It is January 15th, as I type this and still there are Christmas trees up, so I am not completely mad by wishing you seasons greetings. Term ended on Friday 9th December and with UCAS applications all submitted it was time … Continue reading Seasons Greetings
Mid Autumn Festival according to the Chinese lunar calendar (and traditional solar calendar), is celebrated in the 8th month which is the second month of autumn. As the four seasons each have three (about-30-day) months on the traditional calendars, day 15 of month 8 is “the middle of autumn”. On the 15th of the lunar calendar, each month, the moon is at its roundest and brightest, symbolising togetherness and reunion in Chinese culture. Families get together eat dinner together, appreciate the moon and eat mooncakes. The harvest moon is traditionally believed to be the brightest of the year. As a … Continue reading Hanging Around
Riding to the waterfalls and milking horses and gambling Continue reading Day 2 of the Nomadic Lifestyle; Riding, Milking and Gambling (Part 7)
On the Tuesday evening we were introduced to the family, all save the husband who would return later. The Mum had 4 children, a son aged around 14, who looked more like a grown man, a daughter aged 13, Bimba, … Continue reading A Taste of Nomadic Lifestyle (Land of the Eternal Blue Sky) Part 6
When you aren’t looking at your phone, or computer, days just pass. The only reason I knew what day we were on was when I sat down with my diary and the travel schedule to work out that the 1st of August was a Monday. It didn’t matter what day it was. At 8.15am we departed, onto the sandy road heading north until we hit the main road where we turned left and kept going. In the UK we have a phrase about the Romans having been there when a road is particularly straight. Every so often Yondo would slow down and we … Continue reading Long Drops and Ancient Capital of Mongolia (Land of the Eternal Blue Sky) Part 4
Stunning scenery but a mud bath for the camera puts paid to the pictures…or does it? Continue reading Back in the Saddle in the Land of the Eternal Blue Sky through the Orkhon Valley (Part 5)
Our night’s stay at the Dream Hotel was basic. But as we hadn’t paid Shang-ri La prices, I was in no position to be complaining. Eleanor and I had even had separate beds which we didn’t have on our first night. At breakfast I … Continue reading Hustai National Park (Land of the Eternal Blue Sky) Part 3
Ulan Batar, Ulan Bator, take your pick with the spelling. Be warned though, this is not a spell bindingly beautiful city. It is utilitarian, functional, and whilst we saw it at its best on the first day (blue skie and very little traffic), we then saw it on our penultimate day when we were stuck in traffic and on our last day, it rained and there was certainly nothing pretty about it. Its roads are concreted, not tarmaced and full of pot holes and they are bumpy (though not as bumpy as what we would experience in the forthcoming days). … Continue reading Ulaan Baatar (Land of the Eternal Blue Sky Part 2)
“Mongolia? As in Inner Mongolia? On your own- with Eleanor?” “No, Mongolia as in the separate country between China and Russia. Yes on our own, Martin is teaching in a summer school organised by DHSZ.” “Wow, you are…brave… That’s amazing… Why?” Just some of the conversations I had with people when discussing our summer plans. The Why question was the easiest… a country with horses, riding across a wide open space… well why not? I also wanted to give Eleanor a different perspective on life. No iPads, phones, television, internet, shopping malls, hotels with swimming pools, just green space, blue … Continue reading Land of the Eternal Blue Sky – Part 1
On 7th June my first year at school ended, Eleanor’s time in DUCKS ended and we boarded a flight back to the UK. Term had not officially ended but I was on my way to the UCAS conference and Eleanor was going to spend a couple of weeks with my parents. Mum and Dad had come out with us after the wedding and spent a month with us before going back to Northern Ireland, recover from jetlag and then fly back to Heathrow to collect Eleanor and take her back. The end of Year 2 for Eleanor has meant that … Continue reading Summer has come
Crozier's China and our adventures 