So it’s Friday, it’s been 5 days since my quarantine started and so far so good. I’ve been enjoying being back in Australia, enjoying many things in fact. It’s good to catch up with Catherine and Stuart and to spend time at their home. It’s so quiet and such a contrast to where I have lived for the past two years. I’ve been coming here for over 30 years and in the early days I found this place too boring and I would only want to stay for two or three days but after being out of the country for nearly 4 years and spending most of that time in China I am now quite content to sit here and enjoy the peace and quiet.
Watching TV that I understand, being able to use Google without a VPN and everything works so quick even although the base internet speed is not as fast as China, not having the great Xi Jing Ping Firewall makes all the difference. Pastrami, I really like pastrami and cheese on a fresh soft wholemeal bread roll. Fresh air and being in the country, it is so quiet so I can go for a walk and not bump into anyone, which is good since I am in quarantine after all, but I am allowed to go for a walk as long as I keep to myself.
I found a book this morning called “A Matter of Honour” by Jeffrey Archer and I have only read a few chapters but I intend to sit outside on the deck under the curved patio roof where at this time of the year you can happily sit outside. I’ll be spending a few hours out here in the coming weeks.
I’ve also managed to catch up with friends via the phone, a simple thing but I have been unable to do this easily because I have had to use Skype but the connection was never stable very often which was frustrating, but now I can just make a phone call.
I’m enjoying being back that at the moment the thought of returning to China is not even on the horizon, instead I am thinking of when I can return to my own house and what kind of car will I buy, will the old fridge still work and what else will I need to buy when I get home.
However there is one little critter that I had forgotten about and that is the fly, Australian flies are a pain, not literally but they are very annoying and I have to constantly wave them from my face but maybe they are just saying hello.
Below is a note which was sent to my friends son in Suzhou from one of his teachers.
I’m fairly confident that I did not bring the Covid19 back to Australia with me and so I am really not too concerned. My brother in law started to feel a little bit ill just after I arrived; this is a common effect that I have on people so it’s perfectly normal. He has a snotty nose and I have more chance of catching a bug from him. He called his doctor and then he informed them that I was here and so I got a referral to go to the pathology for a Covid19 test.
I walked in and immediately I was in “Leper” mode. The staff kept their distance and ushered me into a small room which had two doors and they quickly closed them while they went and prepared themselves with Hazmat and rubber gloves.
The young girl came in and apparently I am the second such person in this area to be tested. The test is painless, they take a swab of your snot in both nostrils just to be sure and then another from the back of your throat which is a little bit unpleasant and it feels like you want to bring up your breakfast. So the young girl thanked me for keeping my breakfast down and then it was all over. I was thinking that they had to take blood but no they just need a few bodily fluids to see if you are part of this pandemic.
After we returned home we had coffee and then I went for a walk around the block. The house is located on the edge of town and so there are very few people around which makes it easy to go for a walk without running into anyone. I have to quarantine for two weeks and I am not too fussed about this because I am happy just to sit around on the back deck, read a book, do some exercise or just eat.
I’m still trying to understand why so many people are panicking and acting like total arseholes. I have been in China for the last two years and I never saw any of this kind of behaviour at our local supermarkets in the last few months. Maybe on the first week of lockdown there were a few items missing from shelves, but I left on the 14th of March and up till then I could go to the shops and buy what I wanted without any problems, even toilet paper was available. Mind you most of the other businesses were closed but you could order takeaway from one or two places.
The behaviour that has been on display both here and in the UK and other countries is fascinating and I think it’s a pity that the Coronavirus doesn’t target the stupid instead of the weak. The world would be a much better place if we could cull the stupid bastards from society.
And so I will finish my quarantine on the 29th of March and then I will be free to wander around and see firsthand the madness that is out there, can’t wait……….
At 1.30 on Saturday afternoon I got into my Taxi to take me to the Pudong airport. It cost 400 rmb to get me there but to be honest I really did not have a lot of choice because I had so much luggage and getting to the airport via public transport was limited.
It was a large people mover that I got into and I slid open the door and said my goodbye’s to Sissi and got in, I hate saying goodbye especially when I don’t know when we will see each other again. The driver asked me to put on my seat belt and then we headed off.
Once on the freeway I watched Suzhou slide passed and took my last look at the East Gate and then lay back and closed my eyes and enjoyed the heat of the sun coming through the side window warming up my whole body. It was still very cool outside but in here it was very comfortable and snug.
We passed through a few toll gates as we make our way towards Shanghai and the final one we go through is on the city outskirts where we go from Suzhou city to Shanghai city and at this gate we have many health officials ready to take the temperatures of everybody in the cars. My driver stopped and got his taken and then they came around to my side and slid the door open. I presented my wrist to him after I dug it out from my very warm thermal jacket that I had on, immediately the thermometer went bright red………….I was like “FUCK!” I gave him my other wrist and the same thing happened and then I said “ I’m sitting at the window and the sun is streaming in and I am wearing a thermal jacket, that’s why my temperature is so high” and another thing……..how accurate are these thermometers anyway. SO at this point I am thinking I’m about to get dragged out the van and have a thermometer shoved into an orifice.
The door is shut and the guy just points forward and then the driver had the presence of mind to just slowly drive away and then the next thing you know we are back up at cruising speed and back on our way to the airport and all the time waiting for the police car to come along side and flag us down, but thankfully this did not happen and I was back on my way to the airport.
The driver seemed quite concerned and was telling me to drink plenty of cold water when I get to the airport to reduce my body temperature, but I knew I was OK because this is the first time I have registered high.
When he dropped me off there were two other cars there and only a handful of people hanging around. I entered through door 6 and through the first security check and was surprised that my temperature was not taken; maybe they had thermal cameras somewhere. On to the check in desk and waited a further 30 minutes for them to open.
I had to fill out another medical certificate to state where I had come to, where I am going and then it’s onto passport control where they check this once more along with my passport, I’m the only person in the departure area waiting to have my passport checked. This is a huge airport and normally to get through passport control you need to wait at least 30 mins, but today there is no one.
Security check is next and I am once again on my own and after a thorough check I’m through and I head to Starbucks to buy coffee because it is the only place open, luckily I bought bread at the bakers before leaving for the airport and so I know I’m not going to starve to death as I wait for my plane. I got here 5 hours before my flight was due for departure but I just wanted to get here in case there may be delays with all the people leaving the country but as it turns out there are very few people here.
The plane leaves on time and I would think that we had no more than 40 people on board and that is including the crew. There were two people in Business Class and most of us were spread throughout the cabin. I had a window seat so I could lie down and get a snooze, I could have crossed the aisle to the centre row of seats but I just stayed where I was. I slept on and off for about 7 hours and then I slowly came to and just in time for a breakfast of fried rice and I also finished off the bread I had left.
On arrival we went through a special COVID channel where our temperatures were taken and we were given advice on what to do next in regards to the 14 day quarantine and personal hygiene etc. Then we were free to pick up our bags and leave the airport. I had a connecting flight with Qantas and so I went to check in. I knew my bags were overweight and was expecting a little bit of a challenge because of this and I was not disappointed. I was lucky to be served by the overweight gay boy with an utter distaste for an old Scottish guy wearing a mask and protesting because he was going to be charged for excess baggage. More on that later.
I got through to T3 and waited for 5 hours or so for my flight up to my sisters. It was a small plane and the flight was only an hour so it was not too bad and when we arrived it was only 5 mins till we were out in the car park.
So glad to have finally arrived after my long and stressful journey which was not helped by the fat gay boy, but at last I could rest my weary head. I was so relieved to have finally made it here because over the last few weeks in China there have been stories of flight cancellations and then there were more travel bans coming into place and I had visions of being stuck in China in a situation that I wanted to get away from.
Well I’m happy to say I’m on the plane and the airport and the plane is remarkably empty and I don’t think that I’ll travel like this for a while but maybe just maybe I might get a snooze
Well I’m in bed and listening to radio 2 and I’m happy on a few counts. It’s my last night, my vpn is working, my flight tomorrow is still on schedule which is very important and so as I go to sleep all seems to be well in my world.
I’ve spent the day at home with Sissi and we have listened to music, chatted and solved the world’s problems, but we haven’t figured out what we will do next or where we will go. It’s always a sad time when we leave friends and especially when we don’t know when we will see each other again but at the end of the day I feel in my water that it’s time to move on and of course my visa is up too but I think that even if it wasn’t I’d still want to leave, but the expiration of my visa makes it easier.
Travel will become more and more difficult in the short term and while I’m in China I’m just treading water, so to return to Australia at this time makes a bit more sense. I can re-evaluate my plans and decide what to do next, try to figure out which horizon to head to.
Time to change to radio four I think and then it’s lights oot.
On the 20th of March 2018 I arrived in Suzhou and stayed at the FX Hotel at Leqiao in the west of the SIP. I was only there for two days as I just wanted somewhere to rest after my flight. This hotel is near to the metro station and so it was easy to get there. It is a three star hotel and a little bit tired but at least I could rest my weary bones.
My next plan of attack was to find more permanent accommodation and so for that I needed more time, so I got a place on Airbnb and because of this my world changed forever. On the 22nd of March I booked an Airbnb with Sissi for a week. She met me near one of the stations and took me through the labyrinth of the old city to my digs for the next few days. First impressions were of a lovely young bubbly girl with so much enthusiasm and she was so friendly. We hit it off and we talked and talked as if we had known each other for years.
Sissi asked me how long I intended staying in Suzhou and I told her I was not sure but maybe as long as two years and then she asked me would I like to share an apartment with her in the SIP, which is the city centre of Suzhou and the apartment would be 5 mins from Central Park………I said “YES”.
Sissi wanted to set up a new Airbnb apartment in the SIP, which for most people is a better location. We moved into Orchard Manors which is one of the most sought after addresses in Suzhou. A four bedroom apartment, about 170 m2 and on the 4th floor. It was absolutely brilliant and I still had to pinch myself because I could not believe my luck. I had only been in Suzhou for three days and one of my biggest headaches had been cured by this wonderful young lady called Sissi. The only downside that I could see was that I was now living in an Airbnb house and to be honest some of the people that walked through the front door were certainly challenging and I have had many times where I have been unhappy with this situation especially in the early days of living here while Sissi and I were still getting to know each other. But on the other hand I have also met some really wonderful and inspiring young people too, far more than the guests that have been a complete and utter pain in the arse which I would have happily thrown over the balcony without hesitation. It has been an insight to the behaviours of everyday Chinese folk and the ignorance of foreigners which have been culturally inept and some of them have had very dubious behaviours.
Over the last two years Sissi has become a great friend and confidant and I have great love and respect for this tenacious young lady that has had to deal with many ups and downs over the last two years and yet she always has a smile for her guests and everyone for that matter and she always tries to do the right thing, however some of the guests have been complete and utter bastards and have taken advantage of her kind nature which would make my blood boil. I just wish that my level of Chinese had been higher so that I could tell them to Fuck off in no uncertain terms, but then again, saying it in English gets the desired effect too sometimes.
It turns out that we are both similar creatures in many ways even although we are separated by culture and age and I find that quite interesting. I admire and respect what she does to build a future for herself and I know for a fact that I would never take on three Airbnb houses, and after seeing the amount of work involved and some of the bullshit she has had to deal with, I know it’s not for me.
And so tomorrow I have a flight back to Australia and in a few weeks time Sissi will move to Nanjing to start a new chapter of life. Our time together has come to an end for now which is sad, but we are both ready to move on to something else. I don’t know what that is yet but Sissi has plans to go into the Hotel business with a young guy and I wish her all the best and I know that I will see her when I return to China, but maybe not in Suzhou. But I know one thing for sure my life was changed for the better on that day two years ago when I met the amazing and wonderful Sissi.
Thursday and all is well, well apart from the sunburn or windburn that I received yesterday. I went for a walk around the lake yesterday which is around 14km. I walked anti-clockwise, heading east and so the sun was on my back until I reached the end of the lake. It’s still a cool day but with the sun on my back I soon warmed up and it felt marvellous.
When I crossed the “Ren Bridge 人桥” or “People’s Bridge” I came across one of the new stations of the new metro line and because of this I was unable to continue along the path around the lake and the detour was quite far, so I jumped on one of the free Suzhou Green bikes. I haven’t been on one of these bikes for ages and it was great to get back on me bike, so to speak. I found one of the older bikes; they are slightly larger than the new ones. The saddles just don’t go high enough on the new bikes and so when you peddle you end up putting too much pressure on your knees.
I soon turned a corner and headed west back towards home and then I was running parallel to the lake once more. I took off me beanie because of the heat and I wasn’t wearing a mask either but instead enjoying the fresh air as I cycled home. I was cycling into the sun and into a bit of a head wind but I made good time and got home for a well deserved coffee on the balcony.
When I got up home my face felt like I was on fire and when I went into the bathroom I could see the reason why, my face was Scarlet O’Hara and I felt that I was running a temperature which is not the kind of thing you want to do in China at the moment, especially when I hope to leave the country in two days time. I also felt knackered and quite rightly so because I had walked over 20,000 steps, cycled 10km and I had also gone to the park in the morning. By 9pm I was tucked up in bed.
This morning I got up after 7am and after breakfast went back to bed. My face still felt warm but it wasn’t quite the beacon it seemed to be last night. I had a shower and then applied some cream to try and take the colour away. I can’t believe I managed to get sun burn at this time of the year, I mean the UV is not that high so I rarely use sun cream. So hopefully by Saturday it will have gone back to normal or maybe I might start to look a bit “flaky” by then.
After lunch I went to the Suzhou Bus Station to enquire about the airport bus, but alas it ain’t running yet. I have a train ticket for Saturday to get me part of the way but I really don’t fancy fighting my way to the airport with two cases and a backpack so I have decided to go by taxi which is costing 400 rmb which is about $90 which is quite a lot but at this time with the virus an all I thought that I would be safer in a car by myself and it means that I don’t have to fight with my luggage trying to get to the airport. This is the normal price for one car, usually I pay 100 when I share the car so on this occasion which may be my last trip out of China for a while, well Shanghai, I thought what the hell. This would still be way cheaper than getting a taxi in Brisbane back to my house and it would only take around 40 mins instead of the 2 hours that it will take on Saturday to get from home to the airport, so it is comparatively cheap.
I have packed my big case and it is a fraction under 23kg. My smaller case and my pack back are not ready yet. I have too many things and although getting to Sydney with everything is no problem, it’s when I get on the second regional flight that they might be picky if I am overweight so I am trying to keep the weight of my back pack and second case to around 8kg each which should keep me about right but you never know what the reaction will be when you go to the check in counter. Sometimes they surprise you and hardly give you a glance and just process your booking but this being Australia I don’t feel that I will have that kind of luck.
So I will leave one case here with some odds and sods and if I don’t see again it will be no great loss. As I said before I really don’t think that I will be back here in a hurry. I feel that my two years in Suzhou have been quite amazing and I have done so many things I would have never dreamed of experiencing and so now this chapter of my life has come to an end. So many stories to tell and I’m glad that I have kept this blog going for that time because I will be able to look back over the good times and the not so good. I’ll miss a few of the really good friends that I have met here and they have made my life here enjoyable, interesting and privileged. I have been a VIP guest at more occasions than I could ever have dreamed of, given speeches and presentations and even learned a bit about Chinese life and culture along the way. Had more free meals than I can remember, I’ve been the guest of honour, I’ve been to a state banquet and made videos, had interviews with TV stations and other local media. I have been very lucky but at this point I want to get off this merry go round and go back to the west for a bit but maybe in a month or more I will be wanting to run away again, who can tell………..only time will tell.
But of course being in China during this Covid 19 outbreak has been boring and yet interesting and confronting. Interesting to see how the Chinese people deal with such a situation, how they just follow the rules with no complaints and how their faith in the government is astounding, Xi Jing Ping can do no wrong on the surface but there has been a bit of a surprising backlash from many on social media but the internet censorship pulls down such messages as quick as they are put up. Your phone keeps track of you everywhere here. Every movement logged and collated. At the supermarket, on the bus, the metro, the train and just by moving through the city you are constantly bombarded with government propaganda about keeping the community safe and you are encouraged to shop anyone that is not doing the right thing.
And so I will leave this all behind for a while and yet I will miss the convenience of using my phone for almost everything, not having to use physical money is great. I’ll miss the food most I think; I love the local Muslim restaurant food and now I will have to make my own food once which I’m not looking forward to. However there are some things that I will not miss and that is the noises made while eating and some of the other terrible habits that many Chinese possess.
The View from the living room
Going back to a less populated place is also a good thing. Suzhou has a population of 11 million and so when I go back to Australia I will be going to Armidale which I think has a population of around 35.000 so it will be a wee bit different and of course there are no skyscrapers as we have here. It will be good to look out the window and not look into someone else’s house and of course it will be good not to be looked at by someone else all the time. So as you may have gathered I am ready for a wee change but I will be back at some time to visit some places in the North West of China at a later time. But until then it’s time for a change.
Today I walked into the old city and there was a fair bit of traffic around although not many people were walking. I didn’t wear my mask but I had it with me because people were a bit thin on the ground and wearing the mask will do me more harm than good. When I did come face to face with someone I got strange looks and maybe a wee bit of fear in the eyes as they gave me a wide berth.
This is the first time I have been in the old city since all this hullabaloo virus thingamajig appeared on the scene and I had forgotten just how stupid, ignorant, selfish and inconsiderate most of the drivers are. I had quite a few confrontations mainly because I refuse to give way if I have the right of way and I force a situation. One such situation was when I was crossing on a green man and an Audi A8 was coming around the corner and didn’t want to stop until I was right in front of his grill. We stared at each other for a few seconds as the car lurched to a halt and the other pedestrians that stopped for the car were looking at me. Without so much as a blink of an eye I finished crossing the road. It’s this kind of arrogant behaviour that gets on me tits and I would love to carry a baseball bat for this sort of occasion and then I could give them a persuasive reminder of how to behave. Alas I am not allowed to do that even in China.
I’m not going to miss the driving etiquette or lack thereof when I leave China. I’m returning to Australia for a while and I have to admit that they do drive a little bit better than the Chinese and are not so eager to use their horns and usually they don’t drive on the kerb with Ebikes but maybe all that has changed, I guess I’ll find out on Sunday.
And so I am at a bit of a juncture at this point in time, what to do next and where to go. I’ll go back to Australia for a month or so and see how I feel being back. I really would like to get another car and go on a bit of a road trip which might be good fun. I would really prefer to do the road trip in the UK but that might be a bit more difficult but you never know, where there is a will there might be a way.
I’m also thinking that I might just go back to my house and potter in the garden and go back to the simple life, although maybe a little boring but if I could get a part time job for a little while, put some money back in the bank and maybe buy a new car…………….
So I walked 10km’s today and when I got back home I was knackered. I did get up at 6am and after breakfast I went to the park and then to the shops to buy me messages and then after lunch did me 10kms so I’ve had a busy day and too much coffee but I am feeling that if my head hits the pillow I will fall down into the wormhole of sleep and not surface for some time. It’s only the back of 4pm so it might be a little bit early to retire for the evening. I hope my last coffee kicks in a bit more to keep me going.
So it’s five days to go till my flight and yes I am counting. My suitcase is just about packed, it sits at 18kgs and I have 5kgs to spare but I still have a few more things to fit in yet. I’m not too sure just how strict the airlines will be, but as I have a connecting flight in Australia on a smaller plane I am thinking that they might give me a bit of grief but I’ll just have to play the sympathy card and see how I go. I’ll keep the beard long and unkempt looking and they might just take pity on me after my 10 hour flight from Shanghai to Sydney.
I woke up before the sun this morning and I was starving so I got up and had breakfast. About 7.30 I went to the park and it was rather busy which I was surprised to see. Many people were not wearing their masks and they seem a lot more relaxed but it makes sense not to wear a mask when you are exercising as it can’t be healthy for your lungs and body, especially if the mask is not fresh.
I stayed for about an hour and then came home and had a shower and then I went out for a walk, I was really just at a loose end with not much to do. I have started a new Ebook by James Patterson but to be honest after reading the Henning Mankell books it’s kinda hard to go back to this amateur style of American writing. I’ve read a few of James Paterson’s books but they are all much the same and the main character “Alex Cross” has so many enemies that do all these things to him and the ideas become more far-fetched the longer you read the series, and so I gave it a miss. I only have a week to go before I board that big plane so I will see if I can find another book online that I can read.
So I went for a walk to Jinji Lake or Golden Chicken Lake, for a wee stroll and to ease the boredom. I went out for about an hour and a half and then swung passed the Muslim restaurant and picked up lunch and headed home. After lunch I had a bit of a siesta as the early rise was catching me up. I didn’t sleep very well last night and according to my “Fitbit” thing I only slept in deep sleep mode for two hours and so I feel knackered today. To solve this problem I am going to finish the evening with a single malt or two, after all I only have the week to finish the bottle which will be quite easy really. SO glad that I kept it for this week.
And then I just have a quick note about today’s events which as you can see was quite boring and so it looks like I will have to get on my high horse and start to give my opinion about something, oh what about the panic buying that’s taking place everywhere…………people really have gone fuckin’ nuts…………more to follow later on that subject because I have more important things to do which include one bottle of Jura whisky and my glass…………..my glass is empty and I need to rectify this immediately!
Friday has arrived and the sun was out although the wind would slice you into pieces. After breakfast I went to the park as usual and said good morning to all the usual faces and then went for a lap of the park. My chilblains on my left hand have healed well but this mornings wind would encourage them to return.
Mid morning I met my old friend Chynna to give her all my English novels that I have. She is from Taiwan and has been good company while I have been here. She spent her secondary years at school in London and so she understands the British humour and subtleties very well and I think we will both miss each other when I leave. She used to own a cafe but sold it last year which for her was a good decision, especially when you see the current state of play in China where almost every cafe apart from Starbucks is closed.
I picked up lunch on the way home, Cumin beef, vegetables and rice………..very nice.
The afternoon was the same as every other afternoon these past few weeks, some TV, read my book and surf the internet and then write some stupid stuff for the world to see. I’ve done most of my online shopping here and I will be returning the “New” battery that I bought for my laptop as it is worse than the one I currently have. The battery life has reduced from 4 hours to 2 hours over a matter of weeks, mind you my laptop is around 7 years old I think so it’s still doing OK.
Later in the day I’ll check the Torrent websites and download some TV or movies for my viewing, if the VPN does not work I can’t look at Youtube and as I am staying home most of the time and I have no more books to read this is one thing to do to pass the hours.
And then I’ll finish the evening with some Jura whisky just to keep the cold away of course, oh and the virus. An 19 year old Single Malt is very good for it so I am lead to believe and I am willing to experiment by drinking it.
