Hey Hey and a Big G'Day toya,

This blogs is for my friend Claudia from the Gold Coast in Queensland Australia.

We started this entire shinbang together, we hit it off at our TESOL course and purchased our computers together after which due to our age differences I had to teach her all things computerwise. The fact is my life here in China started with one of the most wonderful, gentle and caring women on this planet. She started her time in here in China here in Dalian city and totally fell in love with it, its people and its history. I on the other hand have only spent two days here and on my second day finally got to experience the reality of the 'real’ locals and how much they actually do care.

After living in China for six and a half years I am happy to be the first person to say that it does take more than just a fleeting visit to experience a place but sadly sometimes one simply must go with their gut instinct and accept the fact that this place just isn’t the place for them.

To throw ones pack on a hotel bed, unpack, settle in, it takes more than two nights of sampling the local Beers & Noodles to get to know a place and its people. Thankfully today I got just a small sample of the how beautiful the Dalian people can be. I think we all remember Crazy Angry Tour Girl from yesterday, well please let us not forget Beautiful Happy Tour Girl who was my Knight in Shining Armor and in little shorts and sneakers. Today after spending many hours walking all the way down to the Natural History Museum where I spent several peaceful hours and taking photos of its amazingly painted walls and rooms I then slowly walked up to Xinghai square where I spent several flabbergasting hours meandering around how freaking large it was and then made my way down to Xinghai Beach where after an hour or so I ran into non-other than Beautiful Happy Tour Girl.

After hugs and kisses I wanted to thank her for making Dalian city more than what it could have been and after being in China for so long, I grabbed a used Multi-Ticket from the ground asked her…Are you free for the afternoon and being a Tour guide can you get me into these places?

After she said yes I gave her a ‘sum of money’ and said lets go.

We then spent an amazing afternoon and night together and Dalian city became a better place then yesterday. Dalian still didn’t become a place where I’d sit and make dumplings, nor did the sea breeze have the opportunity to blow my hair back. It is defiantly not a city I would unpack my teaching bags and go about teaching ‘your shorts are too long and your heels are too small’ but yes after only two days I was happy to leave.

Coming from Australia, the beaches are simply far too full of pebbles, the food is far too extremely overpriced far too many people want to rob my wallet so it just doesn’t suite my Aussieness.

Tomorrow I’m on the first bust out of this place!
Those with a hair dryer, maybe Dalian will suite you more than me!

Xinghai Square

 Located in Xinghai Business District of Dalian, Xinghai Square with the total area of 45,000 square meters is the biggest municipal square in Asia and is almost three times larger than Tiananmen Square.

Built in 1994 the square represents the ‘New Spirit of Dalian’. The square was built to honor Hong Kong’s return to China in the year 1997 and in the middle features the tall white marble column 19.97 meters high as the year of the return. Eight carved dragons at the base of the column imply that Chinese are descendants of the dragon. The square hosts numerous events and parades, including the International Fashion Festival, the International Beer Festival and the Spring Festival Firework and Firecracker show.

Xinghai Beach

Located by the sea, Xinghai Park and beach comprises of an 800-meter-long beach and is filled with a huge park area filled with a collection of flowers and plants, a small fair and a huge Ocean World. The beach has fine sand, moderate waves and a good water depth making it ideal for Chinese swimmers. According to local legend, the rock marks the spot where an army of cuttle fish triumphed against sharks in a major ancient combat. Local people believe that the area will never again be troubled by sharks, and consider this spot very safe for swimming- believe the local legend if you dare!

Sun Asia Ocean World
 Another feature in the park is the Sun Asia Ocean World where you can observe many of the often bizarre creatures that live in the sea. Located in the premises of the Xinghai Park, it is extremely popular amongst the residents as well as the tourists visiting the city.

Rare aquatic animals
This aquarium is the first in China to have an underwater tunnel from which you can see the marine life at close quarters. It provides you the rare opportunity to see 7, 000 worldwide rare aquatic animals of above 200 species. As you walk through the underwater tunnel and find yourself surrounded by thousands of marine creatures, you will feel that you have entered mysterious world beneath the sea.

Natural History Museum

Located in new modern European architecture along beautiful Heishijiao beach, Dalian Natural History Museum is the leading natural museum in China. It was founded in 1907 and displays fossils, animals and plants from western Liaoning area and other various places in the world. The collection of 50,000 items occupies an area of 15,000 square meters, 10 thousand of which are designed for exhibition halls. The marine collection features the fossils of 20 sea animals, including a black back-bare whale, which with length of 17.1 m and weight of 66.7 tons is the biggest existing in Asia.

Most of the exhibited species come from ‘Jehol Biota’ the ecosystem of northeastern China existing some 120 million years ago.

Beers N Noodles toya…..shane
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The soundtrack to this entry was by non other that Bon Jovi
The album was one of the greatest albums ever recorded ‘New Jersey’
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