I haven’t been here in years and it was great to come back once more although I think that recent flooding must have destroyed the river bank because it does look very different. Mind you it’s been a while since I was here. 

i just got out the car and I felt something land on my hand and of course the usual reaction is to flick whatever it is to oblivion but I did not and I was lucky to have a wee friend escort me down to the river. 

It looks like a wee cockroach, a native one of course which are very different to the big European ones. 

It led the way and seemed quite content getting a lift. 

I walked up the path from the river and all I could here was the running water and birdsong, although I have no idea what kind of birds.Of course there are the usual suspects of crows and pigeons but there were a few other ones I’m not familiar with. 

It’s not a very big area and it’s not too far from Ipswich and it’s certainly worth visiting. So many trees fighting for a place in the park. You will see many examples of strangler vines or figs as you walk on through. And there are some massive old trees which are seem to touch the sky. 

I got up this morn and went for a walk after breakfast and it was a lovely crisp morning. The sky was a deep blue and there was a nice chill in the air, there was only a handful of folk out walking their dogs and I was listening to Pink Floyd.

I love these winter mornings in Ipswich when the sun is shining. It got down to 5c last night but it got up to about 24c which is perfect.

I’m returning to China next week but I will miss this start to the day very much. On a Sunday morning you can ease into the day very slowly which is a very difficult thing to do in China. 

Where I live over there is not in a quiet neighbourhood, but I do have a park I can go to to get away from the hustle and bustle. However the sky will not be as blue and the air won’t be as clean and fresh. 

A slow train to Brisbane but I got off at Toowong and jumped on one of the city cat ferries and headed for Eagle Street Pier.

The sun is shining and the sky is blue which is a bit of a change to the last few months in China. I do like winter in Queensland.

I’m back in Ipswich for a couple of weeks and I can’t really get over the amount of Fat people in the area.  I’ve lived here for many years but I’ve been away for a year. I’ve been living in China and most folk there are slim. Now and again you see a fat person and it’s usually a foreigner but that will change in years to come when China adopts more of a western lifestyle. Over there it’s a sign of wealth at times,  in Australia it’s just an unhealthy lifestyle. Ipswich is not a very affluent area and there are many unemployed and a lower income demographic and so they turn to foods like McDonald’s, KFC and the like. Quick fast, tasteless and unhealthy. The result is about 70% are obese and many are morbidly obese. On the upside it make my extra kilos pale into insignificance.

This morning I went to get my car from storage. She has been sitting there patiently for 11 months and was I very happy that when I reconnected the battery that she burst into life.  She has done 431,000 km and she still started first time. 

My 1998 Ford Falcon is my Trusty Steed and so we headed off for a drive in the country and when I got back I washed the cobwebs off her.  

I haven’t driven a car since I left the UK 9 months ago but when I got behind the wheel I felt right at home. Left foot on the brake and right foot on the accelerator. 

And to get out on the quiet country roads, blue sky’s above and music playing is one of the best things you can do. 

My flight was an hour early which was surprising. The flight was also not full and so i had two seats to myself and managed to get a little sleep. All in all China Eastern were very good. The food was OK and the red wine helped me sleep. 

When I arrived I sailed through customs and was through in about 20 mins. Danny picked me up and luckily he and Maria had checked the flight arrival time earlier and saw that it was running early or I could have been waiting for some time. 

The weather was warm and sunny and did not feel like winter at all, so much for packing the thermals.

It’s always fucking chaos. They never listen to the announcements, they just go up when they want. It’s an absolute rabble. The first stage is to get on the bus and it’s always a shit fight getting off and on to the plane.  But this is China. I act like a local when they start this kind of behaviour much to their surprise. I enjoy the looks I get and the expressions on their faces.  It’s amazing how a carefully placed suitcase can stop them in their tracks.

Getting on the plane and finding your seat always seems so difficult for them and I’m not sure why this is because all they have to do is look for a number and a letter, it’s not like they have to learn fuckin’ English before flying.  But as long as they have red wine I’ll be OK because to make matters worse I  have a couple of nasally Australians behind me.  Do the gods hate me,  is this karma because I killed a few mosquitos this week? 

I’ve sat at gate 16 for 2 hours and watching a video,  drinking coffee and taking it easy.  30 mins before the gate opens I decide I will walk the short distance and find a comfy seat as me arse is getting a little sore. On arrival I discover the gate number has changed to 211. Thankfully I have plenty of time to get to the other gate but if I hadn’t checked when I did I could have been up shit creek without a paddle 😆

I was packing my case this morning when I got the news that my friend Ivor had passed away in his sleep last night,  so sad but also relieved to hear that he is no longer suffering. I think he left this world for the next while sleeping which is not a bad way to go. 

I was lucky to have a video call with him a week ago and he told me then that he was fed up hanging around the hospital because he could feel his body slowly shutting down.  I asked him at the time if he could hang on till I arrived in just over a week and he said he would try but could not guarantee anything. 

A few days after this call Shirley sent me a picture of Ivor and I was shocked to see the difference in him.  The cancer was gaining momentum and it was getting the better of Ivor.  The spark of life I had seen the week before was almost out and so when I got the message this morning I was not surprised.

Ivor will be laid to rest on Tuesday but I’m not sure of the details but I’m glad that I will be able to pay my respects to him and say goodbye. 

Just now I’m sitting in Pudong Airport in Shanghai and my flight leaves in about 2 hours.  This trip is for my visa run as I have spent another 3 months in China which is hard to believe. I decided to return to Australia to check up on my house and see some friends and just escape the chaos that is China.  But I will return in a few weeks and I look forward to my next 3 months in China. 

But for the moment I have to sit for 10 hours on a plane to Brisbane, I just hope there is some red wine I can sup on to help me sleep. 

Didi is the Chinese version of Uber. Well in fact Uber were bought out by them last year. I finally used it the other day. I was running late for an appointment and so I took the plunge. Now I’ve never used any type of app like this before to order a taxi but how hard can it be? Well in China there is an extra challenge, the app is in Chinese, no English so there lies the challenge.

I have the address I’m going to saved on my phone so that’s easy enough because all I have to do is copy and paste it into the correct field. First step done and then I proceed to the payment area. Step 2 completed and then that’s me, ready to have my first Didi taxi. Now on the screen it should tell me the registration number and colour of the car but I can’t find it. Panic is setting in and I’m thinking of cancelling the whole thing and just be late for my meeting.

Then the worst thing happens, the phone rings…………Fuck Fuck. The driver is going to ask me where I am, what do I say, will he understand me, will I understand him Fuck Fuck.

A few words pass between us and I explain that I am a stupid foreigner and I’m next to the metro station, he can’t miss me and then he hangs up. Now all  this time I am being watched it seems by a young lady and she comes up to me and asks me if I am ok and I tell her I am waiting for a taxi but not sure what’s happening because my Chinese is not good enough. She looks at my phone and scans the street and then points to a red car crawling along the road………this is my car woo hoo. I thank her and then go to my taxi. The driver and I exchange a few words and I tell him this is my first time I have used Didi. He smiles and seems friendly enough. I can relax and enjoy the ride. Better still  his driving is actually quite good.

Now Didi was very convenient and quite cheap but it was a very stressful process, why? because I can’t read Chinese well and can’t speak it very well but I am chuffed that I have the skills to stumble my way through. Obviously the driver understood me on the phone so that was a bonus. Hopefully next time will be a little easier.