Where to start with this entry?!? Firstly, I would like to talk about something I really don't understand. The way the Chinese dress! Okay, so it's a weekday afternoon and you're walking down a crowded street. You bump into a business man wearing a nice shirt and tie, carrying a briefcase... And wearing pyjama bottoms?!? This is not a rare occurence either. Every day I step out of my apartment and see tens, if not hundreds, of people wearing pyjamas as casual day wear. When I wake up in the morning and look in my wardrobe I never think to myself, "Hhmm, shall I wear jeans or shorts today?... Ooh, I know... I'll wear pyjama bottoms... No in fact, a nightie would be better in this weather!" I really don't understand!!! Right, moving onto my life over the last week or so. I visited the north-west of the city, which is an area that I have had no reason to visit before. There isn't a lot going on in that area of Nanjing, but I wanted to see the 1500-metre-long bridge over the Yangzi River, so decided to take a special trip. I took a bus to the vague area that I wanted to be in (which was an adventure in itself) and then decided to walk the last bit. Well... Bearing in mind the fact that this is not a small bridge... It shouldn't have been difficult to find. Especially as I got off the bus about ten minutes from the bridge. I walked and walked for about three hours in the blazing heat trying to find where the bridge began. It was like trying to find the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. I could see the bridge no matter where I was, but could I find the end of the damn thing?!? No! I eventually did, and as you will see from my many photos, it is quite an impressive sight. It was built in the 1960s by the Chinese. It was supposed to be a joint project between the Chinese and the Russians, but the Russians pulled out at the last minute saying that the the Chinese would never finish it under their own steam. Well, they did!!! Before the bridge was built it took an hour-and-a-half to ferry trains and road vehicles from one side of the Yangzi river to the other. So you can imagine what an important feat of engineering this was for the Chinese. I also had the most surreal night of all my nights in China. A German beer festival. Imagine this scene if you would... Me, in China, with a Welsh Australian guy, at a German beer festival, watching Chinese people eat German food (like garlic sausage, sauerkraut, and mashed potatoes) with chopsticks! Before ending up in an Irish Bar, chatting to one of the German musicians (who was wearing Lederhosen) and playing thumb-wars with an American guy. Surreal!!! But a good night was had by all! I had a good day on Tuesday when Matt and I decided to do some sight-seeing. Matt has only been here a couple of weeks so I promised to show him the sights. We started off by taking a wander close to his bar (Blue Sky) and found a couple of cool things! Firstly, we stumbled upon the headquarters of a group of people (affectionately) known as The Mafia. They have a massive sign outside of the building which says 'Let's Kill People' in Chinese characters. This did of course cause rather a stir when the sign first went up, however, now it is well known that this is purely a gaming hall for a game known as 'Mafia'. The game has a huge cult following over here, and I'm sure it will catch on through-out the world very soon (if it hasn't already done so). It involves a group of people meeting up, (secretly) being assigned characters roles of either mafia, cop, citizen, or killer... And then everyone trying to work out the role each is playing, solving the murder etc. It sounds a bit like a grown-up Cluedo to me, but I'm reliably informed that it is much more complicated and important than that... And followers seem to take it very, very seriously!!! We then found a public running track, which I'm chuffed about. I have been using the Nanjing University track, but there is a basketball court right in the middle, and as if I don't look weird enough when I'm running anyway... The fact that I'm white... And enjoying the sport of running (which no-one else here appears to do)... Means that all the guys just stop playing and stare at me. A little off-putting I must admit. So this track should be a lot better... I hope!!! We then wandered around Fuzi Miao, which was really fun. I've been lots of times before, but never at night, and it was much more impressive this time. Plus, it was really nice to be able to compare views on stuff with another human being... And one that speaks English rather than Chinglish!!!... Wow!!! After a few beers in Paradise Bar, we decided to head over to the 1912 bar/restaurant area. We started in Blue Marlin, where the fantastic Fillipino band were playing... And I convinced one of the guys to teach me guitar... Raaaa!!! Lessons start next week! We then met up with some other Westerners, which seemed like fun at first... But soon went down hill! Most of the bars and clubs around 1912 are heavily guarded by armed police (rather than bouncers). The police have massive rifle-style guns, which are loaded, and have bayonets on the end of them. Well... One of the girls thought it would be hilarious to steal the rifle of a very serious looking policeman, and hold the gun against her friend's head. Matt and I, thinking that the policeman would freak out, disappeared quickly and watched from a safe distance. No... The policeman, and all his policeman friends thought this was hilarious and started play fighting the group and holding the bayonets against their throats, as well as letting any drunken Tom, Dick, or Harry play about with their loaded weapons!!! Scary!!! We disappeared rather quickly after that! Only one more piece of news... (And it's not very exciting I'm afraid)... ... I had to buy a duvet! For the first time since I've been here, I was actually a little bit cold the other night. The temperature here is still at shorts and t-shirt level, but the nights are definitely drawing in and getting slightly colder. I'm not looking forward to a Chinese winter!!! ... However, if anyone has a better word than 'duvet' will they please email me and let me know. If I have to say the word one more time to a bunch of laughing foreigners I'll scream. I'm sure it sounds great in French, but it makes for a stupid English word... But what else is there?!? ... Plus... It isn't as bad a word as 'Flip Flop'!!! So on that note, I bid you adieu.