Woo Hoo - It's May

And today is the day when everyone in this free market economy gives thanks to Uncles Karl & Vladimir. Half of the population will take a 4 day weekend and go somewhere, which possibly makes the Chinese tourism industry the fastest growing industry in the world, while the rest of us, who have made the mistake of traveling during one of these hol;idays before, will celebrate by going shopping. Truly, the crowds in the malls today will be awesome. Chelsea vs Man U in Moscow will look like a 4th division game in midwinter somewhere on the North Sea coast. (I've just finished my weekly trawl through the Guardian)

I think that was the longest 3 day week in the history of the working world & since I'm resolutely not writing about work, there isn't a lot left over to say. Went to a farewell party at Luhu Park, in the barbeque section, last night. Guangzhou has exactly the right climate for this kind of thing, and it was a good night. Well, the crowd wasn't pleased by my Australian-style barbequing technique - they think charcoal is a fuel here, not a food - but fortunately there were a large number of people on hand to demonstrate much greater skill.

Getting home was looking to be a challenge - no taxis, well no empty taxis. About a kilometer down the road someone who had been at the barbeque in an unofficial, ie gatecrashing, capacity pulled up and offered foru of us a lift back to civilisation. Well, that was nice. I'll never say anything bad about customs auditors again. They are truly generous people.

Three days off. I think I'll visit every station on one of the metro lines. Or maybe I'll catch a bus somewhere. Or try and find a pair of shoes that fits. Or both. There's a river here somewhere, I might go and have a look at that.