I was in Nanjing in case you were wondering
The mysteries of the Great Chinese Firewall continue to deepen. While I can get LJ from the Hangzhou Landisson, the Nanjing Sofitel is unable to connect to it, and V's laptop doesn't have Firefox installed. (I'm using Firefox with Tor to get through now, as I always do when home.)
Hmm, I feel woozy. I probably need food. As soon as my husband departs my nutrition goes completely wonky because I never remember to eat.
I was working in Shanghai on Thursday, but missed the chance to work on Friday because I'd completely forgotten about that when booking the train ticket to Nanjing. I mentioned last week that the greatest annual human migration1 had already started, didn't I? Last week every single gate at the Shanghai South Bus Station was open, and about six coaches an hour were departing from each one - twenty-four gates in total. It was busy. This week all the seats on the 6pm train to Nanjing were sold, so I thoughtlessly asked for an earlier train - got the 3pm one - and missed out on work on Friday. It was nice to have a lazy morning, though, even if I missed getting to the tailor's for a fitting because there were absolutely no taxis whatsoever left in Shanghai. (Taxi drivers also have a tendency to travel home for Spring Festival.) Luckily I was able to take the metro to the train station and make my train. Even though I had to troop with all the other travellers through 200m metal-gated queues, past hordes of police, huge army tents set up outside the station to shelter waiting passengers, and beyond the eight bag x-ray machines working overtime. I was in a first-class carriage, so the journey was exceptionally comfortable, and my fellow passengers included an army general with his entourage.
Work in Nanjing was work in Nanjing. Same as ever, except for the fact that they're re-decorating the building we work in (this is something to be applauded, as the toilets were the worst I have seen in the supposedly 'developed' regions of China. The worst I ever saw in the whole of China were so disgusting that I can't even bring myself to think about them, let alone type it out in its full stench and horror.) Unfortunately,though, it meant we were working with a constant layer of grimy dust, and an atmosphere rendolant of 'Das Boot'. The Sofitel is nice, mind - they give you a proper huge coffee/tea cup for breakfast - but their sinks are designed so that every single drop of water poured in from the taps immediately sprays out again all over your body. Very weird.
1 When everybody and their entire family travel to their home village for Spring Festival. China has a large population, most of whom work away from home. Spring Festival transportation is organised on an epic scale the likes of which few other countries could imagine.
Hmm, I feel woozy. I probably need food. As soon as my husband departs my nutrition goes completely wonky because I never remember to eat.
I was working in Shanghai on Thursday, but missed the chance to work on Friday because I'd completely forgotten about that when booking the train ticket to Nanjing. I mentioned last week that the greatest annual human migration1 had already started, didn't I? Last week every single gate at the Shanghai South Bus Station was open, and about six coaches an hour were departing from each one - twenty-four gates in total. It was busy. This week all the seats on the 6pm train to Nanjing were sold, so I thoughtlessly asked for an earlier train - got the 3pm one - and missed out on work on Friday. It was nice to have a lazy morning, though, even if I missed getting to the tailor's for a fitting because there were absolutely no taxis whatsoever left in Shanghai. (Taxi drivers also have a tendency to travel home for Spring Festival.) Luckily I was able to take the metro to the train station and make my train. Even though I had to troop with all the other travellers through 200m metal-gated queues, past hordes of police, huge army tents set up outside the station to shelter waiting passengers, and beyond the eight bag x-ray machines working overtime. I was in a first-class carriage, so the journey was exceptionally comfortable, and my fellow passengers included an army general with his entourage.
Work in Nanjing was work in Nanjing. Same as ever, except for the fact that they're re-decorating the building we work in (this is something to be applauded, as the toilets were the worst I have seen in the supposedly 'developed' regions of China. The worst I ever saw in the whole of China were so disgusting that I can't even bring myself to think about them, let alone type it out in its full stench and horror.) Unfortunately,though, it meant we were working with a constant layer of grimy dust, and an atmosphere rendolant of 'Das Boot'. The Sofitel is nice, mind - they give you a proper huge coffee/tea cup for breakfast - but their sinks are designed so that every single drop of water poured in from the taps immediately sprays out again all over your body. Very weird.
1 When everybody and their entire family travel to their home village for Spring Festival. China has a large population, most of whom work away from home. Spring Festival transportation is organised on an epic scale the likes of which few other countries could imagine.