novel to see a guy walking up the street with a big fish over his shoulder  in a plastic  bag flapping about all over the place .

If anyone gets the opportunity to visit China you really should. It's a great and very safe part of the world

[RED-DOG]

Another unique experience is a trip to the food department in the local Walmart. There are dozens of tanks with live fish , crabs etc . You get a fishing net a fish out what you want put it in a bag and go to the counter , get it weighed a pay for it .
It's quite novel to see a guy walking up the street with a big fish over his shoulder  in a plastic  bag flapping about all over the place .

If anyone gets the opportunity to visit China you really should. It's a great and very safe part of the world

I would love to visit China Craig but I'm so ignorant about it. Are westerners allowed to roam about at will? Which parts should I visit? What about language problems?

BTW - did I ever say how much I admire the way you've managed to make a home and be successful in such far flung places.

Do you ever miss the UK and if so, what do you miss in particular?

[RED-DOG]

Got up early today  made ourselves breakfast in a stranger's house, (such a strange feeling) then drove the 12 or so miles to Dover and caught the ferry to Calais. (except it didn't go to Calais, it went to Dunkirk because of a technical hitch)

Disembarked about 1pm and set off for Brussels. It was blowing a gale and raining sideways. It didn't stop all day. Can't for the life of me think why im enjoying it.

We stopped for lunch at a pub in a tiny French village and found it full of ageing English cyclists, ostensibly taking part in a club tour but actually sheltering from the rain and getting rat arsed.

We got to our Brussels B&B at about 6pm, parked thebbikes on the street out front and went inside for a shower. Then we had a walk around town and had a meal.

When we got back to the B&B our landlady was in a state. "Your motorcycle" she cried, "she fall over".

I looked anxiously towards the bikes, hoping it was my brother John's that had fallen  but both were still standing. "my neighbour and I, we lift her up" she said pointing at my bike.

I went to inspect the damage but it was too dark to see properly, I could see that the windshield was broken and the brake lever bent but a proper examination will have to wait until the morning.

Although it was parked on a slight down slope, I don't think it just fell over. Thinking back, the car that was parked in front of it had one if those green "just passed my driving test" stickers. I think he/she reversed into it.

Ah well at least I wasn't on it at the time.

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

[booder]

Sounds like you are having fun , thank you for sharing.

[I KNOW IT]

Another unique experience is a trip to the food department in the local Walmart. There are dozens of tanks with live fish , crabs etc . You get a fishing net a fish out what you want put it in a bag and go to the counter , get it weighed a pay for it .
It's quite novel to see a guy walking up the street with a big fish over his shoulder  in a plastic  bag flapping about all over the place .

If anyone gets the opportunity to visit China you really should. It's a great and very safe part of the world

I would love to visit China Craig but I'm so ignorant about it. Are westerners allowed to roam about at will? Which parts should I visit? What about language problems?

BTW - did I ever say how much I admire the way you've managed to make a home and be successful in such far flung places.

Do you ever miss the UK and if so, what do you miss in particular?

Thanks for the kind words Tom. Sometimes we got to do what we need to.

Yes Westerners or Foreigners as they are known  in Asia are very free to walk around in China.
I live in a city called Shenzhen ( population approx 20 million )which is very close to Hong Kong , there is actually a bridge very close to where I live connecting to Hk .

I honestly can say China is possibly the safest place I have lived or visited. You can safely walk around at anytime, night or day . Of cause it has its problems and frustrations  but on the whole a good place to live .

On the subject of places to visit , there really are so many here but the obvious ones are The Great Wall of China and the Terracotta Warriors ( that is such an amazing story please look it up if you don't know about them).
I still haven't visited either but only been here just over 3 years so give me time. I'm such a lazy traveller haha

Language can be a problem but fortunately where I live most people do speak some English but that certainly is not the norm in China . I speak very little Chinese but understand a lot more and can get myself by.
But on the whole most places no one speaks English and seeing a foreigner is also novel. 

Do I miss the Uk ? On a whole no. I have absolutely no intentions of returning except for a holiday.
Things I miss are family and friends especially my son and parents .
My parents are in their late seventies now so I really cherish every visit to see them. I will actually be coming back next week for my annual visit to the Uk.
I also look forward to seeing my friends and will be meeting Pete the Bandit too which I also look forward to very much. I have a great night with Pete reminiscing about old times. I also miss Doner Kebabs a lot which I will certainly have my fill of over the next couple of weeks . Sensible driving is also something I miss as they really are so bad here but a lot don't even have a proper license .
I don't miss the weather that's for sure but saying that we had a typhoon on Monday/Tuesday which uprooted a few trees around my apartment complex .

Good luck on your trip and thanks for sharing your experiences on your diary. I also admire the way you go about your life .

[RED-DOG]

When my bike took a pratfall it broke a bit of the windscreen fairing and now when I ride cold air blows on to my fingers. I may have to change my name to Luke.

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We had a great day in Brussels and Maastricht, but wish they would put the waffles and cream where I can't see them.

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Click to see full-size image.

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Click to see full-size image.

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Now try to imagine me saying this in my best Jeremy Clarkson voice.

We are currently staying in the best Airbnb.....

IN THE WORLD!


£49 quid for the whole place to ourselves.

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Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

[Rod Paradise]

When my bike took a pratfall it broke a bit of the windscreen fairing and now when I ride cold air blows on to my fingers. I may have to change my name to Luke.

Click to see full-size image.

Duct Tape?

[tikay]

Cracking photos Tom, & it sounds like you are having a ball.

Not a scrap of litter to be seen in any of those photos, isn't that something?

Love the way the Europeans seem to do "Town Squares" so grandly, nicely overlooked by lovely buildings.

[Kev B]

Loving the trip and picture reports. Beautiful buildings in the square. Nice gaff you're staying in.

[Karabiner]

Loving the trip and picture reports. Beautiful buildings in the square. Nice gaff you're staying in.

Took the words out of my mouth Kev, was just about to say nice gaff.

Enjoying the read and the pics.

[RED-DOG]

Thanks  lads. I know this is pretty tame stuff by most standard but it seems like a big adventure to me. I feel like Ernesto Guevara.

We were a bit tired on Friday morning so we had a lie in and then spent a steady couple of hours sorting our kit out and dealing with emails, phone calls, and stuff from the real world.

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Click to see full-size image.

At midday we set off for the Nürburgring. With the sun on out backs we had an easy 100 mile ride through breathtaking scenery.

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

During a rest stop we met Valter, he was touring on a small moped and heading for the Nürburgring too. Not bad for an 86 year old.

He told us that in his youth he used to ride much bigger bikes, but has had to downsize because, in his words, "Zey are making me to tip over a lot".

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We arrived at the Nürburgring in the mid afternoon. It's absolutely massive. It looks like a cross between the NEC and Meadowhall and has everything imaginable to do with motorsport.

What impressed me most was the informality of it all. We parked our bikes right outside the front doors and just strolled in. There were loads of people strolling around in helmets and leathers, visitors, drivers etc, all mixed together. Strangers mostly, but bonded by a common interest.

We were invited to go andewatch the last hour's practice on the GP track so we went and stood right there on the rail as the cars screamed and thundered by, sparks flying, rubber burning , exhaust pipes flaming. The air seemed to be filled with so much adrenaline that there was a danger that it too might catch alight.

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

After that, we payed €29 each to ride our motorcycles around the Nürburgring itself. Off we went and after having our safety gear checked by a steward we were taken to a pit lane and on to the track for a 28k circuit. I thought we would be alone but no, we were in among the Ferrari, Porches, BMWs, Ducatis, etc. Some of them were going 200 mph faster than we were, and we weren't hanging about, it was heart stoppingly exciting,  I'll never forget it.

Unfortunately, I wasn't in a position to take any pictures of that. I did however get a picture of.....

The biggest television....

IN THE WORLD. (for scale, that's me, underneath, bottom right)




 

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[RED-DOG]

Last night I had to lay my weary head on this. It was shaped like a pyramid tea bag, was bigger than a wheelie bin, and had the consistency of a sack of snot.


It was the worst pillow.....

IN THE WORLD!

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[doubleup]

I had one of those pillows in a German hotel in an otherwise perfect hotel.  I cannot understand why anyone would think they are an improvement on the conventional pillow.