We call it hog roast but the Philippinos call it ‘lechon’ but basically it’s when you thread a pig onto a stick and turn it over a fire for a few hours. All over the country you can see and smell pigs browning slowly while your mouth waters waiting for it to turn into something… Read More »
It’s not always possible when you’re on holiday to see into the real life of the locals. So often we are installed in a hotel or B&B in tourist resorts without the possibility to break loose and go off the beaten track. I am lucky to have a friend who lives in Dasmarinas city in… Read More »
I decided to take a look at the Philippines over the Spring Festival. I had seen some pictures of white beaches and big blue skies and after being stuck in polluted Shanghai since the summer I was desperate to get away. Dasmarinas is a city in Cavite province and this is where I started by… Read More »
The market on Fuxing Lu is close and supplies everything you need in the way of fruit and veg and meat. And there are numerous street sellers in the area selling all manner of fresh vegetables and living creatures and exploding rice but in the run up to Spring Festival there have been more meat… Read More »
Everyone seems to have heard about Sherlock Holmes here. And when you mention the name their faces light up. The whole place has gone Sherlock mad. In fact I have a friend in Nanjing who went to the UK for a holiday specifically to see the home of the fictional sleuth. 69 million people have… Read More »
After getting over the loss of my beloved Fitbit and settling for a couple of free apps on my iPhone I was introduced to the Wechat app tonight by my Chinese friends. Wechat is a tools without which you can’t function socially in China. We have work groups, groups of friends, video calls, calls with… Read More »
There’s a reason my house is quite cheap. Many of my friends say to me that I am lucky to have such a cheap but well located house. The rooms are a good size, the metro and restaurants and cafes are close by and I am the envy of many. But there are serious shortcomings… Read More »
It’s freezing – literally. It has been sub-zero all day and the streets have been relatively quiet. I have persuaded my adopted Chinese parents that they needed new chairs. He was sitting in a collapsible garden deck chair and she was sitting on a plastic stool even though they had a perfectly serviceable sofa. However,… Read More »
In a couple of weeks millions of Chinese will go back to their home village to see their parents and grandparents. It’s a huge migration and the train stations and bus stations are even more packed than usual with people struggling under the weight of bags stuffed full of gifts and supplies. Often this is… Read More »
How did someone get permission to paint this piece of street furniture – I am not complaining, it’s great – but I can’t imagine the authorities being very receptive if I asked them if I could paint some grass and clouds on part of the city’s infrastructure. Perhaps it’s the Shanghai Bansky, although I’m not… Read More »