Random pictures of view from office window

Hello from China

Well I made to China in one piece must say the economy class on swiss air was top class can highly recommend it
However the taxi journey from Shanghai airport to was an eye opener the only rule seems to be not to hit each other
and sound your horn at every chance you get.
So following a 14hr journey by plane and just over an hour by taxi I am then deposited at the bus station for my 6 hour journey
to Wuhu me and 36 curious chinese passengers. The bus stopped only once for 15 minutes at a roadside cafe (have to admit I didnt feel
brave enough to try anything)
Then on to Wuhu and to be met by 2 of my colleagues for the taxi journey into Wuhu which I was told
was a small city in Anhui province its a massive busy city to me but full of live and very crowded.

So on to my appartment 6th floor no lift so start of my healthier life deposit my bags and then attempt to get some
sleep but after 1 hour give up get showered changed and head out to get taxi to office armed with the address in chinese
and no idea where i am going.
Am introduced to all the staff and attend the friday staff meeting then we all go out for meal and activity which we apparently they do
every friday night which the company pays for activities include ten pin bowling /pool/ ping pong/ and wait for it KTV or karokee to
the likes of me.

My first weeekend was spend just finding my feet a little and getting settled in the Monday was a public holiday called Moon Festival
so on Sunday I was invited to go for a meal at some of the staff appt which was very nice.

My first week at work was mostly induction and training but on Staurday morning I was at a Job Fair attended by recent graduates very very busy
and noisy. Then on to meeting with my chinese language teacher (does she have any idea the task facing her) I currently know one chinese word
so a lot to learn.

Observations of my first 10 days in China

1/ Western people are rare so attract a lot of attention

2/ Crossing the road is a challenge

3/ Food is very very cheap and mostly very good and varied you can eat out twice a day for under £5.00

4/ Taxis if you need them cost 5rmb (apprx 45 pence ) for up to 2.5 klm and no tip required or expected

5/ dVDS CDS are about £1.00 each

6/ Random people will say hello but sometimes thats all they can say in english

7/ Weather is hot 35 during day drops to a chilly 25 at night

8/ Mcdonalds KFC and Pizza hut are expensive by local standards havent tried them yet so cant comment on quality.

9/ People are very friendly and welcoming and keen to talk to you.

Have to say I am absolutely loving it here

48 Hours to go

Cannot believe how much last minute stuff i need to do but given the finite time scale well it all needs to be completed.

Fly from Manchester on Thursday morning to Zurich then Zurich to Shanghai so not too bad only one change
the other option suggested was Manchester to Heathrow to Bejing to Shanghai obviously some one with a sense of humour, Glad the more direct option was booked.

Will be in Shanghai at 06.35 Friday morning then need to get to Wuhu, Not sure yet if it is by train or bus but by then i will be sleep deficient so cant say i am that bothered which option just get me there!!

Also my baggage allowance is an unbelievable 20kgs so i have had to pack some of my stuff to be sent by sea freight at least its cheaper than the 50 euro per kg charge for excess baggage it only cost £50.00 to send 30kg by sea freight so if they don't make off into the sunset with my case its a bargain.

So bar any last minute things everything seems organised hope to post more when i am in Wuhu but not sure what the Internet connection is like, although i do know my apartment is on the
6th floor with no lift start of me exercise regime. Will have to get more organised not making that trip too many times unnecessarily.

6 Days to Go

Well my paperwork made it back from China in under 2 days by TNT very impressive so I was then ready to go to the Chinese Embassy in Manchester to get my actual visa.

Friday morning at 08.30 outside embassy only one other person in the queue ahead of me better than i expected only downside was the torrential rain I now look like a drowned rat.

08.59 Gates open straight to visa section hand over my paperwork was then told you need to photocopy some of the items and come back, By now the queue is 30 people deep but Lady says just come back to front of queue when you have your copies.

So off to get photocopies made how come when you don't need a copy place you trip over them after 15 minutes of driving round spot a copy place.

09.45 Back at the embassy and push to front of queue get some not so nice looks from some people but hand over my copies and told to come back at 11.30

11.15 back to embassy hand in slip and £50.00 and get my passport back with my Z visa well impressed with this super fast process.

So now i am just waiting on my flight confirmation which should be next thursday the 11th which means i will arrive in China on the 12th and then catch flight to Shanghai and then bus or train to Wuhu, which by my best estimate will be 24 hrs from taking off in UK without any delays don't know about jet lag but feel i might be looking forward to some proper sleep unless i sleep on the train.

Also not sure what time the last train or bus is to Wuhu so may end up grabbing a hotel in Shanghai on friday night and continue the journey on the saturday.

But at least my waiting is over and very soon I will be in my new job and new country.

Nearly Time to Leave

My paperwork is winging its way back from China, the paperwork in China took less than one week to process very fast, compared to the 2-3 weeks it took to get the medical stuff done in the UK.
Only need to go to the Chinese embassy in Manchester to get my actual visa which can be done on the same day and then my plane ticket can be organised and I will be on my way.

So my estimate of 8 weeks from when I started this blog wasn't a million miles out but it seems to have dragged on like for ever maybe I'm just getting impatient in my old age.

Plans to get to see some old friends before leaving are not quite working out as i thought but will still try to see as many as possible before i leave.

Funnily enough a very close friend and his wife are also getting ready to leave the UK for a new life in Vegas which i presume will be slightly different to my relocation but Good luck to them and I hope it goes well ( an invite for Christmas would be nice but not sure how practical that would be )

Well not a lot more to say at the moment still feel like I am marking time cant wait to get going.