hi alan and sandra. now we are in china alot more ppl speak english and most of the signs and stuff have english translations underneath, so thats good. also the chinese ppl are alot friendlier than the russians, its makes a nice change to have ppl smile at u instead of scowl. im trying to put some more photos up now but its taking so long and ive got so many. every1 will have to be patient cz i might just have to do a few at a time.
Sam
hey everyone, long time no speak. cant believe yesterday we completed the longest single journey u can possibly do, 6000 miles and 7 time zones lol. it was an absolute mission!!! i think me and adam had gone abit wrong by the end of it, we were sharing a room with a portuguese guy who we affectionately nicknamed 'weird phil', and i think we freaked him out abit. we were singing and sayin weird random things and just laughin for no reason, it took its toll on us. some of the scenery ws amazin though, through siberia and mongolia, especially the gobi desert. ive got some good pics ill put them on my photos 2mro mornin hopefully. anyway when we got to beijing yesterday it was such a relief. the temp was about 6 or 7 degrees but it felt really warm, it was strange. felt almost tropical cpmpared to moscow. it ws good to get to our hostel and have a shower though. After we had rode on bikes through the centre of beijing in the middle of chinese new yr to get to the only bank in the city that was open and get our travs cheques changed. that was an experience, straight in at the deep end. our hostel is nice, its right near tianenman square so its near the centre and the subway and stuff. 2day we had an awesome day, an english guy we'd met on the train who lives in beijing met up with us and took us on a trek through the mountains surrounding beijing. it was stunning, and we walked for about an hour climbing all the time until we got to the wall itself. that ws awesome. we went through like a secret little arched door entrance and we were at abit where no other tourists go, and i mean no one. there were 5 of us and we were the only ones there. it was me, adam, alasdair (the elderley english guy who ws guiding us), some weird german wrinkly old lady who we met on the train too, and of course 'weird phil' our roommate off the train. it was a top day. we then walked along the wall for abot another hour, it was beautiful, proper how u imagine it and see it in the pictures. you could see it snaking up and down the hills andoff into the distance. ive got some mint photos im gna put them on here 2mro aswel. hi ben lad, luckily hattersley didnt try any funny business, lol he probly thought about it though. dnt worry weve been doin plebnty of funny things, too much to write about but we'll fill u in when we r back. just stupid things like unscrewin the number plates from our room on the train, robbin them and replacin them with paper copies haha looked pretty convincing. again, ive got pics. hi vicky, glad i made u laugh. hows sydney goin apart from the subway obsessed seagulls? hows everybody else? i wana know whats happenin back in england, surprisingly i actually miss that little island lol. hey dave and chris, how r u both? well im gna go, speak soon
Ben
Alrite Deane dogg, u dead yet? Seriously tho, on those pics u look COLD! I dont like the sound of that Pole, take shifts in watching the door..... Make sure u do loadsa funny things cos i want stories by the truckload. Don't hav to much vodka, u'll cum back luking like Panda. I've gotta get back to college anyway, so Mos-cow! (Must-go! hahaha) ps Hattersley is plotting to off you on the Chinese border. watch him like a hawk.
Vicky
Hey Sam
Hair lip made me laugh so much all the peeps in my sharehouse think that Im a wierdo lol
Well, even if they do play dance music in the bank then at least you can have a bit of a jig in the queue...lol.
Its all about the "different cultures and experiences" after all, isnt it?? lol, even if it is the hair lip equivelant of experiences...lol.
The only experiences I have had recently have been being sandwich mugged by a group of scally seaguls on the rampage today when me and Amber were walking near the Opera house...they proper happy slapped me then this massive thing with a big beak violated me too it was soooo scary, I ended up throwing my subway at the opera house running for dear life with a near hysterical Amber in toe!!!
It was well funny though, even if I was peeved about the loss of a subway, and there were loads of Chinese tourists taking pics of us and laughing :)
Amber says hi by the way!!
Hope that you are still having a good time, and whichever train that you have been on wasnt too shocking of an "experience..." what with Nic talking Rats and stuff!! :?
Anyway, I really shouldnt be allowed on these things I chat on way too much so you can stop snoozing onto yer keyboard now!! lol.
Keep on having fun and take care!!
Nic
hope the train journey isn't too unbarable!!!! thinking of you lots and lots, make sure you dont wake up with them rats sleeping on your knee!
love you loads xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Lalaa
Sam, you're such a philistine... 'A thing of beauty is a joy forever' is a quote from Keats' poetry - he's trying to say that beautiful things are great basically. Like Luda's artwork. I like the connection she's made there.
Furthermore, it's also a comment about transitory beauty as opposed to truly classical beauty. First = bad, classical = good, it'll never stop being beautiful.
God, I'm so deep.
And I really like Luda's brown splodge - is it a Russian landscape? You can kind of make out a road and building I think. Unless it's just a splodgy coincidence?
Alan & Sandra
Hi Sam, looks like you are having a good time!!! even if the ruskies don't want to talk to you! ( must be cause you support united!!) Photos are really good pity about not understanding the lingo & what you are looking at. Never mind it should get even worse as you get to China - - HaHa!! Enjoy the train journey, hope it's better than british rail & gets there on time , take care of yourself & we look forward to seeing more of your adventures
Sam
hey aimee, u ok? how r the littlens lol? oh right cheers laura, 4 sum reason that website didnt translate the ast bit. yeah we read somethin in a magazine about the brothels. they advertise them as 'gentlemens clubs' though lol they clearly are brothels. me and adam nearly got arrested or beaten up by some russian soldiers yesterday. adam was wearin a rusian hat woth like a military badge on or somethin, think its an old soviet symbol. Bad move!!! these soldiers saw it and came over to us grabbin his hat and shoutin. we were absolutely brickin it ill be honest. eventually we just waved our Brithish passports in their faces and they left us alone. haha god bless Britain!!!!
Lalaa
entertainment? Clearly that's what counts for 'love' in russia these days. Those dirty b******s - was reading an article about Russian brothels the other day, Jeremy Clarkson had visited some, he thought they were good. Then again, it's probably the lowest price he's ever had to pay so that someone will have sex with him.
Anyway, it said 'love Laura' at the end!
Aimee
hey cuz
hope your having a gr8 tym it looks so amazing from all ya picz!
love ur little cuz aimeeXxX
Sam
i translated that laura, it says 'hi sam, hope u have fine time in moscow,' then sumet about entertainment lol
Sam
hey. cheers for that translation laura, kinda makes sense lol. im gna go on that sight now and try to translate ur message. hi Vicky, u ok? yeah ive sort of got to the stage where i just glaze over when ppl start blabbin. either that or i shout, then if they dnt undastand me i shout a little louder. and if they STILL dnt understand me i smash the place up, safe in the knowledge that i tried my best. haha only jokin, i wouldnt. Russia is such a weird place, its just backwards. for example, they sell matches in tubs of 1100. firstly, tubs? what? secondly, why 1100, why not just stop at 1000, a nice round figure. and they place dance music in the bank!? so strange. Russia is kind of like Europes weird older brother who nobody ever talks about, and hes got a hair lip and watches the discovery channel. oh my god ive gone wrong lol reckon ive got too much time to think now the siberians have left the hostel. anyway ill stop goin on, me and adam r finally gna go see lenins tomb today. then we leave the hostel for a hotel 2mro, that comes as part of the train journey. speak soon everyone