OwainLW
  • I live inBeijing
  • NationalityUnited Kingdom
  • Interests

About Me

Recent Activity

OwainLW

Jul 22, 2013 15:00

Blogs : OwainLW commented on OwainLW 's blog Forming a Band in China - My Experience

Named ourselves "Empty Echoes". A bit pretentious sounding I admit! Otherwise we did think of "Stand Firm, Hold the Handrail" - a-la Beijing subway safety announcements, though decided it was a bit long. Full Comment>>

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OwainLW

Jul 19, 2013 16:07

Blogs : OwainLW Posted a new blog Forming a Band in China - My Experience

So as someone who likes to consider himself marginally musical to a degree, I decided to recently branch out from my sordid routine of editing a very messily-written first novel and jump into the fires of forming a rock band. I’ve been playing guitar for over 13 years, and despite developing a sweetly-soft ...

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OwainLW

Jun 03, 2013 12:23

Blogs : OwainLW commented on rasklnik 's blog Useful Idiots: Foreigner in China

Looks like you forgot to add one more category: the jaded grandiose upstarts who think they're above the rest and complain about others they deem inferior as to gratify their own sense of undying insecurity. Full Comment>>

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OwainLW

Apr 09, 2013 10:11

Blogs : OwainLW Posted a new blog From Happy Birthday to Kenny G – The Ever Confusing Popularity of Western Music in China

The use of Western music in China has always bemused me; from the pulsating beats of “Happy Birthday” pounding against the walls of a misty, dim-lit night club as quasi-wealthy 20-somethings slam down their shots of 3% beer as if it’s vodka, to the sickeningly dull looping Kenny G saxophone riffs ...

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OwainLW

Mar 11, 2013 16:09

Blogs : OwainLW Posted a new blog Posh Nosh – Trying (and Failing) to Live to Eat during Beijing’s Restaurant Week

Being British, many people would assume that a love of good food isn’t something that stifles its way into my thoughts too often, and I would say that most of the time, they’re right. I like my curry, my pizza, my Cantonese…it’s all good but I’ve never been too fussy about exactly it is...

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OwainLW

Mar 06, 2013 15:03

Blogs : OwainLW Posted a new blog Chinese Character Fun

First things first, although living in China does provide me with enough annoyances and frustrations to keep me going until I’m well and truly in the grave, there are some things which keep me happy here and remind me of my decision to come to China in the first place. They usually revolve around aesthetic ...

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OwainLW

Feb 27, 2013 14:46

Blogs : OwainLW commented on OwainLW 's blog Sandwiched in the Subway: But is Beijing Really that Bad?

As a Brit, I do indeed have that particular terminology in my literary arsenal, though years of living in countries where Mass Transit (there you go another American term for you) are called "Subways" then it's become somewhat of a habit. A thousand apologies dearest Carlg. Full Comment>>

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OwainLW

Feb 22, 2013 17:16

Blogs : OwainLW Posted a new blog Sandwiched in the Subway: But is Beijing Really that Bad?

It’s amazing how quickly China develops. I mean really, even a place like Beijing, with a claim on international city status, still sees new buildings and projects rise up out of nowhere. I want to focus on the subway situation though, and draw on a few highs and lows that the Beijing subway has in comparison with ...

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OwainLW

Feb 21, 2013 16:02

Listings : OwainLW Reviewed listing The Smuggler’s

Don't step foot in this place unless you're prepared for an ingestion of fake beer, ready to bear witness to a fight, or mingle with a bunch of drunk and out of control 14 years olds. Not fun

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OwainLW

Feb 16, 2013 10:27

Blogs : OwainLW Posted a new blog Spring Festival Gala – It’s all about the Mishaps

We all have to admit that the annual Spring Festival Gala thingy on CCTV is a bit of a bore that’s full of sickeningly cheesy skits and shows featuring the same of bunch of underwhelming performers whose acts seem to be based on whether or not the sound man in the background can apply the correct Tom and ...

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OwainLW

Feb 04, 2013 17:27

Blogs : OwainLW Posted a new blog Why Fourth Tier-City Trips are Fun

When I was in the north, I took a trip to a little city in Hebei province called Chengde. Chengde is known for being a holiday resort for emperors of old, and features a lovely mountain park area with fresh air and rolling green hills as far as the eye can see. The place also has nice little temples and old (albeit ...

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OwainLW

Feb 01, 2013 09:45

Articles : OwainLW commented on news Meet the Chinese Parents: Making First Impressions Count

Hey Lauxiia, that's a very helpful page and I must say I'm kicking myself now over that haha! Though I did buy the Swiss army penknives at the advice of my girlfriend who remembered her father had said he wanted us to pick one up the next time we were in the UK, so we ended up buying it then. Cheers for the comment a...... Full Comment>>

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OwainLW

Jan 16, 2013 17:03

Blogs : OwainLW Posted a new blog Clumsy Waiters + Chinese Celebs = One Ruined Dinner Jacket

With my last blog being about the joys of the Xiamen rush hour, which to my disappointment blew any utopian images I associated with the city right out of the water, I’d like to share another “only in China”experience which I think would only occur in a second-tier city like Xiamen that isn’t known for being ...

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OwainLW

Jan 11, 2013 17:10

Blogs : OwainLW Posted a new blog The Chinese Rush Hour is like a Hollywood Action Movie

Like many fellow expats, I’m a teacher here, and for the most part enjoy my life in China with a reasonably comfortable salary and decent standard of living. My school is barely a 10 minute bus ride from my apartment,and as it’s a private training center, I only really have to work on weekends,with the occasional ...

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