http://www.jamespoyser.com/travels Thoughts and photos from James Poyser & Jeannie Ivanov's big adventure Mon, 19 Jul 2010 00:06:55 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I've just downloaded a load of snaps from my iPhone, enjoy! [nggallery id=59] http://www.jamespoyser.com/travels/2010/07/july-snaps/ Hello readers Apologies for the lapse in blogging - our lives seems to have finally settled into a routine over the last few months.  We're still enjoying our adventures, although they're not as geographically diverse as last year!  Here's a few highlights from the last few weeks: Laura has come over from ... http://www.jamespoyser.com/travels/2010/05/spring-in-the-jing/ Leigh (my sis) and Pan have been visiting us here in Beijing for the last week, and we've been rather busy. We've hit all the usual Beijing tourist hotspots plus we even managed to squeeze in a trip to Xi'an to see the teracotta army and visit the panda ... http://www.jamespoyser.com/travels/2010/03/leigh-pan-get-into-the-jing-of-things/ 39.906010 116.387909 Lost in Translation It’s gone on long enough: I’ve been in China for six months and existed on a vocabulary of roughly five hundred Chinese words plus a handful of characters to get by. Since many foreigners living full time in Beijing speak an impressive amount of Mandarin, my relative ineptitude ... http://www.jamespoyser.com/travels/2010/03/lost-in-translation/ 39.906010 116.387909 Look what I've got! Just bought this baby today, a top quality folding bike. Breaks are shonky but feeling more like a beijinger! http://www.jamespoyser.com/travels/2010/02/my-new-toy/ Welcome to the Year of the Tiger! Although New Year's eve waslast night, I got my first taste of New Year celebrations, Chinese style, on the way home from work last Monday: I was in the process of crossing the dual carriage way to get to my bus stop, and something ... http://www.jamespoyser.com/travels/2010/02/xin-nian-quai-le/ 39.906010 116.387909 We're back in the swing of things here in Beijing, and so far it's been a surprisingly smooth ride.  We've moved into a fantastic apartment in a lively part of town, we've got great views over the city and best of all we no longer eat supper sitting on the ... http://www.jamespoyser.com/travels/2010/02/i-think-it-might-well-be-a-good-year/ 39.906010 116.387909 Hello readers, it's a rather festive, de-mob happy James here penning the final blog post of the year whilst humming along to "Do they know it's Christmas?".  If 'they' in question are the Chinese then the answer is oh yes, they know it's Christmas.  Sure, in a straw poll you'd ... http://www.jamespoyser.com/travels/2009/12/its-christmaaaaaaassssss/ 39.906010 116.387909 Despite the lack of carols, trees and fairy light in Beijing, James and I have spent the last fortnight preparing for Christmas. Kind of. As you might be aware I'm not usually the most festive elf on the block, but this year I'm really looking forward to it, partly because we're popping ... http://www.jamespoyser.com/travels/2009/12/teapot-anybody/ 39.906010 116.387909 Whilst Ebeneezer Ivanov has been bah-humbugging in Beijing, Matt and I have had a cracking time in Xi'an, home to China's infamous army - the Terracotta Warriors. We shot down on Monday morning and spent three snowy nights in a cosy hostel in a traditional Chinese townhouse. Even ... http://www.jamespoyser.com/travels/2009/11/toy-soldiers/ 34.26488 108.944265