Sunday 18th September, 2011

3 hours worth of sleep, we were woken up by the fireworks. We got up and we welcomed in my first morning in China by going over to the SPR Coffee Shop, which was located across the road. It's just like your Starbucks or Gloria Jeans; the coffee here is OK and the food is simple but on the plus side, they have WiFi. Yay!!!

My Miffy style Cappucino

We were later met by Daniel's work collegue Uwe, who wanted to go to the Harbourside to the Electronic stores in search of a mobile phone. The area is affectionately known as the I Love U Mall. Here you will find almost anything you need in regards to electronics. Whether it be the genuine product or a 'real' Apple Ipad.

Daniel and Uwe getting abit naughty

After a couple of hours of failing to find the phone he wanted, we crossed over to the Harbourside walkway to take in the hazy view of the port. Although the skies are grey today and the weather is quite chilly today, the pollution is visible. It's a little depressing to be honest. Along the walkway, there is a small amusement park, as well as souvenir and food stalls. As we walked along, marvelling at my new surroundings, I spotted a man selling what seemed to be tiny rocks. On closer inspection, it turned out he was selling turtles!!! Red Sliders in fact. The man had fully grown sliders, medium sized and teeny, tiny, pocket sized baby ones. They were absolutely adorable and Daniel noticed that lovey dovey look I get, so he got me two little turtles as a welcome to China present.

The Tanggu Harbourside

Daniel with the turtles

Holding close my little pet carrier, inside rode my two new buddies, Wilbert and Harry. We crossed the busy road (don't ask me how. Crossing roads in China is like a death wish) jumped in a cab and headed home to sort these two new little guys, a bigger, more comfortable home.

Back in TEDA, we bought them a bigger bowl and placed two rocks in it, which we found in the hotels gardens. We filled up the bowl with water and put our two new pets in their new home. I took photos of our new shelled children and emailed them to mum. As any grandparent, she would be proud at seeing her two new additional grandkids lol.

So teeny, tiny...

Meet Wilbert and Harry

In the afternoon Danniel took me around the hotel to show me where everything was. The hotel is divided into the hotel guest section and then the apartments, which is where we live. The hotel has a well fitted out gym, which has decent equipment and an indoor pool.

The Apartment Block

My new home

In the evening, we went out for dinner to a local expat bar call Jacky's. They offer very good western food here and the servings are massive!!! I've got to be careful about putting on weight. ekkk!!!

Tomorrow, Daniel's back at work and I am on my own. Although I saw abit of Tianjin, I'm hoping there's more to discover. From what I can gather, it's very industrious and not much sightseeing to do. I'll have a better idea in the weeks ahead...

First look at Tianjin remains copyright of the author Two Otters, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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