huangshan 黄山 ;

7:00 in the morning after a big night, severely hungover and battling to get ourselves into a taxi and onto the 5 hour bus to get to the yellow mountain.

we spent the night at huangshan old street youth hostel, and prepared our backpacks for the big trek up the next day.

we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into, the first 2km was a real test for all of us, there were moments where we didn’t think we would make it but the views along the way made it so worth while. our anticipated 14km hike up huangshan turned into 16km with a couple of missed turns and lost in translation directions. 

but we made it, haggled for tents and pitched them kamikaze style behind a hotel at the top of white goose peak, then we kicked back and watched the most amazing sunset i have ever seen.

24kms and we can officially say we conquered the yellow mountain and it was an awesome experience (totally worth the aching calves). definitely something to add to your bucket list.

with love,

xx 

So a quick blog spam because my dearest mother has requested an update.

We leave to Xi’an 西安 tomorrow for one month to teach English in a few community schools there :) The original plan was to motorbike our way back to Shanghai 上海 from Xi’an 西安 but it looks like we may go to Plan B and backpack our way home. Will keep you posted.

For now, here are well-overdue photos from our trip to Nanjing 南京, the trip that can be summed up in four words:
budweiser bench. sombrero. bromance. 

Photos speak for themselves…

With love,
xx 

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image credits - 
etsy: fifiduvie screenprint poster

coming soon: long overdue posts on nanjing 南京 and huangshan 黄山. 
i know, i am a terrible blogger.

sidenote: i had a pretty amazing weekend/week that involved champagne brunch, yu gardens, pet markets and go-karting.

i’m still head over heels in love with you shanghai!  

三亚； 海南岛

So we made it to Sanya (Hainan Island), and boy was it incredible.
As much as I adore Shanghai, I was starting to get itchy feet that were dying to frolic in some hot sand. Enter Sanya; such an amazing place. I still find it hard to believe that this tropical paradise belongs to the same China that mothers a metropolis like Shanghai. 

Getting to the airport at 5:30AM was quite a mission, but well worth it considering we arrived in Sanya with a full day ahead of us to indulge in some much needed vitamin D. We spent the week at the Blue Sky International Hostel and had awesome bbq dinner on our first night. 

Dadonghai Beach is only a three minute walk from the hostel, so we enjoyed some beach volleyball and tanning at Dadonghai on our second day followed by burgers at our favourite restaurant in Sanya, Dolphin Bar [The pineapple mojitos are a must!]

Hiring motorbikes in Sanya is a pretty easy task, however, make sure you know what you’re getting into when you sign the agreement! [We learnt this the hard way] Nevertheless, it’s definitely worthwhile to get yourself a bike for a day to explore Sanya and see other beaches. We rode to a couple of beaches including Houhai Beach and paid a visit to DaHai Surf, to set the boys up for wakeboarding and sort the girls out for a jet skiing session. But we made it back to Shanghai glowing with colour (albeit the fact that most of us were as red as Chinese New Year 红包 - Red Packets) and buzzing from a week of much needed R&R. 

I still can’t believe how amazing China is. For those of you who wouldn’t hesitate to choose travelling Europe over Asia, think twice, because China is a serious contender. Time is flying by and there are still so many adventures to be had. 
I’ve eaten silkworms, driven (but mostly sat on the back of) motorbikes, jet skied in Hainan, explored Nanjing (a little hungover but nevertheless!) and had some proper good times in Shanghai. 

Fingers crossed we get ourselves sorted to climb Huangshan (Yellow Mountain) next weekend!

For now, all I can say is that I’m loving twenty eleven and there’s no looking back.
I’ll leave you with a couple of happy snaps to sum up our Sanya holiday : )

With love,
xx 

miike snow; animal

i change shapes just to hide in this place,
but i’m still,
i’m still an animal. 

Solid song to get you up and going in the morning.

Last night one of my roomies and I went to the cotton club for a chilled night of live music, with a quick pitstop at oscar’s for a drink (gotta love ladies night every wednesday in Shanghai!)

The Cotton Club
1416号 Huaihai Middle Road
Xuhui, Shanghai, China
淮海中路1416号， 
近复兴路

Oscar’s Pub
1377 Fuxing Lu,
Xuhui, Shanghai, China
复兴中路1377号

Ps. 3 days until Hainan baby!!!

A little place called Helen’s -

Regardless of whether you are in your home city or in a completely new one, it is always amazing to discover little gems like Helen’s Cafe.

This cafe by day/bar by night, is buzzing in a dimly lit space. Always comfortably filled with a good mix of foreigners and locals, you will hear every language fly across the tables whilst glasses are clinked and cheers are chanted.

건배!
¡Salud!
干杯！

The dj plays crowd pleasers for an international crowd and there seems to be an endless playlist to get the spaniards up, chanting and dancing. Helen’s is the perfect place to chill and have a beer, or ten… Especially on a Thursday night (Open Mic with 10 free Tsingdao Beers for the first performers and 20 free beers for everyone else!).

Be sure to check out their daily specials!!!
Pretty sure it’s free coffee on Mondays and Shooter Saturdays.
Don’t forget to grab a hookah to share : )

Helen’s Cafe:
49 Wuchuan Lu
武川路49号,杨浦区,近万安路
6536-8669
11am-Late 

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Happy two month anniversary Shanghai!
I can’t think of a better way to celebrate our romance than to finally begin blogging about our Shanghai shenanigans.  

I know we’re still in the honeymoon phase of this relationship, but I still feel sparks whenever I get a moment to myself to reflect on our time together. Sure, we’ve had a couple of hiccups along the way, like our first encounter in the taxi ride of death and those couple of days you had me curled up sick in bed. Nevertheless, you continue to sweep me off my feet and leave me in awe at your unique character and quirks. 

In the past two months, I have met so many amazing people and slowly but surely settled in to my new life here in Shanghai. I have shared a tonne of experiences here and have loved most of them. As much as I would love to share them with you right now, I must get some shut eye before class tomorrow. I’m sorry this is so brief and overdue! 

This is just the beginning of my love letters to Shanghai.
I can’t wait to tell you all adventures and introduce you to a couple of my mates :)

With love from Shanghai,

xx 

(Source: wallcoo.net)