After a stressful morning we returned to our hotel and waited for the rest of the tour group to wake up. Next on our tour we were to visit the Sera Monastery and see the monks perform their daily debates.
Travel
Stories of my travels around the world.
Up Early to Queue in Lhasa
On our first day in Lhasa we found out that because Yi was Chinese she would need to get up early in the morning to queue for the tickets to Potala Palace. They also needed one other person to go as well, so obviously I volunteered.
Tibet: Arrival
Last summer we visited Tibet (西藏 or Xīzàng in Simplified Chinese) with Young Pioneer Tours, a part of China, yet not so simple for foreigners to visit. The rules to get in are constantly changing and China often temporarily blocks foreigners from entry.
Hotpot Weekend in Shanghai
There are many varieties of the infamous hotpot in China. In general they all consist of the same basic idea: dipping cold things into soup and boiling the flavour into them.
Huangpu (Whampoa) Military Academy
While in Guangzhou we visited the Huangpu Military Academy (黄埔军校 or Huángbù jūnxiào) on Chuangzhou Island. We were dropped off at the Huangpu docks where the academy gets its name. Then we paid a total of 2 RMB (around 19 pence) to get on board the boat to the island.
NanHai (South Sea) God Temple
During the Dragon Boat Festival this year, my girlfriend and I decided to visit her father in Guangzhou. Her father buys and sells fish in China, and Guangzhou is the place to buy fish in China. Naturally he took us to visit the NanHai God temple.
Children of Bodom @ MAO Livehouse
I found out at another gig that Children of Bodom were playing MAO Livehouse in Shanghai this month so, being starved of metal, I was quick to scoop up tickets.
The day came, but on our way to the gig we realised that we had forgotten our tickets.
Wandering Tiananmen Square
On our last day in Beijing, after spending the morning recovering from our hangovers at a tea house we took a quick trip to Tiananmen Square.
Despite it being a Monday, there was still a huge queue to get into the square.
Tea House: The Best Hangover Cure
For some reason I’ve been very un-British and never actually visited a single Tea House in China (despite having been here more than a year), but today it was time to break that streak.
Water Cube: Visiting the National Aquatics Center
After leaving the Bird’s Nest we wandered over to the National Aquatics Center (a.k.a. the Water Cube). The events I focused on when making the official Olympics game were the Swimming and the Diving events, so I had spent more time working with the Water Cube than the other arenas.