Despite having more “free time” since exams finished two weeks ago, I’ve actually been quite busy. Last week I ventured off to the North of China to Haerbin to see the snow and ice festival and a couple other cities for about a week all in. And wow, was it cold. And I say that as a Canadian. I can’t say I pursue that type of weather very often and so cold weather (and its associated clothing) has become quite a rarity in my life. I even bought a toque and scarf but remained steadfast in not buying a winter jacket. In honesty, I should buy a winter jacket but I’ve been thinking of getting one of those Canada Goose jackets. You know, support the home team, right?
Anyway, I returned to Beijing last week and now my parents are visiting for a couple of weeks. They’re going on a separate tour through China and we’ll meet up again in Hong Kong. So, in between that time I was figuring heading south to Nanjing, Hangzhou and possibly Guangzhou before meeting them again in Hong Kong. I plan to stay in Hong Kong for about a week. Oh, and I’m doing this all by train, no flying until I have to come back to Beijing. Why? Because it’s more interesting and you see more things this way. Furthermore, it’s all by high speed rail so the tickets are more expensive but the amount of time it takes to get across China is relatively small.
I may as well get it out of my system now because it looks like I’ll be heading back to Canada earlier this year possibly for another wedding and will probably stay in the neighbourhood for a while before coming back to China (hopefully) in mid-September.
On another note, it’s almost Lunar New Year or, as it’s more commonly known, Chinese New Year. It will be the Year of the Monkey. Already touts have cute little stuffed monkeys for sale, and I was thinking of getting a couple for my nieces.
Finally, I’ve been reading quite a bit. As I mentioned before, I read a total of 9 complete books last year which is a personal best. This year I plan to up that amount to 12-15 complete books. So far I’ve made my way through most of Paul Theroux’s Riding the Iron Rooster (about his train trip through China in the late 80s, right around the time things were getting ugly in Tiananmen Square. Also just received Michael Crichton’s Travels, about his time as a medical student and his subsequent quitting and travelling. This is my first time reading a Michael Chrichton book. I also have my eyes on one of Mo Yan’s books, Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out: A Novel. Yan is a Chinese novelist who uses fiction to cloak his real meanings and criticisms of China and its last one hundred years or so. I have yet to begin it but the reviews look good. Finally, I’ve also actually begun reading Mao’s Quotations and I hope to get through that before classes begin again at the end of February.
Anyway, I probably won’t post again for another few weeks at which time I hope to post a bit more about my travels and a few more pictures. If you’re curious to see what I’ve been up to, go on over to my Instagram account and follow me for more up to date photos. Until next time, stay warm!