From Germany to Nepal

Six weeks in Holland & Germany. Not much to do. I tried two times to go to The Hague to get a new Chinese visa, but when that didn't work I decided to fly to Nepal and wait for the visa rules to relax.

View from a boat cruise on the Waal River, near Nijmegen. On the boat was an all-you-can-eat buffet of pancakes ;)
View from my parents' house
Pancake toppings

I splurged on chocolate, brown bread, raw fish and German beer, because I know I am going to miss that in China!

Back 'home'

... And so my visa could not be renewed :( Although I was promised I could spend August as a tourist in China, they would not give me a visa extention and I had to leave the country.

They told me on August 29 that I could not stay, and so I had to rush to get everything sorted. I had to leave my room, move all my stuff to my girlfriend's house, change my flight (I'd booked a flight to Germany on the 20th) and say goodbye to all my friends in Suzhou.

Bloody Olympics. No foreigners are allowed to stay in China during the Games, only visitors to the actual Olympics. I don't understand why they made this rule, as China and Chinese usually like foreigners and welcome them everywhere. Anyways, I will apply for a new visa in a couple of weeks and return to China on the 7th of September.

Chinglish

Some Chinglish I encountered along the way in China. I noticed that the Chinese don't take it so seriously if their massive bill-boards are correctly spelled or not. Actually, they created a whole new language, which is much more funny and entertaining than our boring Western English.

Restaurant names such as:
"Shandong burns a chicken"
"Pan bone soup"
"Breath away bistro" - must be very spicy food there:)
"Earthen pot gruel"
Dishes are called:
"Delicious chicken"
"Dace and rape with celery"
"Mouth watering Chicken"
"Beef killed Korean style"
Businesses are called:
"Glorious happiness and harmony"
In Suzhou they are building some business center, and the bill-boards read: "69 years of foundation in Hong Kong. 9 Centuries in your ninth"

and so forth...

Here some funny examples:

Taiwanese restaurant

Not very funny actually, but serious business

I love the prececessed meat. (This pic I took in Metro, which is a German Supermarket chain in Shanghai...)

(Inside toilet, warning for slippery floor)

"Whatever you do, please do not surmount the parapet!"

"A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof or structure. It may serve to prevent unwanted falls over the edge or it may be a defensive, constructional or stylistic feature.", Wikipedia.
Technically correct, but who is carrying a dictionary around Mount Lu...?

Scared of robbers maybe; they sell kitchens!

"Be attention to fall down" and "Please grip the bar"
Inside train toilet

I was shocked after seeing this. Inside a McDonald's toilet, there was a message board, with "I'm lovin' it" imprinted on it. However, they put some information on the Sichuan earthquake there, so now it looks like a rather tasteless joke.

Inside a train toilet