The Go! Team

Last night, Fabien and I went to see The Go! Team. They're a band out of Bristol, England, known for their cheerleader-chant-style singing, '70s-esque horns and loud loud drums. The gig was at 'Star Live', which from what I gathered, is a casino (I didn't realise casinos existed in China). It also has apparently the best sound and lighting gear in Beijing, and can hold about 1,000 people (that's pretty small). We caught the train there, actually two trains, and the venue was right near the Lama Temple, so at least now I know how to get there.

The support band was a Chinese band called 'The Verse', who sounded like the RHCP. Very funky. And they sang mainly in English, which was a bonus. Then The Go! Team... They. Blew. My. Mind. I had heard from lots of people that they were incredible live, and they really were. Here are two dodgy photos I took. My camera doesn't take photos well at live gigs, and I am too short to see over everyone's heads.






Dodgy photos, I know. All in all, it was a fabulous night, and definitely one of the greatest gigs I've been to (but don't I say that about all of them?!) I got lots of comments on my dress (the op-shop one from Salvos in Fyshwick, ACT - I wore it to the Rolling Stones gig, remember Mum + Dad? I looked smashing, if I may say so myself) and my shoes (the metallic silver winklepickers from Japan). I have never seen so many foreigners in one place before - it seemed like every single American, Brit and Aussie under 30 years living in Beijing was there. We then stumbled into a taxi and went home to bed!

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Ok, now some random photos, this is the view from our classroom window:



And one of the pollution lately:



And finally, the corridor in our classroom building - it reminds me of a prison



We haven't really done anything lately - have been busy studying and preparing for exams, which start on the 9th. Then, it's holidays! Blissful holidays, which I plan on spending the majority inebriated, watching old TV shows and reading horror books, while staying indoors as much as possible to avoid the disgusting heat, or the dirty rain.

Happy Valley - 欢乐谷

Yesterday we went to possibly the tackiest place in the world. Yes, in the WORLD. It is called Happy Valley, and is a new amusement park in South East Beijing. I was talked into going by Horatio and Chris, and they were under the impression that I would be joining them on all the rides. (Yeah, I may have failed to mention that I don't particularly like rollercoasters.)

We met at uni at 7.30am, which meant that I had to get up earlier on a Saturday than I do on a weekday; I was most unimpressed. We then caught a two hour bus to somewhere south of the city, then transfered to another bus for a shorter half-hour ride. We got there just after it opened for the day, and there were already swarms of people (to be expected I guess, it is China after all). So, following Horatio's lead (he had been once before), we went to a rollercoaster that he promised me remained upright the entire time. He was lying. It was possibly the longest 35 seconds of my life, and I had my eyes shut and my jaw clenched the entire time. Here it is:



Following this, we went on a ride similar to the Terror Drop in Australia. Basically, whilst seated, you quickly ascend to the top (about 500m) and then drop again. It's all over in 10 seconds. Again, I wasn't feeling all that great. It looks like this:



I had learnt my lesson so i watched the boys go on a few rides while I played mum and held their bags. We ate a relatively expensive lunch (25yuan!) then went on a ride similar to the Bermuda Triangle at Sea World. Basically, the cart (is that the correct term) climbs up and then slams down into a lake of water from varying heights. You get so wet that the sell disposable raincoats at the entrance. And still, even wearing the raincoats, we managed to get very drenched.

The most enjoyable part of the day was watching the greatest ride ever. Ten people sit on a spinning disk (like a merry-go-round but on ground level), and the disk spins and spins faster and faster until they all slide off. I saw kids throw up, adults slide off and take out kids - one even got a blood nose. Was great to watch.

I wasn't expecting staying there all day, but we did. We left at 7pm, and Horatio's dad picked us up. We then went back to their place for dinner (yummiest Chinese food I've had so far), and we watched Silent Hill. Horatio's place is T.I.N.Y! The kitchen is the size of Mum and Dad's ensuite, the bathroom as big as a hallway cupboard, and the living room/dining room/master bedroom is about half the size of my bedroom back home. Horatio had the biggest room, which I could still reach both walls if I extended my arms out. I think their entire apartment is about the size of our living room extension.

Here are some more photos from the Happy Valley website - will be getting our photos soon hopefully

Min Bao Huo Guo Cheng

Well, we went back to the Hotpot restaurant on Friday to celebrate Candra's 21st birthday. Lots of fun had by all. I won't bother explaining it again because it was exactly the same as the previous trip, apart from a few new faces. By the time we got home, it was midnight. And I had to get up at 6am to go to an amusement park (next blog), so I didn't go with everyone else for coffee and beer.



Standing: Candri, Aishanxin, Mega, Gaoshan.
Seated: Jiwu, Andri, Miguel (American-Peruvian), Me, Andres (Mexican)











More photos coming soon I guess.