What's a man gonna F**Qingdao!?

[xoxoxoBruce]

Wonder how that air will affect Olympic athletes?

[Cyclefrance]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Wonder how that air will affect Olympic athletes?

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

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[Cyclefrance]

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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[Cyclefrance]

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

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[Cyclefrance]

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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[monster]

Originally Posted by Cyclefrance

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

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.

[Cyclefrance]

Originally Posted by monster

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....

[lumberjim]

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

[Cyclefrance]

Originally Posted by lumberjim

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

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.

[xoxoxoBruce]

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.

[Ibby]

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

[skysidhe]

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

[Cyclefrance]

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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[Cyclefrance]

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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[Sundae]

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!