#126 Beijing Transport

Getting around Beijing is very easy, even with no Chinese and a terrible sense of direction.

Taxi

The one taxi I used had no English but I had prepared my destination in Chinese in advance. He copied it into his GPS, turned on the meter and soon I was there! I can't verify they are all so honest, but it was a good experience, compared to Manila when they always ripped me off or took me wrong place.

Subway

The subway is the main method of transportation around Beijing. It was completely in English, including transfers and announcing the next stop, and also the signs and transfer directions in stations. I found it very easy to navigate - but I would caution you to know which exit to take and what direction to go when you get there. Anyone who has experience with large underground stations will know one wrong exit and you're completely confused.

It is cheap, as most trips will cost only 3-4rmb (50c). As for accessibility some transfers between lines can be long, and a few have only stairs (including transferring from Yonghegong Lama temple to Dongzhimen for the airport express. Painful with a suitcase!)

A sign on the platform. The subway car has similar inside but it lights up for the stops.

I bought a subway transport smart card for 20rmb refundable deposit. My hostel advised against it because there weren't so many places to return but I decided it would be easier than queueing for tickets and working out fares so I got it anyway, and was able to easily return it at the airport express station at terminal 3 before I left China. You can buy it at any subway station, but can only return at some bigger, major stations. There are machines that you can use to buy tickets or top up your card but I thought it was easier to go to the desk.

You should note that all subway stations in Beijing have security checkpoints, and you have to put your bag through an x-ray machine before scanning your ticket. Apparently this can cause lines at bigger stations at rush hour but I didn't have any problem waiting.

The subway has many (unofficial) apps which work offline, the one I used was 'Explore Beijing' for android and it worked just fine, telling me the start and end times of train lines, how to get there and where to change. It also had an area for people to submit 'tips', some were useful for pointing out exits etc.

Bus

The bus has OK English, and is ridiculously cheap (I paid 1.5rmb [20c?] for about a one hour journey). At one point I got lost and couldn't find a subway, but I found a bus stop on the side of the road. It was basically all in Chinese, but thankfully my Japanese skills allowed me to work out the name of one of the central stations and I waited for that one.

However, once actually on the bus there is a list of stops in English and it also indicates ones that have subway transfers, so worst case scenario you could always just get on any bus and get off at the stop with a subway and find your way home from there. The bus also announces stops in English and it flashes up in English too. Also to note, you get on the bus at the front and get off in the middle, and swipe your card getting on and off.

Walking/Street Names

A subway station at 5.30am...very quiet

Many street names have both Chinese characters and the English written underneath.

Due to the Great Firewall Google Translate won't work, but you can download the offline Chinese package. The only problem is that it doesn't show you the reading/pronunciation - so you won't be able to even try say it, just show it to someone.

You can even get a boat from Beijing Zoo to Summer Palace!

The same with Google Maps - while alone and lost I was desperate enough to turn on my roaming when I suddenly remembered the firewall would block maps anyway.
So instead I used my offline Chinese app to ask a street cleaner where the subway station was (for some reason I decided a city worker might be more kind than anyone else), she couldn't explain in English but a man came along and he showed me to a bus stop. Later the woman walked by again and came over and checked I was OK (I think!) which was very kind of her. So don't be afraid to ask for help if you need it!

There are also some offline maps apps but I didn't use any.

#37 First look at Sweden

The first thing I saw in Sweden (at Arlanda Airport)

This is only my fourth full day in Stockholm, but already I've started to get my head around things. Being in Europe, there are so many shops and restaurants that are the same as being home in Ireland, so it's not too difficult to adjust. The language barrier isn't a problem either, most things are only signposted in Swedish, but you can ask anyone for help because almost all the Swedish can speak fluent English! I'm in college so this week we had lots of introductory meetings to attend, but from next week my schedule should be much more free.

It's cold here now, around -7 to -15 on average I think. There are mounds of snow everywhere and every roof and tree top is covered in a thick layer of white snow. The rivers are mostly frozen solid which is really fascinating to look at. It's really pretty, but also too cold to take out your camera every time!

This was a soccer pitch

The first day here I went grocery shopping, and I found something special for all the Millennium Trilogy/Girl with the Dragon Tattoo fans out there: Billys Pan Pizza!!

Mmmmmmmm!

Also, as promised, I took a trip to the worlds largest Ikea! It was also my first Ikea visit, and it was a little overwhelming. Nothing was signposted in English so it was pretty difficult to find our way around, and then most of the things we wanted were in the warehouse rather than around the display floors upstairs. Mostly, it was really difficult to leave, we spent maybe 15 minutes walking aimlessly in the warehouse looking for the exit! We went to the big cafe, but it was still breakfast time so we couldn't try the famous meatballs! They had a Kanelbulle (popular Swedish cinnamon bun) and coffee for 5 krona though, which is super cheap!

Beautiful!

This is half of it, I was too close to fit the whole thing in one picture

So there it is, the first of many posts about this snowy country!

#35 Farewell Japan!

Although I have been home from Japan almost a month, and technically it was last year too, it is only now that I have written about (most of) the things I did there. At only 20 years of age (although I did turn 21 while I was there) I managed to survive four months in a foreign country, about 9500km away from home. Well done me! So this is really just a post to tie up any loose ends I can think of.


Asakusa and Shinjuku, the old and the new, two very different sides of Tokyo.

My Top Tokyo Destinations:
So after living in Tokyo for four months, I managed to see everything I wanted. And there was still a few things I didn't see, such as sumo wrestling. I was disappointed I never got to leave the greater Tokyo area and visit Kyoto and all the wonderful Japanese cities, but I never had the free time, and it would have worked out quite expensive too. Nevertheless, not everyone can say they spent 4 months of their youth living in Tokyo! So I've been thinking about what my number 1 place was and I can't decide, so instead here's a list of a few of my favourite places, in no particular order:

Shibuya
Shinjuku
Harajuku
Akihabara
Odaiba
Minato Mirai 21 (Yokohama)
Skytree
Tokyo Tower
Ueno Zoo
Tama Zoo
Tokyo DisneySea

Living in Tokyo
I would recommend it to anyone! The trains are really only ridiculously overcrowded in the mornings from 7am until 9am, but they do get busy again from around 6pm until maybe 8pm.  Despite what you hear, the chances of you being train-groped are really, really low, so don't worry. Everything (well, most things) in Tokyo are signposted in English, and English information and leaflets are almost always available. The only problem is most people can't speak/understand English good/at all, so a phrase book would be handy if you can't speak any Japanese. The Japanese are very helpful people and do their best to understand what you want, or to get across what they mean. It's not as expensive as they say, but groceries can't be got as cheap as in Ireland or the UK (and probably America). The trains are expensive because you can't get a return ticket, or a monthly ticket that covers you for wherever you go, or a student ticket. . .or basically anything that could make it cheaper. But I think every Japanese company will refund your travel expenses for work, so it's not so bad. For girls, Tokyo has shops like Forever 21 and H&M so it shouldn't be too difficult to find clothing if you're UK size 16 or under. After this it may get a little difficult, the same for shoes, once you're under a UK womens shoe size 6 (can be pushed to a 7) you're fine, but after this it'll cost you a lot in specialist shops. It really is very safe, but at the same time a few months before I went an Irish girl my age was murdered (although by Americans, not Japanese) so just because it's notoriously safe, you shouldn't be foolish about it either. がんばって! (Ganbatte, it means "good luck" or "go for it")



Teaching
I worked as an English teacher and I have realised that I have never addressed it in this blog. But just to sum up for those wondering, my experience was overall good. I had to wake up around 6am, I started work at around 8.30am and I stayed in school until around 3.30pm (times vary a little between schools, as well as how many classes you have, but most people seem to have pretty full days), and then you would have to plan classes outside these hours too if you don't have time in the school day. I worked mostly at an Elementary school, but also at a Junior High School. At times they have an irritatingly low level of English, but you get used to it. In Elementary school you can't help but feel they learn nothing, as they don't get homework and can't read or write English, which often limits your classes to playing card games and chanting words over and over. Junior High School they actually learn things properly and you feel you accomplish something, although the classes you plan need to be more detailed than Elementary school. I can't discuss pay because I was an intern so it's different. I only spent four months teaching and to be honest, at the end of it I was very tired. I'm not sure I could work at it for a year, but at the same time I have no interest in being a teacher, and I find children very annoying! So there. If you want to get to Japan, the only way is teaching English, and although it's not the best of jobs, I would definitely recommend it. It's worth it to spend every weekend and spare minute wandering around Japan! I am planning to go back for a year when I graduate from college. Maybe I'll see you there :)

Welcome to Japan

#25 Blog Neglectarino

So I've neglected to update this blog. . . .sob sob! I came home from Tokyo almost a month ago on 21st December. Since I'm moving to Stockholm in 7 days, I thought maybe I should start summing up Tokyo and Japan in the coming days before moving on to a new country and topic.

Taken at Narita Airport on my way home - Luckily it flashes between both Japanese and English