NI - GZ Erasmus 2014: Pre-study travels (27 th January

Pre-study travels (27 ^th January - 23 ^rd February)

Dublin - Dubai - Guangzhou - Shanghai - Suzhou - Xian - Beijing - Guangzhou

.... Yeah

So, first blog post and the one that I suspect will be the most difficult. To try and condense the massive list of things we have done, the places we have been and the experiences we have shared during the past month into something relatively readable, witty and academic ... it may prove difficult but here goes!

Dublin's Fair City - 27 ^th January

With bags packed and family-based farewells finalised, my dear friends escorted me to the airport to meet up with the team and jet off. One final farewell to our Emerald Isle and we were in the air for a very acceptable 11AM. Everyone had the pleasure of sitting together, except me - I was fortunate enough to be sat beside a very drunk Irish man with a concerning, rather fresh wound above his eye, he was actually a lovely chap.

Jetting off

Dubai - Deprivation Day - 28 ^th January

7.5 hours later and we were in Dubai for what we assumed would be a relaxing 10 hour layover, as we planned to sleep in a lounge. We did not. There was no lounge. We walk and ate many a McDonalds until we found perfectly uncomfortable seats to sit, very bored for the extent of the stay Wait, that sounds so moany -. beautiful airport and at least I got to put on my suit pyjamas!

So classy

GUANGZHOU -! 28 ^th January (Still)

! So After a full 24 hours of travel with zero sleep, we had finally arrived in our new home -. Guangzhou It was, of course, at this point that we realised that it was dark and we had no idea at all how to get . to our hotel Things were looking grim until we came through security to find Julia Julia was an international student in Stran last year and had heard we were coming, contacted Stran and came to collect us -. day saved!

We settled into our luxurious hotel and started trying to sleep off the jetlag that the 8 hour time difference and lack of sleep had caused.

Guangzhou is massive, as you might expect, however, it was rather empty when we arrived This is apparently because of the Chinese New Year -. Everyone goes home and stays in, all of the shops are closed and the dragons are busy getting ready for their big night. Thankfully, this was just what we needed to ease us in to the country.

We spent time in between exploring the city planning our cross country travels but here's a quick summary of Guangzhou highlights:

· Our first Traditional Chinese meal - Hotpot - never again

· Chinese New Year with Julia - More Hotpot ... never mind.

· Got my head shaved by Lloyd, Siobhan and Jayne.

· Lloyd and I bought pet turtles for £1... They did not last long ... RIP guys.

UNI

Mid-head shave

Toilets ...

Canton Tower

Shanghai Surprise - 3 ^rd February

Stop No.1 on our inter-China travels. We left the comforts of the Shang De hotel early and readied ourselves for what the internet assured us would be the WORST FLIGHT OF OUR LIVES! It was not. It was grand and we met a lovely local man called Henry Gu, who drew us a map of Shanghai and told us where all the cool kids hung out.

Straight off the plane and right into a taxi for our first near death experience - they are insane drivers here!

Over our 3 days in Shanghai, we got to see some beautiful gardens and temples but the main feature that grabbed the interest of our group was the fake markets. At first, it was just exciting to see the range of stuff they had but the main thrill (particularly for Lloyd and Siobhan) was bartering. Seeing these mercantile experts getting something down from £30 to £1 was hilarious to watch, particularly when it backfired and a certain Mr Gillespie go himself locked in a secret store room with a sales lady, no one knows what happened in there but we believe he acquired his new wallet at a "special price for beautiful people".

Beats, bags and other bargains

Xi'an - Sky planking and the Warriors - 9 ^th February

Xi'an was the Highlight of the trip for me. Our new home in the international hostel gave us so many new friends and memories, all of which Started on Our 1 ^st morning there with a guided tour to see the Terracotta Warriors. My second ever wonder of the world. At a glance, it didn't seem like much, however, the closer we got and the more we learned, the more amazing it got. Over 8000 sculptures, all individualised by their creators, as most of them were to be killed and buried with the sculptures as some sort of 'eternal army'. Crazy.

The best part of the tour though was finally making some English speaking friends as the language barrier is quite the challenge at the best of times France, England, Ireland, Italy -. Good mix and good times.

The best part of Xi'an for me was Mt Hua Shan. Over 7000 feet in height, our new found international group ascended (mainly by cable car but sure). The sights were breathtaking and when we reached the top we found what we had came there for - The Sky Plank.

Dubbed "The world's most dangerous hiking trail", we found ourselves perilously making our way across planks with nothing below us but a 7000 foot drop, attached by 2 ropey looking carabineers and a firm grip. Amazing and absolutely mortifying.

Terracotta lads

Mt Hua Shan

Sky plank - seems legit ...

Beijing Banter - 12 ^th February

The final stop in our travels was Beijing. We found ourselves in another international hostel with the 4 of us in one room for a week and despite Lloyd's snoring and my sleep yelling (for lack of a better phrase), we did not kill each other .

Some of the biggest challenges in Beijing were the smog and the temperature; in Guangzhou, we were in shorts and T-shirts getting our tan on and in Beijing, it was snowing!

Again, we came across gardens and temples, new friends and some old ones from Xi'an but the best part has to stereotypically be the Great Wall. It was astounding, laced with history and marked by the countless people who had visited it from countless countries. Due to the snow it was also fairly tourist-free when we were there, giving us time to walk and take it in, I imagine that it gets repetitive after the first 2000 miles but it was still pretty cool.

Oh, and there was a toboggan ride down from it - fantastic!