And Then There Was Alastair

Was it worth the money, worry (visas and China health things) and effort? It did cost a lot, even with the kind and generous support from my family.The worry about Miao's visa, getting rejected the first time, and then waiting for the result of the second application, was not pleasant. Worrying about getting quarantined coming through the temperature checks at Beijing Airport, then the potential of having to do it again going into the train station to get home to Dalian wasn't nice. Weighing that against not having seen my family for 18 months, and with the deteriorating health of my aging grand parents, of which I still have all four, it needed to be done. It also gave me a welcome break from China. A nice reminder of what it's like being back home, and some perspective about how expensive things are in the UK compared with China. So definitely yes, worth the money, time and effort.

1. Saturday 1st August: Miao returns home on the bus from the project she was working on in Shenyang. Sleeper train tickets sold out, bought 2 seats on the slowest of the slow. Opened package from embassy that had her passport with successfully applied for visa in it.
2. Sunday 2nd August: Green Tea, Chopsticks and other small
   presents bought for family. Packed our bags. Caught train at 10PM
3. Monday 3rd August: Arrive in afternoon at Beijing Train station, bus to airport, bus from airport to hotel, sleep, eat, recharge batteries, sleep
4. Tuesday 4th August: Extremely early alarm, bus to airport, check-in, security, nothing open as too early, boarding, flight, arrive dubai 7.5hrs later. Get off plane, another security check, take photos in airport, 2hrs pass, boarding, flight, 6.5hrs later arrive London Heathrow. Dad takes us home in car. Greeting family. Sleep.
5. Wednesday 5th August: Deposit money in Bank, pay credit card off (flights = 970 pounds), see Liverpool waterfront, train to Liverpool, Burger King for Lunch, Walker Art Gallery, home for tea, walk to New Brighton sea front and back home for sleep.
6. Thursday 6th August: Lady Leaver Art Gallery for Lunch, wandered around, then wandered around Port Sunlight. Pint Guiness in local. Miao Sketching. Walk back to war memorial, call mum to pick us up in car. Home for tea.
7. Friday 7th August: To Liverpool Albert Dock, around Beatles museum, then on Beatles Tour Bus, take photos in front of McCartney’s house. Dropped off in Liverpool, look at shops. Train Home. Eat. Sleep.
8. Saturday 8th August: Car to ManU Stadium, booked tickets for open training session en route, watched famous footballers have a kick around, enjoyed food in the Stadium restaurant, onto a Manchester Art Gallery and disappointed. Car Home, Eat, Sleep.
9. Sunday 9th August: Walk to Church, christening service, went over time, home late for lunch with brother and his family. Miao took photos, presents given, Afternoon trip to petting zoo and Bidston hill. I fall out of brother’s car boot. Car Home, Brother + co leave, eat then sleep.
10. Monday 10th August: Took train to Tate in Albert Dock. Lunch first in “La Creperie” was Full English Breakfast, Miao ate pizza from children’s menu. Tate felt small compared with last time went (was little child). Bought fudge from famous shop on Albert Dock, and postcards from another. Visited Maritime, Customs, and Slavery Museums (all in same building). Train Home, Eat, Sleep.
11. Tuesday 11th August: Train to Chester, had pasties for lunch, first visit of charity shop, bought book, walked along walls, felt tired, visited Grosvenor museum, purchased little presents in museum shop, walked around shops and came home.
12. Wednesday 12th August: Weather reports bad, trip to Snowdon cancelled, Chester Zoo instead. Met brother + family there. Miao disappointed by lack of petting availability. Lunch (sandwiches, and beer) spoiled a little by wasps, sister hardly ate a thing.
13. Thursday 13th August: Car to Cupar, Fife, Scotland. Lunch – sandwiches en route. Afternoon with Paternal Grandparents, presents given, walked to local park, played on swings. Ate together, parents and sis went off and slept in maternal grandparents house.
14. Friday 14th August: Parents and sis arrived back before 10AM. Did very little as it was drizzling all day. Had a look at grandparent’s “malfunctioning” seemeframe. Connected eeepc with wireless lan.
15. Saturday 15th August: Parents and sis arrived back before 10AM. Made a car tour around St Andrews. Got out at a local beach and peered at the sea for a bit. Went back and cut back
    some plants/weeds from the paths around the garden to aid ease of travel. Had delicious Chicken for lunch. Car to maternal grandparents house. Bucks fizz drunk, presents given, car to uncle’s house nearby. Fish&Chip supper. Haggis, black pudding, white pudding, and chicken wings all available. Miao and I sleep at uncles. Parents and Sis
    return to maternal grandparents house.
16. Sunday 16th August: Ate at same place maternal grandparent’s celebrated Diamond Wedding Anniversary. Very nice meal. Walked around Glamis castle gounds, and had guided tour of inside. Had dinner at maternal grandparents house, slept at uncles.
17. Monday 17th August: Showered, packed up, uncle dropped us off at grand parents house. Ate lunch and 5.5hr journey home. Break on the way at Anondale Water. Arrived home late, ate and slept.
18. Tuesday 18th August: Up early, car (dad on way to work) to Liverpool Lime Street, train to London, London to Huntingdon, picked up by father’s brother and taken to his house.
    Presents given. Chat, beer, and snacks. 10 Pin bowling. Large Dinner eaten outside. Sleep.
19. Wednesday 19th August: Car to station, train to London, London to Liverpool. Walk around shops, purchased donuts and small gift items. Train home. Dinner with family friend and walk along seafront.
20. Thursday 20th August: Sister’s results day. Car to sis’s school. 5 ‘A’s at A.S. level. Down to Williamson Art Gallery, quick look around. Sister looks at painting she’s been commissioned to write a poem about, and considered her first attempt. 10p spent on an old huge music box. Off to Waterstones to celebrate results with panini’s and coffee. Presents purchased calendars), walk around other shops. More things bought. Sainsbury’s next, cigar and cigarettes bought for Miao’s relatives, special hard to find seeds bought for a recipe sister’s making. Tesco to buy milk powder for Miao’s relatives baby in China and our dinner tonght. Off home. Checked travel insurance with various brokers and decided Tesco was best. Purchased online. Had dinner, packed up. Slept.
21. Friday 21st August: 8:48 Virgin Train from Liverpool to London. First Class. YES. Fed breakfast on train. Free wireless internet. Euston to South Ken. Looked in the V&A, bags too big for cloakroom and refused entry cause didn’t want security check. Looked round Imperial Campus. Bought Scientific American and The Economist in student shop 1 pound off each. Ice creams on Queen’s Lawn. Plan to see Albert hall but rains. Back via the tunnel to the underground and to Heathrow. Arrive very early. Online Check-in last night = no problems now. Looked round duty free shops. Got on plane to Dubai at left an hour late at 6PM. Charge laptop on plane with economy class plugs. Watch in flight entertainment system, choose own films pause, stop etc.
22. Saturday 22nd August: Arrive Dubai 3AM local time. Sleep, shops, toilets, free wireless internet and electricity in airport. Next flight 11AM local Dubai time (GMT+4). Arrive Beijing 10:30PM local time. Bus to hotel. Recharge laptop & ipod batteries. Sleep.
23. Sunday 23rd August: 10:30AM Wake up. Pack. Lunch in Hotel – Fried Rice. Midday hotel bus to airport. Airport bus to railway station. Deposit Luggage in station luggage storage (40 kuai). Met Miao’s friend and paid him for train tickets. Underground to Lama Temple and a look around. Back on the underground closer to the station and ate at a Sichuan Restaurant. Back to station, reclaimed luggage. Through the station, wait for entry to train. Pushed past crowd onto the right carriage. Leaves on time at 20:20. Watch stuff on Laptop & Ipod. Sleep.
24. Monday 24th August: Arrive Dalian 8AM. Thoroughly exhausted. Taxi home. Secretary from my work texts Miao to say have meeting on Friday. Miao asks for morning off from work. Miao slept in the morning. I slept most of the day. Both couldn’t sleep well that night.

And now we’ve recoverd from the jet lag. Thats all folks.