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Mixed weekend

On Saturday I drove to Gosford to catch up with Stan, a very close friend of Mum’s in recent years. We spent a great couple of hours catching up at the Davo RSL (it had been far too long), and I learnt a great deal about the corporate shenanigans that caused the demise of a […]

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Back in business

“So what are you looking for?” asked Sharon, some time well after midnight on my last night in Wellington (NZ) last week. “I’m not sure” I replied, “but I think I’ll find it. Being completely free from the routine of normality, I reckon I’ll work out what I really want out of life.” And even […]

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Harbin

In the frozen north of China, not far from Russia and North Korea, Harbin has become famous over the years for its Ice Festival held every winter. Teams of sculptors work for weeks to create massive replicas of famous buildings from around the world, and when viewed at night its a crazy theme park of […]

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Bus, boat, train

Our last night in Qingdao was New Year’s Eve, and like all good party nights this one came together without any planning. Several coffees in the early evening, some dry hot-pot with Welm’s chinese friends (very spicy, and it included a few bonus ingredients such as sauted tripe and cooked duck’s blood), playing pool, more […]

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Lazy days

Qingdao is famed for its beaches, amongst other things (eg. German architecture and Tsingtao beer), and they’re quite nice as beaches go. Wandering down to the city centre for a look yesterday morning there were people going for a dip in the ocean, kids playing with sand, and a lively beach volleyball game with half […]

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A very Qingdao Christmas

While they don’t celebrate Christmas officially in China, Qingdao is a very modern city and loads of retail shops were getting in on the act. There are constant reminders that December 25th is coming, and Welm was given the day off from her work (though other foreigners she knows were not so lucky). Our Qingdao […]

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