Ladies Street Fashion...

Yesterday I brought you some of the delights to be had with Chinese male street wear.

Today I present you with some lady fashion with which I have become quite fascinated.















There is a slight obsession over here with the humble stocking sock. Worn with everything from sneakers to glamorous evening stilettos, these flesh toned numbers are everywhere. They are most commonly worn by the ladies but I have seen some older gents sporting them.

I have not yet figured out why they are so popular, especially when spotted on stylish high-heeled young things, but suggestions we've come up with range from in-shoe comfort to hygiene in the dirty streets.


Generally though, women's fashion is quite eclectic and multi-faceted.

It starts young too:



She would have been no older than six and was wearing lipstick and eyeshadow.

Men's Street Fashion

I am so excited to finally bring you all photo evidence of two of my favourite Beijing men's fashion trends.

These aren't the greatest photographic examples but I wanted au naturale action...

Trend #1: Chivalrously carrying your ladyfriend's handbag, regardless of the weight/sequins/branding. Ricky, it's lucky Mel doesn't make you do this too...




















Trend #2: The Beijing Belly: and no it's not what you get after accidentally eating warm dairy products. When the temperature rises, instead of taking their shirts off, or simply dealing with the heat, Beijingers like to roll their shirts up and tuck under their arms, thus exposing their midriffs as modelled by the man on the right.

Au revoir el Cube-o

My last shift at the Water Cube was yesterday.

It was a little sad to say farewell to the big blue bubble box and all the people I met within its walls.

I've got another blog I did for a university assessment about more specific work-related issues.

If you're keen, it's called FlashQuoteBlogger. Be warned though, It's not near as fun as this blog!

Last night's purchases

So I went a little crazy in the jewellery section of the markets last night.

I heart accessory shopping in China!


I found this giant ladybird ring and it was love at first glance. Also bought about a thousand bracelets. Well maybe not quite a thousand...

The Great Divide

Coming to China, I really had no idea about the composition of the city.

I'd heard about the rich history of the Forbidden City.

I'd seen photos of the Olympic venues.

I'd heard that business was booming and office towers were rising.

I'd heard walls had been erected to hide the poverty.

It's odd in the way that the traditional and the modern, the western and the eastern attempt to coexist in this country.


In the city, shiny new high-rises tower over the few remaining trees. With so many cars in Beijing, so much road space is required.














It usually costs an entry fee to see the traditional areas of China but some are visible from the expressways, poking out awkwardly between global monsters McDonalds and KFC.






The world's biggest stand-alone Adidas store was opened in Beijing in time for the Olympics and many other brands from home exist in some form in China.














Had I not heard about the walled poverty controversy before I came to China, I probably wouldn't have noticed it. Atop the Drum Tower though, it's hard to miss areas like these.

A friend asked me if there were many homeless people in China. Where I am staying, I'd have to say no. I've seen individuals indulging in a spot of bin scrounging but I haven't seen anyone curled up under a rug on a kind stranger's front step.



Apparently inflation in China has sky-rocketed, particularly with the worldwide onset of Olympic fever. Even while I have been here, prices at the markets have increased massively. However, as soon as you drop a few words in Mandarin, mention you've been here for two months and that you're a student on volunteer wages, the price drops a little.

Censorship has been the focus on China's recent foray in the media spotlight. The massive income divide and culture clash though must be given greater attention. As China continues to open up to foreign business and investment, this issue will only increase. It was less than two weeks ago that an American was killed at the place where I took the above photo. Obviously tensions are growing. If China can somehow harness these two competing worlds, it will be world's next super power. Hopefully for the beautifully welcoming population, they are not forgotten and left on the bottom rung of a very tall ladder.

The Koala vs. The Panda

With just five sleeps until I board the Qantas jet, I'm thinking about the Australian stuff I've been missing and, at the same time, the Chinese stuff I will miss.

I have created a list for your viewing pleasure!

Australian stuff I've been missing:

• Avocados... with lime juice & Murray River Pink Salt
• Multigrain bread... For some reason, the Chinese love to stir in a whole lot of sugar with their bread dough. Not cool, China, not cool.
• Babies wearing nappies.
  
• Brushing my teeth with tap water
• My bed. My bed here is terrible.
  
• Western toilets in the restrooms of restaurants. Enough of this squat business already.
• While we're on the toilet topic - those pink "lady bins" in public places. Lidless waste paper baskets are way too gross.
  
• SUNSHINE & BLUE SKIES & FRESH AIR!!
• Being able to read the menu at a restaurant, instead of just pointing at pictures of stuff that looks nice... only to find out that you just ate pig's heart.
• My friends from Australia

Chinese stuff I will miss:

• Everything costing at least one sixth of what it does in Australia
• The broccoli and Peking Duck at "Red Lantern" - the cheaper than Aussie chips restaurant five minutes walk away. (Mum, as if you ever thought I'd say I would miss a vegetable!)
• Always having something to do and somewhere to go... unlike Maito.
• The alcohol laws here, and thus the cheapness of the drinks!
  
• Accidentally eating random animal parts.
• Public transport - sure the buses are a serious OH & S issue but they're on time & go everywhere I need them to.
• Taxis - the drivers are great entertainment and it's never too hard to get one.
  
• Being told how incredibly attractive you are every time you go to the markets... (Sssh I know they just want me to buy their designer fakes...)
  
• Pretending you're an Olsen twin being chased by paparazzi... it's Chinese mothers chasing you for photos with their Chinese babies.
• My friends I've met while in China
  

You Know You're in Australia When...

...a Warnie look-a-like is present with his butt-crack flashing lady friend.


We crashed a party at a place called Australia House (near Wangfujing) to watch the Olympic opening ceremony with a bunch of Aussie blokes and sheilas.

It wasn't exactly "rocking", with the majority of the crowd being Mums, Dads and Grannies of Australian Olympians.

I spent the night slurping Jacobs Creek chardies and thankfully, "smonking" was outlawed here:

Try a Little Tenderness...

I had always heard that the hospitality and kindness of the Chinese was second to none and the longer I have stayed here, the more this has been proved to me.

Tonight there was a decent thunderstorm (yay for the clear skies tomorrow) that we got caught in on the walk home from dinner.

I'd pulled my hood up and was ready to trek it in the rain when a random Chinese girl came up and offered me half her umbrella space.

She went out of her way to walk with me back to my building on campus.

I wonder, would we do this in Australia?

Another extraordinary display of kindness was shown by some locals at the Yashow markets on Saturday.

The ATM neglected to spit out a friend's cash and thus, crisis ensued.

Thankfully, we had a group of nice ladies get us on the phone to someone that spoke English.

Once the English skills of the man on the phone had dissolved under the pressure some cool dudes were happy to jump in and finish the finer details of the conversation in Mandarin.

The money was back in the account within hours.

I think one reason why such kind assistance can occur is the multi-lingual ability of so many people in China.

In Australia, we are spoiled and perhaps a little ignorant, in that many people really only know how to speak English fluently.

Speaking to Olympians and coaching staff through the work I am doing has further encouraged me to learn another language.

These people speak not only their own language but can also be interviewed in English on finer technical points of their event.

It is so good to speak the little bit of Mandarin I know and I feel so very ignorant not knowing more.

Mission when I get home: search for some language lessons and be super friendly to lost and distressed foreigners!

WANGfujing Crazy Food Market

Guess what these are:

Did anyone guess assorted animal testicles?

Until I asked, I didn't realise either.

And before you ask, no I did not attempt to eat one.

Wangfujing street market is the place to be if you are keen to indulge in the weird and wonderful side of Chinese cuisine.

As you may know, I did eat crickets earlier in my stay so I was slightly keen to find something a little exotic on which to have a nibble...

What better to try than an arm of steamed starfish?

It was weird but not particularly offensive.

To eat it, you need to crack the shell open from the underside and eat the inside.

It tastes fishy with a spongey consistency.

The starfish vendor was desperate to flog his centipede skewers to us but we had to politely decline.

And it was strangely difficult to explain to the enthusiastic "chef's'' that we weren't up for these either:

Seahorse Skewers...

Scorpion Snacks...

Baby Snake Twists...

Best thing we ate all night?

Toffee-dipped fresh fruit skewers.

This little boy totally agreed with us:

Hoot, Hoot, Hooters!

The skanky Pamela Anderson-esque image of the American icon Hooters is blown to absolute shreds by the cast of Hooters, Beijing.


Sure, they're all hot as.

But do they Hoot?

Yes, but not in the same way this chain most famously does.

Hooters has always maintained a well-publicised tradition of supporting sexy ladies who's cups most definitely runneth over.

I had never been to a Hooters before so I assumed a sizeable rack was simply part of the job description.

As far as the venue existing as a "restaurant", I assumed there would be poor service, overpriced food and waitresses more interested in maintaining an alluring appearance than actually waiting the tables.

Hooters Beijing though, seemed to be all about fun for us young Westerners.

For the seedy old men, and yes they were there in packs, Hooters Beijing is as much a perve-fest as I suspected it would be.

The girls sang ridiculous songs (for example: "Put your hand in your pocket and your pocket in your pants"), hula-hooped and danced for the delight of the aforementioned seedbags, and for the absolute amusement of us.

The food was a lot dearer than a local beef stirfry, but in Australian money, the meal and a drink still cost less than $20.

And although they completely messed up our bill and overcharged us at the end of the night, the waitressing was not the worst I'd ever experienced.

I won't be back, but I wouldn't rule out a comparative study with another Hooters elsewhere.

As we were leaving, one of the Hoots (girl on far left of picture), exclaimed to Katie and I "You girls are the real Hooters!"

Naturally, we both bought the uniform singlets.



(Photo taken by Katie)

Bill & Ben would be so proud!

Beijing is now home to over 40 million new flower pots.

The plants have been configured in creative and mostly Olympic-themed designs all around the city.

The official word on this policy from BOCOG is that the flower pots add to the "green" goal of the Beijing Games.

They also serve as a way of welcoming visitors to the city.

Earlier this week, we woke up to find this at the entrance to our campus:



It appears to be created entirely out of plants and chicken wire.

Take note Jamie Durie!


Extra info from: http://www.olympics.com.au/News/Olympicnews/OlympicNewsArticle/tabid/289/Default.aspx?ArticleID=10302

Beijing Fun Fact #37

You may not need to know this but:

You aren't supposed to flush your toilet paper in China.

Indeed, it is discouraged in most of Asia, as well as parts of Europe.

See that little pink-rimmed bin?

That''s where you need to put your paper.

Lucky the maid takes our rubbish everyday!

Attack of the Washing Machine: Volume 2

As fun as this is:

I knew it was time to meet with the monster again.

I piled up my denims and walked to its lair.

There it sat:

I loaded it up, poured on my washing liquid and closed the lid.

I swiped my key.

I swiped my key.

Nothing.

Alas, the beast was dead.

Normally, the villagers would rejoice, but when their clothes are covered in slimy soap...

Suddenly, a distant jingling began to draw nearer.

A Chinese handyman!

How handy!

He gave a grunt and jiggled the plug.

The monster's red eyes flashed.

It was awake once more.

I swiped my key.

I swiped my key.

It began to roar.

And unfortunately, it leaked all over the floor.

Blue Sky & Brie.

Today began like any other Beijing day.

White sky - no blue in sight.

Then, in the late afternoon, something amazing happened:

The sun shone and the skies turned blue.

After more than seven days of smog-filled sky, seeing blue is incredibly exciting.

Another incredibly exciting thing about Super Tuesday: Discovering the "Imported Items" aisle in the Carrefour supermarket.

Lauren and I had Korean-brand Saladas with French Brie cheese and Italian sun-dried tomatoes for pre-dinner snacks.

Ladies of leisure?

Why, yes!

Keeping out the Rabbits

I just realised I didn't make a post on this incredible Chinese icon.

It was simply awesome.

Parts of it are incredibly steep but grannies, toddlers and high-heeled fashionistas alike did their best to make the hike.

All my photos of it are up on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=31773&l=094a5&id=569723665

Squinting through the Smog

Today was smoggy and humid.

My eyes have been stinging, so much so that I couldn't bear wearing my contact lenses.

Thomas and I went to the Forbidden City.

It is smack-bang in the centre of Beijing.

This photo was taken on my regular camera - the lack of focus behind me is smog.

I hope things start to improve soon.

When there's no plate of crickets and no stirfried heart...

Welcome to my pantry:

Left to right, back to front, we have:

• Absolut Citron & Absolut Vodka: Purchased duty-free and good for a break from all the cheap cheap beer.


• Some kind of choc-chip biscuit...just in case guests drop by. hehe


• "Just add water" rice... good for a change from all the:


• "Just add water" noodles! I didn't realise that in a place where you can buy such cheap food at restaurants that there would be such a booming instant noodle market! Everyone's shopping baskets are crammed full of noodles!


• An apple in a Styrofoam sleeve - the apples are nice, you just have to peel them. Nobody likes cholera.


• Skippy peanut & choc swirl: Yay! It's not particularly nutritious but it's good on bread for breakfast!


• Mandarins - for some reason I was surprised to see them in China...even though it's what the main dialect is here! They're good and taste kind of minty.


• Nature Valley Museli Bars - they taste like Anzac biscuits!


• Pretz - like Chicken Crimpies but stretched out into a long stick. Addictive.


• Lipton Green Tea. Just tastes like the same from home!!

Other notable mentions:

• Bananas - they're yellow. They're good. They're bananas.


• Bread - a little bit sweet and goes mouldy fast from the humidity.


• Ice Dew - the Chinese version of Mount Franklin! The tap water isn't safe over here but the bottled water is dirt cheap from the supermarket. At room temperature, it costs about 20c Australian a bottle.

In The Money

I've decided Australia has the greatest system of currency in the world.

Chinese money is annoying.

I don't even know what some of the tiny notes and coins are even worth!

In terms of value in Australian equivalency, the little red one at the bottom is worth around 7cents.

There is another note worth less than that, along with coins worth even less than that!

To make matters worse, tipping is not an acknowledged part of the culture.

So you can't even off-load your coinage in most circumstances.

Anyone want me to donate to their international coin collection?

Godzirra not so much apparently...uh-oh

I think I got a little over-excited that I can actually fit some Chinese footwear...

I now have some more babies:


Jackson thinks they look Gucci.

Being the sometimes inappropriate fashionista I am, I wore them to Chinese Pizza Hut last night.

Our taxi driver got a little confused and dropped us off about 200 metres from the restaurant.

Unfortunately Chinese walkways aren't quite as sturdy as one would expect, considering that all the women wear high-heels all of the time.

I nearly stacked it three times.

Thank heavens for these exciting young things.

They got me through a soccer game on Sunday.


I feel like some kind of hip-hop superstar when I wear them.

It's fantastic!

So here's my full collection...


Dad, I think we need to put some new shelves up.

Eeek!! It's Godzirra!!

I offended a shop assistant the other day.

I requested a size 40 shoe.

She let out a blood-curdling squeal and cowered with fear.

Well not really.

But she made it very clear to me that I should march my Australian size 9 feet straight out the door, and never return.

But yesterday, in an unexpected turn of fate, there they were.

The cutest (and most comfortable) espadrilles in the west... and east.

For just Y75... $A12

And they're only a size 39.

I still want the graded-colour Prada runners though...

I might see what she says if I ask for a 39!

Alcoholics Anonymous Auditions

With every day, Australia's alcohol laws are becoming stricter.

So it's an ice-cold refreshment to come to a place where such legislation doesn't exist.

Friday night took us to a place called "Nanjing - Shut Up and Just Drink" in the Sanlitun area.

And conveniently or unfortunately (depends how much you've had) there is table service.

I'd love to see them try to open a franchise in Australia!

The shots are all Y10 each (about $A1.50) and the cocktails range from Y15-50.

A tray of 12 shots is Y100 (about $A15).

As soon as the waiter sees your glass is on the emptier side of halfway, a drinks menu is again thrust upon you.

If you fail to place an order, the waiter looks at you, eyebrow cocked in perplexity.

By the end of the night, everyone in the club is totally hammered, but yet not one fight breaks out.

It just seems like everyone is having a great time.



Also, with that much social lubricant in one's system, I found that people were actually more willing to strike up a conversation with a random.

And, compared to Australia, there were significantly less seedy old men on the prowl.

In fact, I did not see a single one!

Smog-tacular

I heard the pollution in Beijing was bad.

I coughed my way through the first few grey-skied days.

But is it bad that after a week, I don't really notice it now?

A friend recited a statistic: One day in Beijing does the equivalent damage to a person's lungs as smoking 70 cigarettes.

The measures the Chinese government have started implementing to minimise pollution in the city have possibly started working.

If I sleep with my window open, I wake up feeling like I need a hit of my asthma inhaler.

But walking in the street each day, foul smells of rotten food, poor drainage and waste facilities cause me the most anguish.

Every couple of days, the clouds lift and you can see for miles.


Until that time when the fog clears though, it's hard to see a building at the end of the road.


It just makes the handful of sunny days that little bit more special.

To have a city that supports the same population as my whole country, it is no surprise to me that this extent of pollution exists.

Yet another reason why Australia is the lucky country.

My Chinese Laundry

The 12th floor has a possessed washing machine.

It is perfectly fine until: the spin cycle.

At this point, it procedes to make a continuous noise that one girl thought was the elevator crashing.

I set my first load going this afternoon.

The elevator crashed.

I ran to the laundry and alas, the little washing machine was dancing across the tiles.

The unsuspecting maid also made the dash to investigate.

Through sign language and giggles, we managed to pull the plug and return peace to the 12th floor.

One problem: no spinning = no drying + small apartment with minimal hanging space = this:

A full shower rail...

And a window sill coathanger tree...

There are clothes everywhere.

Tights on the TV.

A skirt on the sink.

Wide-open wardrobe.

My very own Chinese laundry.

New Stuff

Here's some more exciting Chinese purchases:

A popper clock!

Tea party anyone? My cute little kettle.

Neon Time - fully sick sunnies & a watch made for party time.

China rocks!

My Bleeding Heart

So we accidentally ate pig's heart.

We knew it was pork.

We didn't know it was a heart.

But it was, quite honestly, the most astoundingly delicious pork I've ever eaten.

We got the beef tonight though.

Not as nice, but it wasn't a heart.

We thought it would be a bit creepy to get it again knowing it was heart.

Then again, I did eat a cricket knowing it was a cricket...

When in Rome!

Foreigner Fascination

Never have people wanted a photo with me just because I have white skin and brown hair.

I really didn't expect that the Chinese would be so very fascinated by the appearance of average western people.

I guess Australia is so very multicultural that I don't think twice when someone with different coloured skin or hair walks by.

On our visit to the New Summer Palace, a small group of us were having a quick rest in the shade when a family approached us to have a photo with their children.

We didn't mind in the slightest.

A little bit later though, I noticed two ladies attempting to take covert photos of our group.

I felt like Lindsay Lohan.

So I marched on over to them and said it was only fair if I cold take a photo of them:

They then wanted another photo of me.

On my visit to the Great Wall, the same thing happened.

The paparazzi really went into overdrive when we made friends with some fun black dudes.

It was as if no one had ever seen a white girl and a black guy pose in a photo together!

I mean, we didn't exactly look like Seal and Heidi Klum!

Another thought: what will they do with all the photos they snapped of us?

Make a scrapbook??

This is one thing I just didn't expect at all.

Look Over Here, Beautiful Girl!!

If you are suffering from some low self-esteem issues, visit the Silk Road Markets.

I have never received as many compliments in such a short period of time!

But don't be too disheartened when you realise that the man saying "You beautiful lady!", suddenly changes his tune when you decide you don't want his "Guxxi" silk tie. (As though you didn't realise the brand is actually Gucci...)

My experience with these markets left me with a pounding headache and an empty purse.

Nothing has a fixed price, so it can easily take anywhere up to 20 minutes to seal a deal.

It is such a game.

• Don't act too interested (even if you are wetting yourself to buy fluro green leather Balenciaga handbag).
• Don't start the bidding too low (or the shopkeeper will chase you yelling obscenities - poor Katie)
• Try and buy a few things at the one stall (buddy up and play off each other)
• Find something wrong with the product (as minor/difficult as it may be)
• Don't back down (they're desperate to sell you whatever they can)
• What really worked for us, plead that the product is just too good for you, that you aren't worthy of 100% silk and that you'll just have to go to the polyester knock-offs stall. They love it.

I got my bag down from Y3000 to Y1000 with an Alexander McQueen scarf in there as well.

Katie and I pooled resources to get two gorgeous silk scarves down from Y1800 each to Y200 for both.

But, don't expect to make friends when you get them to go so low.

I wouldn't want to cross either of the sales assistants that I did the above deals with again!

For a less stressful experience for today's lazy, rainy afternoon, we stayed local and hit a tiny boutique we passed on an earlier walking tour.

It is an incredible store with some designer labels, (fake, faulty & near-new) as well as other random fun stuff.

We were able to wander in with a subtle "ni hao" and just rat through the racks, uninterrupted.

Judging by our fellow rack-ratters, we definitely picked it as the "It" place for the cool kids to shop.

There's only one of everything and the stuff I liked in the window last Friday was long gone today.

Everything seemed to be great quality and for a tiny shop, there was a lot on offer.

Here are two of the three great little numbers I got for less than $A40:

I'll most probably head back down the Silk Road but nothing beats the ease of slightly off-beat, small-scale stores.

Stairway to love...

We've found our fail safe eatery.

For $A8, I had bacon and eggs on toast, a pineapple juice (bu bing=no ice) and a black coffee.

AND, I lived to tell the tale!

We also had some great pizzas and a pot of jasmine tea there on Friday.

We were warned about the food here and that it isn't hard to get sick, so it's exciting to find a place where we can successfully eat food from the "risky" list ie: eggs.

We've had a few banquet-style meals put on by BOCOG and one by Newcastle Uni's Chinese Alumni.

These have been amazing.

It's given everyone a chance to visit restaurants that we otherwise wouldn't have known about.

The Alumni lunch was held in an incredible restaurant hidden away from uninitiated eyes in a dirty alley.

Everything I put in my mouth was spectacular.

This was up there with the best fish I've ever eaten!

We also ate at one of the world's best Peking duck restaurants.

The chef slices each duck into over 90 slices.

Absolutely amazing food.