Poor, neglected blog… We’ve been back in the UK for just over 2 months now. We no longer have to worry about melting in the Shanghai summer, with temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius (although this particular British summer has somehow managed 30 degrees on a few occasions), crossing the road (pedestrians having right of way … Continue reading
In April last year, two fresh-faced, optimistic Brits boarded a plane to Shanghai in anticipation of a three-year move to China. A little over a year later, we’re heading back in the opposite direction. A few days after arriving last year, Bron and I headed for a pub quiz in a now-closed pub called the … Continue reading
Being serenaded by dancing staff is fine; being serenaded and then asked to join in with the dancing is less so. For probably our last meal in a Chinese restaurant, Bron and I met up with Anny in one of the branches of the Haidilao Hot Pot* restaurant chain on Monday evening. Towards the end … Continue reading
Back home in the UK, a barbecue is normally a back-garden affair, featuring burnt sausages, potato salads and wasps. In Shanghai, gardens are hard to come by (apart from those living in Pudong), and instead a number of parks have “barbecue pits” allowing friends and family to gather and cook together in the late-spring heat. … Continue reading
We’d heard all manner of horror stories about the manic, chaotic nature of the largest train station in Asia, so set out very early to try and collect the Beijing tickets ordered for us by Anny’s husband, Frank. Sure enough, we arrived at Shanghai’s Hongqiao Railway Station to find thousands of people milling about, huge … Continue reading
When building a city, planners, designers, urban developers – all must cope with varying topography, marshlands, pockets of gas, rivers, etc.* Those responsible for developing the city of Guilin instead had a unique problem; one instantly visually apparent along some of Guilin’s major streets. Passing by in our taxi, we see hotel, hotel, hotel, huge … Continue reading
ShanghaiSims 