What's a man gonna F**Qingdao!?
 

In about five hours time I'll be leaving home for a repeat run of the course I held in China last year. New location this time - Qingdao - about half way between Shanghai and Beijing.

I'm following the same travel procedure as last year, but flying with Emirates instead of Qatar Air (no offers from them this time), and with laptop at the ready and camera with direct link to my pc I'm hoping to offer some realtime reporting during the trip.

First stop for an entry then will be Dubai at around 4.00 pm US time - so watch this space!

Anyone got any black bean sauce?

So far - not so good

Will it all end here?

I hope not - so far I've made it as far as the Emirates lounge at London Gatwick - those dreaded words 'technical fault - more news in another hour' being the only information available at the moment. I am assured that Emirates are working all out to ensure I reach my final destination - let's hope that's before 50 Chinese delegates arrive in Qingdao and take their seats on Tuesday morning (and I can't help remembering similar words being spoken by American Airlines at JFK a few years back after which pronouncement the situation descended into total chaos and confusion. I eventually flew home with Virgin, arriving some 14 hours later than planned and just in time to catch our Burman female kitty being dispatched to be sired by some lustfull male blue-point of the same breed. Funny how you remember these things).

So I sit here waiting for my fate to be decided. Strange to think that I only live 20 minutes drive away, and yet I am unable to move from this spot.

I expect you're wondering what it's like here - probably not, but if for some unaccountable reason you actually are, well, don't get too excited.... there you go... (see what I mean):

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Oh,dear - I shouldn't have said what I said in that last entry.

My original flight is now cancelled.

Good news? I'm on the 19.15 to Dubai (let's hope that doesn't have a fault!)

Bad news? That gets in at 05.00-ish on Sunday morning, but the only onward flight to Beijing is at 03.00 Monday morning. - I get to Beijing at 15.30 Monday and then, all going well, I get the connecting flight to Qingdao at 1645 (or a later one if I miss that one!) - bang goes the time I had allowed to be in Qingdao to be sure that everything was set up properly for Tuesday morning - now it will be a rush job early on Tuesday morning to do this.

Good news? I spend a day in Dubai at Emirates' expense and therefore might even have time to be able to take some interesting photos. Might not be so bad.... but,

Bad news? Turns out that the Chinese course organisers had mistakenly booked my onward flight from Beijing to Qingdao for the Monday instead of the Sunday, anyway - so God knows what would have happened if I had turned up on ten Sunday as planned. So,

Good news? at least there's a ticket and flight for me from Beijing to Qingdao when I arrive Monday in any event (there always was!!!).

And I thought this was going go be the boring bit of the trip!?!? (and that thread title is suddenly looking more appropraite than first intended as well!)

Cyclefrance,
Is there a large black dog sitting in a chair, with his tongue hanging out, on the right side of that second picture?

Are you teaching, or riding, a course in China?

Sorry to disappoint HLJ - not a dog (well, depending upon your taste in females) but a fellow delayed passenger - a bit of a trick of the old light that a rogue tongue has appeared (certainly no-one has claimed it as theirs)

Running/teaching the course BTW - might be a load of jibberish spoken (most say there is anyway) given the sleep to awake ratio that seems to be developping as a result of this debacle - it's somewhat moving too one-sidedly in the wrong direction at the moment... - I haven't helped the situation, you see - I thought I'd try to get myself closer to Chinese time before I left, so I've had a couple of nights' sleep starting at 9.00pm and waking at 4.00 am - that now looks, and feels, maybe to have been a misplaced strategy...).

That's funny. When I look at that picture I see a black lab facing the camera - ears, eyes, nose, tongue.

Good luck on your travels.

You really need to conceal that canine fetish of yours, you know...

Taboo wish HLJ (the 'Good Luck' one you gave) - I am now back home.

False start trying to get on tonight's flight, so now I am confirned on tomorrow's flight that leaves at the time I should have left today (hope that makes sense). So I connect with the Beijing to Qingdao flight to arrive Qingdao Monday evening.

No day in Dubai, but at least a night in my own bed (albeit on Chinese hours! - now a necessity)

Now if they'd told me that I would be going on tomorrow's flight at 3.00pm today then I could have spent the afternoon at home instead of opposite that black dog!

That's not a black lab, anybody can clearly see that's a Newfie.
Hope your trip is smooth and pleasant from here on out.

I think it's your sig jinxing you.
Best speed onwards.

I'm up and awake (or more logically -awake and up)!

In about five hours time I'll be leaving home a second time in 24 hours for a repeat run of the course I held in China last year. New location this time - Qingdao - about half way between Shanghai and Beijing.

I'm following the same travel procedure as last year, but flying with Emirates instead of Qatar Air (no offers from them this time), and with laptop at the ready and camera with direct link to my pc I'm hoping to offer some realtime reporting during the trip.

First stop for an entry, then, will be Emirates London Gatwick Lounge at around 7.30 am US time - if I am lucky (think I'm due some) - then another report will follow when I reach Dubai at around 4.00pm US time - so watch this space again!

Anyone got any worry beads?

Emirates Lounge, London Gatwick Airport - 13.15 hrs UK time (08.15 US Eastern) - magic words on departures screen: 'proceed to Gate 51'

See ya's all in 8 hours or so!

Ceiling cat iz playin wiz hurr worree beedz.

(No picture. Use your imagination...)

I was going to write that ceiling cat was waiting with baited (sic) breath, but that would invite too many rude interpretations.

Cyclefrance, maybe I should say "Break a leg."

Hey! Dubai!

...and that's what I call a Duty Free Shopping Mall!

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I wonder if the earthquake left him a destination?

Just a couple of hours here - and, guess what? I'm in the Emirates Lounge!

Not sure if I should take a photo - I mean, it's just another Emirates Lounge and no sign of any dogs either - maybe a photo only if requested (you have one hour too do so before I set off to board the Beijing plane).

Not a bad flight here. You know how you sit there in the departure lounge thinking 'I wonder if I'll get some nice young attractive woman in the next seat, that'd be nice...' (that's after you've recovered from the paranoia of worrying if you'll actually have a flight!), but then you end up with some wheezing sweating slob with a bad case of halitosis. Sure you do.

We-ll, I got the lady this time around! No kidding. And quite a stunner too!Aaah, memories of youthfull days gone by. An Emirates lady flying back to Dubai for her next assignment - quite chatty as well, even though she was the one who ended up with the old fart next door (i.e me!). Helped the time go by either side of movies (watched 'The Fastest Indian' - not to be missed if you have the chance to catch it - probably on DVD by now - it didn't make our cinemas - followed by 'Wild Hogs' - passable - in the 'making time go by' sense but not one I'd make the effort to go out of my way to see otherwise).

Dubai is certainly humming - the airport is a good indication of how active the place is considering it's 01.30 local time and the place is packed!

Stopping this entry now as I need a drink!

Luckily the training centre isn't in a mud hut. Not nice to hear of anyone dying though especially a 4-year-old boy. I suppose that it's good that the casualties were so few, but better had there been none.

Seems this trip is causing enough ripples even before it's properly started. Guess I'd better give you plenty of warning when I decide to come to the States - they'll clearly need to declare a state of emergency when I do.

No problem, cf, bring it on anytime. Sounds like your luck is changing, have fun.

Made it to Qingdao - only after being too late for Beijing-Qingdao flight, by 3 minutes!

I forgot that, despite having queued for hours to get a Chinese Visa at their London Embasssy, and filled in two foms that were handed out on the plane, I still had to coolect another Entry Visa form that I filled in and handed to the immigration guy. So, having queued 15 minutes to get in front of him, he sent me off to find the said Entry Visa form (found tucked away around a corner in the immigration hall). Language barrier rendered my 'why not place them at the head of each immigration queue?' suggestion unacknowledged. Still I've grabbed a supply of both Entry and Exit Visa blank forms so I don't make the mistake again (unless of course they redesign the thing before I visit again!).

Beijing airport (as picture shows) wasn't that inspiring - I know they have those nice new self-check-in machines, but they never worked for my bookings. Qingdao is another matter - will get some pics over the next two days to prove the point (camera flash just bounced of the taxi window when I tried on the trip from airport to hotel - so unless you want a nice example of rear window heating elements silhouetted against a reflection of the light from the flash.... oh, what the hell, I'll include it anyway). Road from airport to hotel (4 lanes each way toll highway) was devoid completely of any other traffic - guess that sums up the wealth of the average Chinese individual, not wanting (being able?) to pay to use the road.

Heading for bed now - early start - need to check the course facilities and documentation that the Chinese end had to prepare - given the cock-ups last time....

Trip (excluding unnecessary loitering in Emirates Lounge on Saturday) has taken over 27 hours (left home 11.00 on Sunday morning and arrived hotel 21.30 Chinese/14.30 British time today) - not too bad, then....

Do you feel better for having us keep you company?
Am enjoying the trip so far.

Are you going to call your wife if you get locked out of your hotel room?!

Oooow Sundae, you're evil. I like the way you think. That would be a great gag, but it might cost him later.

Cf, that's not the only terminal in Beijing, is it?

Holy crap. Beijing airport looks exactly like Ruzyne (Prague, CZ) airport.

Thanks for the play-by-play Cf. Good stuff.

Hotel room is very entertaining, thanks to thin walls - woken at around half-one this morning by noise of lady in adjoining room clearly enjoying herself with her partner - 'Harry meets Sally' in audio - extended version! Key under close guard!

And you with no mp3s to share of it. For shame.

Guaranteed nightly repeats, I understand - just like having cable TV!

... or Home 'Box' Office!!

Network connections have been about as reliable as last Saturday’s Emirates Flight – so much so that I have not been able to connect in either Qingdao or Beijing airports, and I am now struggling to maintain access while in Dubai (Emirates Lounge, naturally), While waiting for the gate to open for my last leg back home to London (which hopefully will be on time)

What of China? Well two thing stick out more than anything as being prevalent – the first being real estate construction, and the second being pollution. In fact, I’d put pollution well ahead of the game (the photos that follow will provide adequate supporting evidence for that viewpoint). And if they go on the way they are (considering that China is in the early stages of growth, then this is most certainly a given) then IMO pollution is going to be a substantial obstacle – for the adverse effect it will have on the population’s health alone!

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And a couple more to bring home the point (photos taken from inside of taxi on way back to airport):

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And as if this wasn't bad enough, the flight into Beijing really showed how chronic it really was - it was impossible to see the ground or runway until virtually on top of it, and even though it was only 7.00 pm (which in the UK would mean a good two hours still of daylight at that time of early evening), the place was gloomy and lights were already on in both buildings and on vehilcles on the roads. The shot I took at 7.15 pm of Beijing airport (below) portrays the scene accurately:

Wonder how that air will affect Olympic athletes?

Pollution aside, the course went well enough. The course operator had clearly over-played my qualifications when describing me to the delegates, as I was constantly addressed as 'professor' - nice in one sense, but the very sound of the word had the effect of adding yet a few more years to my already advancing age.

A picture of the 'professor' in full flow, below and of the class relaxing during a break:

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...and of course the inevitable 'applause' shot (as practised in Moscow last year):

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The hotel had an interesting clock - a mix of Disney and London, with Snow White and the seven dwarfs (Miss White hiding behind the tree) on the top display, and Royal Horsguards (without their horses below):

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I was wondering the same thing when taking this picture at Qingdao airport - my thoughts were/are, badly!

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there's that wrong roman numeral 4 on the clock....IIII, not IV...WTF?

I've seen clocks like that before too.

I think it has something to do with it all being backwards and upside down and all, and not confusing IV and VI. It's to help all the stupid people out there

Nice thread and photos Cycle. Thanks for sharing your travels!
I really enjoyed it.

Damn battery ran out on my laptop so couldn't add the last picture below I wanted to while in Dubai - it's in the category, sort of, 'you think you've had the worst in terms of in-flight food, and then....'

Well this little item was dished out on the flight from Qingdao to Beijing along with a bottle of still water - it tasted pretty rubbery and was difficult to swallow - I think it was meant to be shredded and dried squid.

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Now home. The Dubai-London leg was mainly uneventful. I'm not usually one for taking photos out of the plane window, but I thought this last one deserved its place in the collection. It's of northern Iraq, up past Kirkuk and edging twoards the Turkish border - looks quite peaceful in isolation and therefore it's hard to associate this picture with the blood that is still being consistently shed in this country.

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I've seen this before on clocks - I think around the time this was made there was a global shortage of Vs. Probably a clockmaker's licence (a bit like prosaic and poetic licences) to be able to get away with this sort of thing.

We've had the clock discussion before..

Thanks for taking us along. Not one 'are we there yet' from us, although you may have uttered it a couple times.

In the US, all University/college lecturers seem to be addressed as professor, and the Chinese aften follow American protocol on such things, so therein may lie your answer to that one. :)

Damn - and there was me thinking I had impressed them beyond their expectations....

... and, just when I think I'm all done, I inevitably find something else I meant to mention - the double glazing salesman has arrived! (seen en route to Qingdao airport)

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Wonderful - thank you!
Go away soon so you can take us with you again.

I LOVE the mountains in the background of the city shots. I swear I must have Viking blood, something in me is always distressed at how flat this beloved country of ours is - I always seem to be pining for the fjords... (actually I think it's French blood from more recently than the Dark Ages - the month I spent in the shadow of the Puy de Dome - where Volvic mineral water comes from - felt like coming home)

And I LOVE the clock - I suppose many Authentic Eastern Artifacts would look just as bizarre to the Chinese. Like the Japanese-made Monkey and The Watermargin maybe!

And they're using the same damn pictures they're using here.

We visited that area a few years ago - about the time that Volvic started its UK TV ad campaign - it's an awe-inspiring region. We also visited relatively close-by La Chaise-Dieu during the same trip. Have you been there? A village set in a cup-like bowl in the mountains. Beautiful to see, but it unexpectedly and sadly suffers from car exhaust pollution which settles there because it has no means of escape. We couldn't work out at first why the inhabitants were walking around with towels across the lower face. As the morning visitor numbers (and traffic) grew, we discovered the reason.

I also stayed in the Haute Loire region as the French leg of the student exchange we had at our school. I visited the other famous puy then, Le Puy-en-Velais where the plug of volcanic rock that forms the puy supports an enormous staue of 'Our Lady' which visitoirs can enter and ascend to the shoulders and head - much in the manner of the Statue of Liberty.

Hey, you're still up and reading like me, Sundae - mind you, I'm off for some shut-eye now - my body is still fighting off China time. Have a good night!

I honestly can't remember the name of the village I stayed in. Close to Clemont Ferrand obviously, but a check of the map just left me more confused than ever - I assume we were to the South of the Puy de Dome because of the village layout, but who knows. It was steep streeted and stone - like the Cotswalds in my memory. And permanently shrouded in mist (althou I was homesick & missing Autumn at home so don't rely on that).

I recently found a packet of photos from the time - if I can sweet-talk the boss into letting me at the colour scanner I'll post some pictures of a typically French village in 1997. It was a disposable camera (you don't trust 15yo with the family camera!) and point-and-shoot was an accurate description of my style.

My one day climbing the (to me) magical volcano I forget to take my camera... I know. I was there a month and my primary memory is the boy I snogged at my best friend's 16th before I left. Youth is wasted on the young.

That village sounds like Volvic itself - although there are a few that look similar to each other in that area. You probably won't remember for sure having been so distracted - but your allowed such diversions in France when young, so pas de problem!

I like the fact that every French region has its own identity and style. We've been to so many different areas over the years - Nancy where the Art Nouveau movement started (amazing architecture and design), Prades, Perpignan and Carcassone (rich mediaeval history), Aix, the Alpilles and Le Castillet in southern Provence, and the Dordogne and Auvergne.

Even though the Dordogne has some heavily Brit populated locations, the area still appeals with its ancient villages and superb scenery. We've also been through Millau a few times but not since the new bridge has been completed (one still to be done).