Wuhan trip

2009-04-15T01:09:00.000-07:00

I'm back to a place I call as home after 42 days at Wuhan!
Feel like a bed of roses.

2009-04-14T07:52:00.000-07:00

Day 42: I'm returning home after 42 days!

Finally the day we have been looking forward has arrived, after so much of waiting and longing.
Still remember that ever since on the day we have landed on Wuhan and moving into our hostel, we have been counting down every single day, hopping to return to Singapore.
But now, we have countless of unwilling in our heart to bid farewell to them.
There were so much of things to bear to leave behind.
Nothing could describe our feeling, it's part of life I guessed.
Boarded the bus and leave our hostel at 11a.m sharp.
As the bus move steadily to Wuhan Airport, heaps of memories flashing and running in my mind. Out of sudden, I felt so emotional and tears was near my eyes.
I don't know how to explain my feeling, perhaps I was sad to leave 海宜楼.
I will bring back all the wonderful memories with me and greatly treasured the 42 days we had endured and spent together.

In the bus, our luggages blocked the walking path.

Alighting from the bus

Over at Wuhan airport

Group checking in

Upon waiting for our flight to Guangzhou, we took some photo :)

Us with Jiafu

Xiujin and I

The long queue

Shutter bus service

Our plane, China Southern flight

I'm ready to go home!

The five of us ! We went through thick and thin for the past 42 days!

Cheers for our friendships too!

Our group photo before heading back home!

Alicia and I on the plane.

Reached Guangzhou Airport and we boarded the 7p.m flight back to Singapore.

We arrived Singapore at 11p.m sharp.

I went to duty free shop immediately to purchase some beer and wines back home for my dad as promised.

Right at the arrival gate, I saw my mum and dad welcoming me back.

The feeling of getting to see them again after 42 days was great!

Lastly, Wuhan will definitely missed by me.

It is the place where I have to be away home for more than 42 days.

It is the place where I make new friends and spent my birthday.

It is the place where we grow up together and become independent.

Waiting for our luggages.

luggages

Making our way there.

In the plane, onboard

Drank a cup of red wine.

Had my dinner on the plane

Au reviour, Wuhan!

Bonjour, Singapore!

THE END

THE DAY

2009-04-13T05:00:00.000-07:00

Day 41 : Second last day

Woke up early in the morning to keep some of my clothes and stuffs back into my luggage as we are leaving real soon like the very next day.
Went over to the next block to look for Jiafu as I saw my neighbour XuHeng coming back from his lessons.
I went alone as Lizhen and Yankhee was still in bed sleeping at that time.
I didn't know jiafu was out when I reached their apartment.
So I approached Jian Wen and Tee Yong to accompany me since they want to have an interview with them too.
However, I end up waiting for them to get ready.
If I could be a little more brave , I should have go myself.
By the time we went over to my neighbour, they had left for another lesson as we tried knocking a few times on their door but no respond.
We turned to 田阿姨, one of the the caretakers of our building for the next interview.
I get to understand their local cultures better through the interview, apart from my daily observations.
From her, I get to understand the holidays in the China calendar and the festives that the Chinese celebrate.
As the hometown of all the Chinese, Chinese New Year is the most happening occassion in China.
The locals will head to 黄鹤楼 to celebrate, whereas Singaporeans like us, will head to Chinatown.
I was surprised by the long holiday they have in China, they have a total of 1 week of break during Chinese New Year.
As for us, we only enjoy merely two days of holiday back in Singapore.
This add on to my curiosity, I asked 田阿姨 further.
I was thinking how the local survived throughout the 1 week break as most of the shops will be closed, I was assuming that they had the same practise as us.
Back in singapore, we usually store and buy lots of food in our house before we had reunion dinner.
Most of the shops in Singapore will be close during the two days break.
To my surprise, the locals still work during the Chinese New Year.
Of course! they celebrated Chinese New Year too.
The workers had shifts to take turn to celebrate Chinese New Year, which I found them extremely diligent.
On top of that, I discovered that there are no restriction for the locals to buy both property and cars as long as they are wealthy.

Us with 田阿姨.

Together with Jian Wen, I went to the basketball court and was trying our luck to have an interview with the local students to understand their life in university.
I want to understand their life in university as I was focusing on the student life for the IS assignment.
So I though of interviewing them will be a better choice for me to interact with them as we didn't really have much interaction with the local students.
To my surprise, the group of four guys we approached were extremely friendly and willing to accept our interview.
From the interview, I get to understand their life in campus as way as their workload better and clearer.
We did encountered difficulties during the interview as all our interview questions were written in english.
Furthermore, we couldn't think of a chinese word to replace the english word for the same meaning when we trying to rephrase our question.
After all , we had nice bonding session with them .
They even want to treat us for lunch at the end of our interview.

The local students and I

Without much delay, we went to tour around the campus as I want to find out the facilities in the school so I can make comparsion and add it to my finding.
We went to their indoor stadium, canteen as well as library.

Indoor basketball Court

Dance room

Canteen

Shutter bus

Library

Their study corner.

Rushed back to our hostel to put down our writing materials and headed to the street outside of our school to have our lunch.
We went to have a quick lunch as we are rushing for time.

My lunch.

As a group, we make our way to the Main adminstrative office to attend the closing ceremony organised by Wuhan Institute of Technology.
Without having much say, the closing cermony mark the end of our 42 days trip in Wuhan.
As we walked into the room, the red banner caught our attention.
I was shocked to see how grand and formal the closing cermony was.
We dressed unappropriately I suppose, but the Ngee Ann school shirt we wore stood us proud.
The principle of Wuhan Institute of Technology, along with the other board members welcomed us.
During the cermony, speeches were conducted one after another and we listened attentively throughout the cermony.
The clock seem to be stop ticking and moving as we walked down the memory lane of our 42 days when Jiafu was giving his speech.
The speech was moving and reflected our experiences in Wuhan.
The memories of the 20 of us going through thick and thin together along with Mr Wee were flashed back and running in our mind.
To me, everything seem to happen just yesterday.
At the end of the closing cermony, we were awarded with a cerficate for completing this trip.
Everyone was glowing with delight upon receving their certicate, including me!

The office

Over at the meeting board

Upon receving my certificate.

My certificate

Mr wee upon receving souvenir from the principal of Wuhan Institute of Technology.

Dinner was on Mr Wee as he decided to give us a treat since it was our last meal together in Wuhan.

We went to a Chinese restaurant in Chicony for dinner, along with the four local students.

Dinner was scrumptious!

Everyone cheered and ate contentedly over the table.

We went to tour around the supermarket at the basement before heading back.

Had ice-cream at Chicony.

The Chinese restaurant

At the supermarket.

Back at the hostel, I continue to pack my luggage that was half-way done in the morning.

I gathered all the stuffs that I bought, the piles of stuffs placed right in front of me nearly pissed me off.

I had hard time finding ways and space to compress and squeeze all my stuffs in.

At that moment, I felt regretted of buying so much things.

I felt extremely frustrated after spending a couple of hours not having to pack my stuffs.

Feeling helpless, I approached the guys for help and eventually they helped me to solve the problem.

A friend in need is a friend indeed, now I understand it

THE END

THE DAY

2009-04-12T04:48:00.000-07:00

Day 40

Went back to Hualuoli Plaza today to shop again.
The shopping experience I had in the shopping mall was always different regardless of the countless times I had went.
I know we have been going to this shopping mall way too much, but the passion of shopping and the good bargains draw us there.
Furthermore, all the light clothings like shorts and tee-shirts are all out on the displayed racks.
Winter clothings are selling at discounted prices in most of the shops as the next season is ready to take over.
We combed the whole shopping mall for the last time, walking in and out of all the shops.
Eventually, we end up with alot of shopping bags.
I bought another new sling bag from the same particular shop I have been visting for the past few weeks ever since I make my first step entering that shop.
So I bought and had a total of 8 bags including the sling bag I bought today, all waiting for me to bring back to Singapore.
I know I was somehow overly nuts about bags.
I suppose I have to save and spend wisely when I return to Singapore, no more of converting of the currency and making comparison of the prices.
I have to bear all this mind or I will suffer my mum's nagging after all.

We headed back to the noodle house our hostel to have our lunch as we want to eat something cheap and simple.
So the noodle soup is our ultimate choice in spite of everything.
Furthermore, we spent all our money at Hualuoli Plaza , with only a few dollars in our pockets.
After lunch , we went back to our hostel to rest for about 1 hour.
Together with XiuJin and Bernice, we went to NiuXiang Square- the Carrefour shopping mall depsite the drizzling.
We make use of the few hours we had to buy all the gifts and touring the shopping mall for the last time.
The places we went today will mark our last trip as we are heading back to Singapore on 14th April.
Time just flies like a shooting star.
Meet up with the rest at Houcaller for dinner.
The same western restuarant we had been hitting was never fails to give us fun and laughters.
The experinces we had our dinner at this resturant were always extraordinary, even though with the same group of friends and ordering the same set meal.
We had a heaps of joys at this resturant.

My lunch

Dinner at Houcaller

THE END

THE DAY

2009-04-11T04:41:00.000-07:00

Day 39 : SiMenKou and Hankou

Together with Mr Wee, we make our way to the China Bank located behind our school in the morning.
Everyone was as a poor as a church mouse after splurging so much for the past 38 days.
We glowed with delight as Mr Wee distributed money to us after he withdraw from the atm machine.
The feeling of becoming loaded once again was great!
We had our breakfast at Macdonald and I think it will be the last time we had before heading back to Singapore.
After breakfast, I went to the one of the salons next to the Macdonald to get my hair trimed as my fringe was blocking my views and irritate my eyes.
I have been wanting to cut my hair since last week but something just bothered and worried me. Thus, I was hesitant to move my first step and entering the hair salon.
Furthermore, I have phobia of having haircut due to the unpleasant experienced I encountered in Singapore.
The little hero in me stood out and guide me to the hair salon with Xiu Jin.
I spent a couple of 20 minutes resting and having my hair washed at the second storey.
I have no idea why it took such a long time but I only found that the local hairdresser was extremely gentle and patience.
I immediatey had my hair cut before my hair was dry .
Of course! I was stunned and had urge of crying.
The hairdresser didn't even comb my hair neatly before he start cutting and trimming.
Without wearing my glasses, I closed both my eyes tight yet with fears throughout.
Trains of thoughts were running in my mind at that moment.
I was waiting impatiently for my haircut to be done.
My haircut turn out to be acceptable in the end.
At least, I left the hair salon with a light heart.

We took a cab back to our hostel as we were rushing for time.
Headed to SiMenKou and Hankou for the one last time for shopping, despite the rain.
We went to fill up our stomach with food right after we reached.
I tried the cold egg tart today and I simply fall in love with it.
Furthermore, the cold egg tart was something new to me.
Hit all the shops along the street after our lunch.
For the next few hours, we didn't slow down our paces and barely rest our legs.
Right in our mind was the consistent thought of thinking to make full of the time to shop.
The 50% sales over at basement of Metersbown pull our attention and delay the time we had our dinner.
The crazy sales flaunt our Singaporean behaviour I guessed.
We grabbed and bought the shirts at a steal price.
Headed to dicos resturant for dinner before we returned to our hostel.

THE END

THE DAY

2009-04-10T00:14:00.000-07:00

Day 38 : Triple joy!

I was in high spirits early in the morning right after I get off from my bed.
Perhaps, the day I have been looking forward has knocked my door.
Yes ! I have turned a year older and wiser.
I was even feeling delighted when Mr Wee informed us that we will be having our last field trip today.
At least, I can spend my birthday learning and gaining more knowledge.
But I know down deep in my heart, I was just trying to console myself in a more positive manner.
So, as what Mr Wee have told us before hand, we are spending the whole day out visting three places in one shot.

Our first destination was the Yellow Crane Tower ,黄鹤楼.
It is a famous and historic tower, that stands on Sheshan (Snake Hill), at the bank of Yangtze River in the WuChang district of the city of Wuhan.
I was astonished by the history left behind as our tour guide elaborate to us.
On top of it, I also get to intermingle and understand the two poems written by Cui Hao and Li Bai respectively.

The poem written by Cui Hao:

昔人已乘黄鹤去，此地空余黄鹤楼。
黄鹤一去不复返，白云千载空悠悠。
晴川历历汉阳树，芳草萋萋鹦鹉洲。
日暮乡关何处是? 烟波江上使人愁。

The poems written by Li Bai:
故人西辞黄鹤楼, 烟花三月下扬州。
孤帆远影碧空尽，唯见长江天际流

Due to this two poems, the Yellow Crane Tower became famous till now.
I also get to see the transformation of the Yellow Crane Tower from the oldest days till now as the models of the buildings were displayed in the tower.
Adding on, I get to obtain a fine view of the Yangtze River from the top of the tower.
Once again, the panorama was spectacular!

The entrance

Yellow Crane Tower , 黄鹤楼

The crane vase

The transformation of the Yellow Crane Tower

I didn't know we have to pay two yuan if we want to use the lift till I see this sign.
This is my first time reading and seeing this kind of sign.

The view from the top of the Yellow Crane Tower.

Mr Wee and I.

The Happy Birthday Words they formed for me !

Another round of forming the word :)

Went to tour around the street after we got down from the Yellow Crane Tower.
The street was filled with shops selling the local souvenirs as well video recording the past history of Mao Zedong.
Along the way back after having a quick glance of all the shops, a street magician caught our attention and performed his magic tricks to us.
Definitely, all our eyes were set on him .
We stood like a statues on the ground , paying full attention to him.
Magic tricks just turn us into a kid who was waiting anxiously for a caterpillar to turn into a butterfly!

Street magician on the go!

We went to the near-by Food Court to have our lunch.
Both Xiujin and I ordered the fried noodles from the same stalls.

From what I have observed, the locals also like to tag along the crowd and order food from stall with having long queue.

Initially, I merely think that only Singporeans behave in this way.

Eventually, the locals also behave like us.

The entrance of the food court

Inside of the Food Court

The noodles stall

Fried noodle

Our next destination was 汉阳江滩 - 大禹神话园.

A beautiful place which carry Da Yu legend.

It is also ranked as the best spot for the local couple to take their wedding photo.

We saw some couples there when we were there exploring the area.

legend left behind

Nine Pods

Catch a sight of the couple taking photo

Finally, our last stop was Zoo.

I was totally feeling extremely poignant upon after making a tour around the zoo.

I was upset by the condition of the place where the animals lived and stayed.

The animals kept in the Zoo were less active and lively I found it.

Most of the animals we saw were either sleeping or looking restless in their cage.

Now I understand that the animals kept in Singapore Zoological Gardens were fortunate at least they were given freedom and well-fed.

I was digusted by the poorly maintained facilities in the Zoo.

It was heartbreaking to see the animals living in such condition.

We went for the animal show too.

The performance done by the sea lion was nice!

But the next performance done by the lion, bear as well as the monkey turned me off.

It was another scene of making me felt distressing and disgusted.

I completely don't enjoy the show at all.

It was only torture and suffering brought to the animals.

I was pissed off by how the animals were being treated.

The fact that it was cruel and horrendous!

The entrance of the Zoo

Monkey

Giraffe

Ostrich

Deer

Zebra

The beautiful peacock

The Panda- It was exceptionally adorable with all its action .

Another shot of it!

The poster of the panda !

The fierce animals were not ferocious at all !

I couldn't believe what I saw with my own eyes at first.

I didn't know lion and dog can get along well with each other.

From the news pasted on the cage, I was shocked to read and stared at the two creatures for like nearly 5 minutes before I start to capture them.

The animals show:

Headed to Chicony for dinner at the Japanese resturant there.

There were large variety of Japanese dishes in the menu, with afforable and reasonable prices.

The atmosphere of the resturant was superb, followed by good services.

Filled our stomach full with all the delicious foods.

We were as happy as a child after all.

Went back to our hostel after dinner.

Unexpectedly, our neighbour next door was crowded with people.

Everyone came to my neighbour's apartment and gathered.

It was sort of a bonding session and exchanging music backgrounds .

TeeYong and Kuan Wee were both playing on the drum and electronic guitar respectively.

The atmosphere for the night was high and everyone let down their hair.

I didn't expect them to buy me a birthday cake and sing me a birthday song.

Of course, I was touched and it will be an unforgettable birthday celebration for me.

It will adds on to my memories.

Furthermore, it was first time celebrating my birthday overseas with a group of friends.

I also felt elated that my whole family sang me a birthday song over at the phone in the morning when I was at 黄鹤楼. It was so sweet and the best gift I ever received.

Thanks for all the gifts and wishes!

As well as the dinner the CEE guys treat me tonight.

I appreciated it form the bottom of my heart.

Once again, Happy Birthday to me !

THE END

THE DAY

2009-04-09T05:57:00.000-07:00

Day 37

Stayed awake the whole night to finish my IS assignment till wee hours.
I was all alone in the living room staring at my laptop screen the whole night doing research as well as gathering all the details to form my report.
The feeling of having to see my room mates all sleeping soundly on their bed as well as everyone appearing offline over at msn chat was extremely awful.
I was on the verge of breaking down in the middle of the night.
Saddness and tears was filled in my eyes, perhaps both of my eyes were too dry and tired.
Out of sudden, I missed home too.
The sudden change of my mood cannot be explained I guessed.
I know I have no one to blame but myself.
Stay awake the whole night just to burn midnight oil to complete the assignment at the very last minute.
It was totally not me I supposed.
As the clock ticks every seconds, the sun rose and took over the moon.
By the time I completed, it was already 6.40a.m in the morning.
I crawled to the queen sized bed I shared with Lizhen, feeling exhausted.
Slept barely enough, I was woke up by Yankhee as she told me I was meeting Bernice and Jian Wen for hair cut.
Dragged myself out of bed and met them.
I was told that they had postponed the trip to weekend and I dragged myself back to my apartment.
I slept all the way and skip my lunch.

Headed to cultural street with Lizhen, Yankhee and Baohui as Lizhen want to collect her perfume in the late afternoon.
Went to MaoZheDong resturant for dinner at last.
I have been looking forward to see how the resturant was like as I did study the history of him ruling China during my secondary days.
But I was a bit disappointed to see the used plates laying along the stairs on our way up.
The dishes we ordered was simple and average.
I was turn off by the thick layers of fats in between of the meat as I didn't dare to have a bite of it.

Mao Zhe Dong 's restuarant

Our dinner

I was feeling extremely high as the clock striked tweleve.

All my friends in Singapore was counting down with me.

But out of sudden , everyone appeared offline.

It was a surprise they plan for me !

And my classmate Benedict was the first to wrote me a birthday song over at msn chat, followed all the video calls.

I sincerely appreciated all the birthday wishes and songs.

Not forgetting, my two room mates getting high with me! Awesome!

My Wuhan tripmates too :)

We are crazy for once !

THE END

THE DAY

2009-04-08T05:04:00.000-07:00

Day 36: Back to Chicony

It was a simple day today, nothing much happen.
Everyone was feeling exhausted after we returned from Wu Dang Shan trip.
So I stayed at home resting both legs as well as doing laundry.
The piles of clothes I threw into washing machine was as high as the moutain.
At least the sun was out there for me, scorching high up in the sky.
Went back to Cultural street again to buy another few bottles of perfumes and along with some gifts.
Headed to Chicony for dinner in the later part of our day.
We make a trip back to the tea shop which sell all the local food.
I seriously hate going back to the shop as I will always end up with few bags of stuff from that shop.
Shopping kills me.
Money just spent freely and without much thinking.
I can think of how my mum going to nag me once I'm back in Singapore.

Had the same dish for dinner I had previously, with additional one egg!
I didn't add the egg, just that the lady at the counter don't understand what xiujin want.
Too much protein in one meal.

Hot chocolate milk tea.

THE END

THE DAY

2009-04-07T05:53:00.000-07:00

Day 35:Wu Dang Shan( 武当山) trip Day 3

We had a light breakfast at one of the near-by hotel before heading to 隆中 where Zhuge liang (諸葛亮) stayed for ten years.
As far as I understood, 隆中 is previously known as LongZhong Commandery where Zhuge liang resided with his two brothers in a simple life.
They did farming in the day and studying in the night.
Unexpectedly, the first thing we catch sight of was Zhuge liang 's garden after we entered shortly.
I was shocked and didn't expect Zhuge liang being an eminent man well-known of his intelligence and wisdom to enjoy gardening.
We just couldn't judge a person by his appearance.

Milk, egg, a big bao and dumpling for breakfast.

隆中

Zhuge liang's garden

Flowers found in his garden.

Exploring and walking past the ancients structures, I became more wise.

The enriching history left behind by Zhuge liang, I get to absorb along the way.

It was more than what I expected to gain and understand.

A lesson of understanding Zhuge liang better and deeper.

Not forgetting the Romance of the Three Kingdoms too.

The bronze statue of Zhuge Liang which was built and donated by his desendants.

The drum

Frame of history hanging on the wall along the walkway.

Frame of wooden crave work showing the wife of Zhuge liang.

The Well.

It was built for Zhuge liang to sing and let his hair down as he loved to sing.

Tomb of XiangYang.

Basically, Xiang Yang was jealous of Zhuge liang. Hence, he built a tomb next to Zhuge liang's house, where the feng sui was considered good.

Xiang Yang was thinking of having himself to lay to rest there once he pass away , desiring that the good feng sui will subsequently bring countless of good luck and prosper his next generations to inherit his title.

Next, the seven hundreds of stairs were situated right in front of our eyes waiting for us to conquer.

Seeing the flight of stairs with my own eyes, my heart was at my mouth.

It was the first time in my entire life that I saw so many stairs.

I was totally lost of words at that moment.

The endless steps of getting up as well as the mixed feeling being presented .

Along the way, we motivate and cheered each other to continue.

Even though I felt that my steps were getting heavier and heavier as I continue climbing.

I did struggled but climbed with determination after all.

The feeling of having to complete and making my way up to the peak was way that great!

I was extremely delighted and definitely proud of myself.

The breathtaking scenery from the peak chase away all my tireness.

It was worth it after all .

Make my way down with teeyong while the rest went to take the luge.

Climbing down was much so easier I found it.

Along our way.

Climbing up the seven hundred of stairs

I finally reached!

The four of us :)

We make it to the peak !

Tour around 諸葛亮's house and I was delighted by what I saw.

All the ancient pot, bed and even the long table were as old as creation.

The ancient wooden door

The hut house

Just for fun and laughters.

They were more than what you see.

From the statuettes, I get to learn and understood the history behind them.

As far as everyone concerned, Zhuge liang was only assented to serve Liu Bei when Liu Bei paid three visits to Zhuge Liang to invite him into becoming his key advisor on the recommendation of Sima Hui and Xu Shu.

Eventually, Zhuge liang was moved by Liu Bei’s sincerity, virtue and morality.

When Liu Bei was being pursued by Cao Cao, Zhuge liang devised a plan to withstand Cao Cao. He also personally traveled to Wu and formed an alliance with Sun Quan, through mediation of Lu Su, and fought together with them against Cao Cao .

During this period, Zhuge Liang advised Liu Bei to conquer as much territory in the southland as possible .

In this way, Liu Bei had a shelter from which he could build up further campaigns.

From there, it also brought me to understand Zhuge liang 's Southern Campaign as well as the Northern Expeditions.

Our tour guide was explaining to us why Empress Dowager Cixi stamp at the top, instead at the bottom as Empress Dowager wholeheartedly wanted to be on top of everyone.

The local kids having their field trip there too.

The tour brought me closer to Zhuge liang and I start to admire him now.

I'm serious, after understanding so much of his history.

A brief history of him to share:

Zhuge Liang , 諸葛亮 was chancellor during the Three Kingdoms period of China.

He is often recognised as the greatest and most accomplished strategist of his era.

Adding on, he was not only an important military strategist and statesman but he was also an accomplished scholar and inventor.

He was believed to be the inventor of the landmine and a mysterious, efficient automatic transportation device (initially used for grain).

It was described as a "wooden ox and floating horse" (木牛流馬), which is sometimes identified with the wheelbarrow.

Zhuge Liang , 諸葛亮 was more than a hero I found it!

Had our lunch before we set off journey back to our hostel.

Our lunch.

The day didn't end after I returned back to my apartment at night.

Over at my block, everyone was busy getting ready to surprise Jinrong as it was his birthday today.

As the clock striked, everyone make their way waiting at his doorstep.

It was rather thrilling I found it.

We ran up and down the block as Jinrong chase after us with the cream, along some screaming.

To our dismay, we were playing too wild that neighbours screamed at us.

It was a madness night of fun and laughters.

Birthday cake for Jinrong.

Busy doing preparation.

Right at the doorstep, geeting ready to surprise Jinrong

The birthday surprise yet to end after blowing the cake, another round of surprise waiting for him.

All the mess in their apartment.

Cream was spotted everywhere in the room.

THE END

THE DAY

2009-04-06T17:19:00.000-07:00

Day 34:Wu Dang Shan( 武当山) trip Day 2

Drag myself out of the bed early in the morning to get ready for breakfast and did some packing as we merely stayed in WuDang ZhongYin holiday hotel for one night.
Everything seems to irritate me and get out of my way on that morning.
First of all, my toilet was stuck and I had to go all the way down to the front desk to inform them at 5.40 a.m alone as I have tried to ring them but fail to contact them.
It was so early that the whole corridor was empty and even the staffs working over at the front desk were still sleeping.
Feeling helpless and desperately need for help, I approached and woke one of the staffs up.
In the end, I was told to return to my room and the only solution was to borrow the toilet from my next door.
I was indeed boiling with anger but I couldn’t do anything, just drag myself back to my room with a heavy heart.
I will just share and stop my unhappy experience here, not to dampen my mood further.
After our breakfast, we set off our journey to Wu Dang.

The entrance of the Wu Dang.

Right at the entrance of Wu Dang, we spent and wasted our time waiting like the running water flowing from the tap turn on by a child.
We had to keep on waiting and waiting for our turn to board the bus up to the hill.
From what I understood, our tickets were put on hold due to some errors.
We spent our time exploring the place, reading the board located at the entrance as well Mr. Wee helping us to read our palm.
I was horrified by the way they translated the language on the board, they even use the term, slack season.
To be appropriate and easily understood by the public, it should be known as off-peak season in my point of view.
I was astonished to discover that there were mobile chargers available for the public to charge their mobile phones.
Out of curiosity, Bernice and I gave it a try as our phones were running low.

The buses that drove us to the hill.

The slack season on the board I refering to.

The mobile chargers cater to all mobile phones regardless of brands and models

The road up to the hill was exhilarating with all the breathtaking scenery.
I was surprised how narrow the road was along our way up to the hill, especially the skills the bus drivers possessed.
At last we reached the hill but we spent another round of waiting and queuing before we were able to board the cable to Wu Dang Shan.
It was overcrowded and packed like sardines which we hardly can breathe due to the fact that it was a public holiday.
I really couldn’t tolerate the way the locals shoving here and there as well as cutting queue.
We board the cable ride after much efforts and enduring at last.
Not to mention, I was extremely worried upon hopping on to the cable car along with some screaming to unwind myself.
Not surprisingly, I enjoyed the trip way up to the mountain and snapping non-stop with my camera.

The scenery on our way up to the hill.

On our way walking to the cable car

Overcrowded ! The queue seem to be endless!

Cable car ride

Xiu Jin and I board the same cable car .

I catch the sight of this man making his way up to the moutain from my seat in the cable car.

Yes! We have to climb and make use of our legs again after we get off from the cable car.
Back from the toilet trip, I almost faint and throw out everything from my stomach.
To my dismay, the toilet was horrible and soiled.
I was distressing to comment that it was the worst toilet I have ever gone
The steep and uneven hundred flights of stairs nearly drove me off but I listened to Mr. Wee and continue with determination.
Along our way, I saw one whole string of locks being tied to the railing.
Once again, the beautiful vista and landscape make all the sweating and nervous valued.
I have also observed that the locals were devoted to their deity as they had to board a bus, took the cable ride and followed by climbing the flight of stairs before they were able to pray and make offer to their deity.
Adding on, I also saw most of the local carried plenty of stuffs on their hands yet they were climbed all the way up without complaining.
Now I finally experienced, witnessed and understood the importance of showing sincerity, perhaps no one knows but only God.
We walked around exploring, listening to our tour guide explaining as well as looking at the exquisite view from the top of the mountain.
No words can describe how superb it was and also my feelings.

Unfortunately, I didn’t catch any sight of the Taoists mastering their skills over there.

We finally reached !

The chains of locks

At the hill

The flight of stairs

The locals burning and offering to deity

We went to this good luck hall to get rid of our bad luck by walking one around in the room of total darkness.

Xiu Jin and I again :)

Yan khee and I

Walking down...

Took the cable car with Bernice back and both of us had a nice chat accompanied by the awesome views .

Bernice and I

Li zhen and I

Xiu Jin and I

Had our lunch immediately after we got down from the cable car.

We were busy eating as well as making away the flies at the same time.

It was extremely annoying to see the flies flying right in front of your eye.

Two of the flies even die in our soup, way so disgusting.

We were bought to this tea house after lunch, I was fascinated by the tea they selling there but I didn't bought in the end.

I found it way expensive.

This lady was playing the 'Pi Pa', one of the chinese musical instruments.

The tea plantation

We went to Prince temple, 大子玻 before the day has came to the end.

Stalls along the walkway.

Construction going on .

Exhibition hall

五云楼

一住十二梁

All of us rushed down and board the last shutter bus back.

Inside the shutter bus

The emergency exit door was located at the top of bus, which I was amazed by it.

Heaps of bottles found at the back of the seats in the bus.

We had our dinner immediately after we reached our hotel, barely four hour from the time we had our lunch.
For dinner, the dishes on the table were hardly touched as everyone was extremely full and due to the fact that our lunch had also yet to be digested in our stomach.
So we checked into City Hotel to sleep over.
Once again, we were much pleased and elated by the hotel we going to stay for that night.
The room we checked in even provided us a desktop, far way better than the previous hotel we stayed.
Their room service was excellent too; they delivered the hairdryer I requested without much delay.
The staffs were much efficient than what I expected.

Our dinner

The corridoor

Our room

The bathroom

The transparent toliet in our room.

A tiring day of gaining so much about China history along with all the breathtaking scenery I have captured.

THE END

THE DAY

2009-04-05T23:58:00.000-07:00

Day 33: Wu Dang Shan( 武当山 ) trip Day 1

Board the bus and set off at around 1p.m, after checking through and reminding each other of what to bring for this 3 days tour.
I end up carrying the biggest and heaviest bag among all, I seriously have no idea what I have packed into my bag.
I only can admit that I bring three bottles of water along and some snacks to munch during the journey.
So together with Lizhen and Yankhee, we did our last minute preparing and checking.
Had mushroom with rice for lunch.
The bus journey to Wu Dan Shan was long and tiring which took us about seven hours.
I slept throughout the journey if I not wrong.
So by the time we reached, the sun has went home and the moon took over.
We immediately had our dinner near our hotel after we alighted.
Once after dinner, we booked into this hotel known as WuDang ZhongYin holiday .
I shared the room with XiuJin for that night.
The room was awesome, I was prepared for the worst as Mr Wee told us not to have any high hope of staying in a good hotel during this tour.
So I was shocked by the good condition of the room as the room was fully equipped with all the essential stuffs like comb and toothbrush!
Of course ! XiuJin and I was getting high over the place we staying for the night.
Awesome !

At the front desk in the hotel

Our room

stuff at the desk

batheroom

Table and chair in our room

We snapping non-stop!

Stairs

Ash tray found along the corridoor.

The hotel allowed their guest to smoke, which was prohibited in Singapore.

Even their extinguisher was found at the floor!

Exit

After we have booked in, we walked and toured around the place outside of the hotel.

It was nothing much for us to explore as most of the shops around that area were closed.

It was all beautiful scenery for that night, along with laughters.

Night scenery , vehicles moving past with loud engine being heard.

Bernice and I with the lamp pole :)

THE END

THE DAY

2009-04-04T17:14:00.000-07:00

Day 32 :
Chicony, 群光广场

Set off to Chicony shopping centre after our mass conversation over at msn chat in the afternoon.
We finally leave our footprints there!
I have been wanting to go Chicony shopping centre as Mr Wee has been praising and commenting how good Chicony was!
Adding on, Li zhen has also shared about her trip to Chicony with Jackboon and the rest on the previous night.
I was feeling rather excited and high, although it was pouring heavily.
My first impression of Chicony Shopping Centre was like another Takashimaya in Singapore.
Chicony Shopping Centre was significantly considered very grand and clean , as compared to the rest of the Shopping Malls in China we had went .
As it was raining outside, they even provide a service that help us to put the umbrella in a clean plastic carrier right at the doorstep of the department store.
Their service was awesome!
Went down to the basement for our lunch over at the food-court.
I was suprised by how clean the foodcourt was, sparkling clean and shine !
We had to purchase a value card to buy our food, much similar like what we did in Singapore.
Perhaps, it was convenient and more hygenic without having to handle cash.
I had egg with prawn and rice for lunch.
Everyone was enjoying their lunch, considered as a better meal since we reached China.

My lunch

Capture other food too.

The food court!

The use of the foodcourt card and the receipt

After lunch , we went to shop around the shopping mall.

We went to this particular shop which sell tea as well as all the local food.

I spent nearly one hundred yuans there, buying Tuocha cake, steamed green tea rice cake, Tenfu green tea guifei cake and more to give as gifts.

Of course ! I did felt the pain and my pocket burning a hole.

It went same to the rest of the girls.

The shop we went to.

Spotted Breaktalk in Chicony!

I didn't know Breadtalk even has a franchise in China!

Yes, they did sell the same bread they sold in Singapore and even the attires of the staff was same.
Bought some bread back to hostel from Breadtalk for tomorrow breakfast.

They even provide seat at one corner in the Breadtalk shop, which we don't see it in Singapore.

Went to Cultural street before heading back to hostel.

We had dinner before combing the whole area.

But, the food we had for dinner was totally not edible.

It was my first time in my life that I don't know what I ate, it was totally don't looks like what I had ordered.

The ingredients they used was strange too.

Furthermore, the drinks we ordered was extremely diluted even though it was cheap.

In front of the Cultural Street.

Shops along the Cultural Street

The shop where we had our dinner.

The rice I had for dinner

My drink- honeydew but it totally don't taste like it.

Our shopping bag for the day !

Quote of the day:

Every moment is an experience.

by Jake Roberts.

THE END

THE DAY

2009-04-03T17:12:00.000-07:00

Day 31:

Headed to school for Project Management lesson as usual, just that today will be the last lesson Mr Wee will be conducting in the classroom.
So today, it will be the last time we will climbing the stairs and using the classroom as well.
Times really flies fast, everything seem to happen just yesterday.
I remembered we were not used to climbing the stairs when we first arrived.
Climbing the stairs all the way up to seven storey seem to be impossible for us in the beginning, every step was full of nagging and regretting.
But, climbing up to seven storey today became part of our daily exercise and we were used to it eventually.
For me, I hardly use the stairs to access floor from floor back in Ngee Ann.
Normally, I will just stretch my hand and wait for the lift.
In China, lifts are hardly spot and are rare.
We had no choice but just to climb everywhere we went.
Adding on , it was also my first time experiencing having a heater in the classroom as well as using the school toliet with no door.
Having someone behind or even in front of you doing business without having any door was extremely unpleasant to me at first.
I couldn't deny that I was reluctant to use the toliet having much hesitate.
But I just have to use it after all.
Mr Wee covered the remaining two topics to complete his lessons in China.
So we left with one test and project to complete this module after we are back in Singapore.

For lunch, we filled our stomach outside the school along the street .
We had noodles, munching and eating some finger foods on our way back to hostel.
Cheers for tomato sauce!
I almost have forgotten how chilli sauce taste like!

Their local sushi with tomato sauce, taste pretty alright!

Fried potato chips with tomato sauce!

Quote of the day:

Any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts.
by Arnold Bennett

THE END

THE DAY

2009-04-02T17:02:00.000-07:00

Day 30 :
Last lesson with the local lecturer Mr. Andy

Woke up early in the morning as usual to attend the last IS lesson taught by Mr Andy, even though the weather was less than 10 dregrees.

Back to wearing thick and heavy layers of clothing, leaving our apartment reluctantly.

Basically, I get to understand the theory of Guanxi networks in China.

Guanxi translated in English refers to relationships which was essential when doing business in China.

It is known as a personal connection between two people in which one is able to prevail upon .

On top of that, Guanxi is also due to the ever-changing political and business environment in China.

To the Westerners, relationships help the individual.

To the Chinese, they also define the the individual.

I also get to understand both the Chinese and the Westerner views of Guanxi.

Basically, Guanxi is not corruption as it is relation-focused, whereas corruption is transaction-focused.

To conclude, Guanxi apparently cannot be brought.

From my understanding, Guanxi is part of a business strategy as well as like an asset which must be managed to prevent it from becoming liability.

There were also 4 keys points of building and managing : Strategic design, building network, maintaining as well as managing Guanxi.

During Mr.Andy's lesson

Our group photo with Mr Andy

Headed back to hostel to rest in between the break , before heading back for afternoon lessons.

Afternoon lesson was conducted by another local unfamilar lecturer, her surname was Wang.

She gave us a brief introduction of China's history as well the structure of the China government.

I have a deeper understanding of them now, which we hardly can gained from books like getting to know that the Chinese will worship the Yin Di and Huang Di.

Turtle shell refers to crack bone in China and all the cultural thoughts.

I also get to understand the four great invention of China- black printing, compass, gun powder as well as the art of paper making.

Furthermore, I also get to know about the revolution of 1911- the overthrew of feudal monarchy of more than 2000 years.

Went to NiuXiang Square- Carrefour there after our lessons.

We went back to Orchard Road for dinner, I had curry chicken cutlet for dinner as usual!

We rushed back to our apartments after our dinner and grabing all the stuffs we need, before the guys head home.
We followed and did according to our plan as we planed to surprise the two birthday boys.

Everything was very rushed, we even rehearse to get ready and station ourselves.

Lizhen , Yankhee as well as me were hiding in their toliet, we were extremely scared and worried of the leech to be appeared in front of us.

Adding on, it was total darkness in the toliet and the three of us were trying very hard to endure it.

Their birthday cake in the fridge.

The birthday boys

Lizhen hiding herself, so funny :)

Our group photo

Playing games all the way till the clock striked twelve, marked till end of the birthday celebration.

Fun day after all :)

THE END

THE DAY

2009-04-01T16:28:00.000-07:00

Day 29:

Happy April Fool's Day :X

No IS lesson today as we went to the local condominium estate for site visit.
It was located somewhere near our hostel with just a 15 minutes bus ride to reach there.
Together with a local lecturer and some of the locals in charge of the condominium project, they brought us to tour around the new estate.
From what I have observed, the design of the condominium was much similar to the design of the condominium found in Singapore.
The common facilities were underground carpark, playground and garden.
Unlike in Singapore, they have a community room for playing chess.
I didn't get to see any swimming pool, barbeque pit and tennis court in the estate, unlike it was common to be found in all the condominium in Singapore.

Along the way, the in-charge did the explainations to Mr Wee and followed by Mr Wee translating them to us in English to help us understand better.
I get to see how the buildings in China was built and the building techniques they applied in their construction.
I was shocked to see that how their balcony was built, totally different from Singapore.
The balcony was built every 2 storey, making it more spacious.
Adding on, we got to tour around the carpark and followed by visiting one of the units in the apartment.
Their basement carkpark was built in a way similar to Singapore basement carkpark, the only different is that their sprinkler system and line is painted in sliver whereas Singapore sprinkler system is painted in red.
The colour of the exit signs used in China was also different, blue blackground with white letterings.
The lights in the carkpark was controlled and monitored by sensors, which greatly prevent the wastage of electricity, being eco-friendly.

Next, I was shocked to see how spacious their apartment was.
The unit we were bought to, had a total of 6 rooms which was more than what we have in Singapore.
Their ceiling height was also different from us, more than the standard height of 1.8m we strictly followed in Singapore.
I also discovered that their balcony was built in front of the door, before stepping into the house.
Of course, I was curious at first sight and went to understand that it was for the residents to unwind their stress after a long day of hard work.
Their size of windows was also different from us, more wider and bigger.
On top of that, the windows in the unit were all installed and surrounded by railings to prevent the children from falling down.
There was no civil defence shelter in the apartment, but just a small room for the owner to convert it into a storeroom or maid's room.
I did wondered where will they be hiding if any diaster or emergency strike but I didn't question it further.

The estate

The fire riser and the dry riser, Mr Wee explaining to us regarding the fire safety of the building.

The community room for the residents to play chess.

Grandparents gathering sessions

Their dustbins

Their local campagin to encourage the residents to take care of their environment.

The local balcony built differently from Singapore.

Pond

Basement carkpark

Sump pump

Inside of the basement carkpark

Ventilation system as well as the ducts over at the basement carkpark.

Parking lot- each resident has a fix and individual parking lot which I found it interesting as we don't see it in Singapore.

The signs used in China- blue background with white lettering or symbols.

I saw this lamp was at the verge of falling to the ground, extremely dangerous.

Firehydrant in sliver box, whereas Singapore was in red box.

Emergency phone located in the carkpark

This door was to stop the fire from spreading to another side of the carkpark in the event of any outbreak of the fire.

Another condominum in the same estate

The apartment we went to.

The gate at the entrance

Stairs for emergency exit.

Lifts

The corridor and the service room outside of the unit

RCCB located in the apartment

Hole for the heater and aircon duct

Inside of the unit !

Window with the railing

View from the apartment

The long bathroom window

Me and XiuJin

Miniature foutain outside of the apartment

Spotted tower crane.

The red metal underneath the car will push down once the vehicle is parked and it will lift up when parking lot is empty. It was to ensure the owner of the parking lot that others are not allowed to occupy his lot.

Something unique and way of reserving the parking lot.

Had lunch with Xiujin at the street opposite our hostels , while the rest went to Hualuoli Plaza to shop.

2009-03-31T08:54:00.000-07:00

Day 27

Had lesson in the morning conducted by Mr Wee as usual.
He covered topic 8 and 9 , site organisation and planning techniques respectively.
For topic 8 was much more easier to absorb and get into my brain as compared to topic 9.
I don't really fully understand topic 9 but I will try to read through before I look for Mr Wee I supposed.
Had lunch along the street outside of the school on our way walking down to Hualuoli Plaza
I had fried rice for lunch and it only taste ordinary.

The stall I ordered my fried rice

Fried rice- not appealing at all.

Hualuoli Plaza was a great place to shop for us as everything over there was far way cheaper than those selling in the shopping mall.
Accompanied Bernice they all to get their shirt they ordered last week.
They spent a pretty long time at the shop to change and looking for dresses, so long that I had to sit on the sofa in the shop to wait for them.
Xiujin and I also went around the shopping mall to look out for guys clothes while waiting for them.
I got a tee-shirt for my brother and a backpack for myself.
On the way back , I bought a kite at only 14 yuan with the string.
Getting excited over at the kite, we decided to play once we reached home.
The eight of us went to fly kite in the late evening.
From what I have observed , the style of flying kite here was different from the way we fly kite back in Singapore.
The local had to run along with the kite, making the kite to fly high in the sky.
Whereas in Singapore, We only have to run once to make the kite fly and the rest of the time we merely had control the string.
I was totally shocked when local demonstrated how they played and fly the kite.
Lizhen and I tried to fly the kite first.
Of course! It was very tiring and cold, especially running against the wind.
It was sort of failure.
We took turns to run along with the kite , followed what the local students told us.
It was fun overall, had a nice and unique experience of flying kite here.

The local student teaching us how to fly kite.

The field was rather crowded with students playing badminton and flying kite.

Me and XiuJin, with bernice at the back

The four of us .

with the guys

Running, trying hard to make the kite fly!

Our kite managed to fly high in the sky :)

The beautiful sunset

Had fried rice with mushroom for dinner at the street opposite our hostel.

All the girls went to Bernice's apartment after dinner to chit-chat as well as to kill time.

Life over here is much more relaxed and I enjoyed this type of life to the max.

The guys bought back two boxes of egg tart back from Hankou as TeckChong went there to meet his parents.

The egg tart was way so delicious that you feel like giving it a second bite once you bit it.

Delicious! Yummy!

Day 28

We had no lesson but field trip again!

I enjoyed all the field trip so far, seeing and learning things that we hardly can gain from the book.

Exploring, sightseeing, snapping photos were the best out of the field trip! Don't you agree?

We went to the ChangChun Taosim Temple first, a taoist temple in Wuhan.

The place was serene and surrounded with beautiful building .

It was designed in a way that was suitable for the taoist to mediate.

The taoist strongly believe in meditation to accomplish immortality as well as finding all kind of ways to develop the immortality pills.

But is it logical and sensible in this world?

Not only I get to tour around the temple and also understand their history better with Mdm Edith explaining to us as we toured all the area.

It was awesome!

The view of the taoist temple

Sort of wishing pond

The beautiful buildings

The local way of transporting the flowers pots manually

Peach Blossom flower

The rose

XiuJin and I

Flower petals floating on the water surface

The well

We had taken some fun shots too, posting with the alphabet letters.

Our group photo!

After the taoist temple, we visited Memorial of Wuchang Uprising 1911 Revolution,辛刻革命武昌起义纪念馆.

Another lesson of China history learnt on the second part of the field trip of the day.

Basically , the whole museum educated us about the past revolution.

I learnt about the history of Sun Yat Sen and his companies.

Adding on, I get to know that the uprising also marked the beginning of the Revolution of 1911, which inturn led to the overthrow of China's last feudal dynasty, the Qing.

History was always so enriching and impactful.

Saw this old man flying and releasing kite, one at each time at the entrance of the museum.

The string of kites were so long and never endless.

His skills of flying kite was remarkable!

The entrance

Our tour guide

Conference room

It was awesome, especially the lamps!

Janitor' room

Department of foreign affairs

Stationery on the table

Photos found hanging on the wall

More department room found along our way:

Discovered more:

I will let the pictures do the work as pictures tell a thousand of words.

Eight of us !

Headed to NiuXiang Square for entertainment after the field trip- KTV.

The KTV located in the shopping mall was way so grand and gorgeous as compared to Singapore.

I nearly thought we entered wrongly.

The whole place so huge that the room number can be up to 999.

It was extremely spacious and fantastic!

The room we are assigned to , was way so better than what I expected.

The sound system, the seat, the bar top counter as well as the electronic menu.

Yes! We were high and had fun during the singing session.

I bet we will be back as it merely costs less than 1o yuan per person.

Seats available at the entrance

The electronic menu and controller

Had dinner at Houcaller, a western resturant.

I ordered the menu set of chicken with spaghetti along with an egg.

The taste of the food was still acceptable , but I just don't like their soup.

The cold pudding drink was still alright.

We encountered some interesting incidents in this resturant, which couldn't make us stop laughing.

One of our friends, Kiafu had encountered his steak being overcooked and he approached the manager.

The manager was explaining all the unnecessary details to him like telling him that all the meats was different, so resulted that piece of meat being overcooked.

I found it extremely ridiculous.

Fortunately, the manager change the same size of meat for him but they removed the half-finished spaghetti as well as egg.

All of us just could not stop laughing and making comment of it.

As for Alicia and Jian Wen, their hot pudding drinks were totally liquid and orange juices were served instead at first.

We nearly vomited our blood out.

The resturant still need to be improved, my personal comment.

My dinner

Soup and garlic bread

Pudding drink

Quote for the day:

It is always easier to believe than to deny. Our minds are naturally affirmative.

By John Burroughs

THE END

THE DAY

2009-03-29T09:27:00.000-07:00

Day 25 & 26: Consecutive two days of shopping!

For Day 25:
Together with the CEE guys, we headed to YaMao( 亚贸广场) in the late afternoon for shopping. It was our second time been there.
We split and went separate way after we reached.
The weather was cold but it didn't ruin our mood to continue shopping.
We walked and combed the whole street, about two to three bus stop away from the shopping mall.
Of course! All the girls end up with lots of shopping bags.
Went to the near-by foodcourt in the shopping mall and happened to bump onto the guys for dinner.
The local foodcourt was similar to our foodcourt in Singapore, refering to the environment.
They also make use of the card to make purchases like the Kopitiam card we have in Singapore
All the dishes displayed right in front of the stalls look delicious and interesting.
But it was not what I have expected after I have ordered and had a few mouthful of the rice.
The food tasted totally sucks, no words to describe.

The displayed dish

I had this for dinner.

Before heading home, we make a trip to the local bookstall located in the post office.
All of us were fascinated by the chinese novels displayed in the bookshelves.
Nevertheless, some of us bought a few copies of it.
I bought the biolography of FAHRENHEIT and local celebrity magazine.

The bookstall

Stuffs I bought for the day.

For Day 26:

Set off to SiMenKou in the morning.

Went back to Hu Bu Xiang to have our lunch before we went to shop.

I simply love the whole street as it filled with large variety of local finger foods, although it was jam-packed and the local were impatient to give way.

I had the local CheeXiongFan and some local snack for lunch.

I even try the strawberry coated with malt candy.

It was exceptionally nice and the strawberry was fresh.

I would try to have a second one if I wish I am as light as the feather.

Along the way walking down the street, few beggars were spoted and asking for money.

My heart sank down especially I saw a mother with her child sitting beside the rubbish bin , picking up the food from the bin and ate with their bare hands.

I could not believe what I see with my own eyes , the sight of it was way so heartbreaking.

I just think we are fortunate to eat and have what we want.

So it was time to reflect and stop wasting food, think of the poor surrounding us!

The local CheeXiongFan

Strawberry coated with malt candy

The poor beggars, beyond what you can imagine!

Went to shop along the street and all the shopping malls in that area after lunch.

The whole area was flooded with plenty of shops along the street.

We spent a few hours doing shopping and walking without resting in between.

Our eyes were busy looking high and low for stuffs.

Hands were not spare too, busy forking out money from the purse to make payment.

Everything was cheap to us as we love to convert all the prices in RMB to Sing dollars.

Perhaps , it was the best way to console ourselves!

The local Watsons, similar to Singapore's

The locals selling pineapples at the overhead bridge.

I noticed that the locals can sell anything at anywhere they go.

I'm not sure if they are against the rules.

Perhaps, it was too many for the local police to apprehend them.

Some promotion going in this shop selling ladies accessories.

The local cinema

We were engrossed by the local neoprints too at one of the shopping malls.

There were ample of designs and background for us to choose.

It was way better than the machines we have in Singapore.

The designs was awesome!

They even have the celebrity and cartoon character as the background.

As a Wuzun fan, I didn't hesistate to try out!

Adding on, it was inexpensive too.

Depend on the size of the photo, it costs about 5-10 yuan.

The machine works differently as staff will key in the number after we have choosen the design from the given album.

We could also took ample times of shot, unlike in Singapore.

It was fun :)

The local machines

The album of the background

Had dinner before we head back to hostel.

The street was completely different at night.

It was much more vibrant than in the morning, the same old street we went.

The whole street was like our night market we have in Singapore.

There were stalls selling shirts, watches, soft toys and etc.

I bought two watches over there, 25 yuan each.

Everything along the street caught our eyes.

However due to the lack of time, we rushed and make our way back home as our hostel door will be locked at 11p.m.

I guess we will return the street before we return to Singapore.

Honeydew at 1.50 yuan!

The weighing machine on the street

Took a cab back to the hostel, the taxi driver was extremely friendly and outgoing.

But before that, we had a hard time finding a taxi driver who was able to drive us back to the correct destination.

I noticed that some of the local taxi driver only familiarised with their only area.

From here, I can call a halt that China is a huge country.

We had a fun chatting session with the taxi driver.

We taught the driver some simple english sentence like Hello and Thank You, which is essential for him.

He also told us that it will come in handy when he pick up foreigners.

After we alight, he even offer to let us to take photo with his taxi.

He is the best taxi driver I ever met since I arrived Wuhan!

Of course ! We seized this opportunity to take photo with the local taxi and be the driver for that precious moment.

His taxi

Me as the driver!

Ending this post with the neoprint shots.

THE END

THE DAY

2009-03-27T20:33:00.001-07:00

Day 22

Wake up early in the morning to do revision for the test.
I was feeling totally lost and worried as I couldn't really understand what I have been revising for the past few days.
The whole morning I was trying hard to recall and understand what I have learnt.
Reading and flipping the lecture notes was what I did.
Frankly speaking, I wanted to give up in the beginning.
I really couldn't concentrate here, very distractive.

Went over to the next apartment for lunch and join the guys for revision.
Kiafu went through some of the topics with us at Bernice's house and we managed to clarify our doubts!
Had some self-study and revision in the night before tuning in.

Day 23

Spent the whole morning to do last minute revision before heading to school for project management test.
Yes! My mind just went blank as the test paper was right in front of me.
I just couldn't explain why!
Perhaps I was stressed up!
The questions in the test paper were straightforward and easy to answer, but I just couldn't write the correct answer on the paper.
Just hope the next following test will be easy as well as the project.
On our way back to hostel, we got to see the some hens at the backyard.
The hens were tied up, instead of roaming freely around the backyard.
So I suspect the hens will be served on the table as the knife was placed right beside them.
Maybe I was wrong in guessing.

Went to Orchard Road at NiuXiang Square for dinner.
There were some promotion /offers going on, hence we give it a try.
The dishes were pretty close to what we have in Singapore.
They do sell Laska , LorMee and etc.
I tried the curry chicken cutlet rice and it tasted good!
I love the cabbage especially.

The Menu

Curry chicken cutlet rice

Day 24

Went over to the next apartment for movies in the morning as Bernice and the rest went to have breakfast over at MacDonald.
I didn't go along as I had to wait for the man to come over to our apartment to install something at our toliet.
The noise pollution was high especially drilling on the wall, not to mention our toliet was dirty.
Our toliet had to be kept clean and dry for 10 hours before we are able to use it.
We watched the haunted house movie together, it was way so insane to do that.
Headed to class at 2p.m , lesson was conducted by the local teacher Edith.
Her lesson was always so interesting and totally not bored at all .
She educated and taught us about Hubei during her lesson.
Basically Hubei is located at the central of China, surrounded with plenty of hills and lakes.
I can paint a beautiful image of Hubei in my mind as Mdm Edith explaining to us.
As far as I know, Hubei ajoins Henan Province on the north and Anhui province on the east.
There were about 59.878 million more people living in the east than west.
On top of it, there were also 570 species of terrestrial vertberates in Hubei, dozens of them have been listed as rare animals under state protection.
It included White deer and Chinese paddlefish.
I also get to know about the life expectancy of both the local Female and Male.
According to the powerpoint Mdm Edith showed to us, Female tend to live longer than the Male.
Yes! We did make some arguement regarding about this issue and Mr Wee joked that male die early as they couldn't stand their wife's nagging.
The joke of the day! Hahahaha.

Accompany Lizhen to go massage after lesson along with JianWen and Kiafu.
We took a cab there as the weather was cold.
I waited pretty long for them as one person took about 1 hour to finish.
It was pouring heavily outside by the time they were done.
We didn't go for dinner but were rushing back home as the weather was extremely cold.
I was shivering like mad and both of my legs went numb.
Return to hostel , the feeling was great especially the hot air blowing out from the heater.
Yankhee and the rest bought us MacDonald for dinner.
It was great to stay at home and having someone to deliver food right to your doorstep, especially cold weather like this.

MacDonald for dinner

My burger

Having dinner together.

Quote of the day:
Motivation is simple. You eliminate those who are not motivated
by Lou Holtz

THE END

THE DAY

2009-03-27T16:21:00.000-07:00

I'm back to posting!

I have not been updating the past few days as life over here was getting busier.
I will try to recall as much as possible to blog about my Day 21-24.
Nevertheless, it will be an elongated post.
But I will try to make it simple and sweet.
So I will start off my post blogging about Day 21.

Day 21:

No lesson today as we were heading to Hubei Provincial museum for a tour.
Hubei Provincial Museum is located in the Wuchang District of Wuhan, Hubei Province.
From what I know, it is the only provincial comprehensive museum in the province which collects, protects, and exhibits the cultural relics discovered in the province.
The pieces of the art display in the museum include the pottery, porcelains, jade, bronze vessels, ancient weapons, and ancient musical instruments.
I was astonished by the pieces of art work displayed right in front of my eyes.
Of course, the security in the museum was tight and we were only allowed to capture without using any camera flash.
This explains why some of the pictures I took were not clear.

Basically, the museum is divided into three parts: the Chime Bells Exhibition Hall, the Chu (a state in the Spring and Autumn Period (770BC-476BC)) Culture Exhibition Hall, and the Comprehensive Exhibition Building.
However, the Comprehensive Exhibition is still under construction .
Our first stop was the music hall after we reached.
All the musicians were wearing ancient clothes playing a replica of the Chime Bells.
Naturally, I was enchanted by the ancient beautiful music.

Over at the Exhibition Hall, I get to see many cultural relics that have been unearthed from the tomb of Yi (the king of the Zeng Sate in the Warring States Period (476 BC - 221 BC).
As well as the exquisite bronze vessel known as 'Crane Standing on the Antler', ancient halberds, triangle-shaped swords called Shu, and the bamboo slips that were used for writing on in ancient times.
The most famous treasure is the Chime Bells, which is the largest bronze musical instrument ever discovered.
There are about 3,000 ancient Chinese characters on the bells, describing the music and the owner of this instrument.

Over at the Chu Culture Exhibition Hall features the regional culture of the Chu State.
Most of the cultural relics displayed here are bronze vessels, lacquer works, bamboo and wooden artifacts, and silk knitted products.
I get to see the various ancient weapons of the Chu State such as the sword of Gou Jian (the king of the Yue State in the Spring and Autumn Period) and the shaft of Fu Chai (the king of the Wu State in the Spring and Autumn Period).
Pieces of chariots and horses of the Chu State were also displayed in this hall.
In addition to the unearthed cultural relics, there were some restored models of the houses in which Chu people lived are shown .
It give me a more direct impression of the ancient Chu people's lives.

Hubei Provincial Museum

The musicians over at the music hall performing for us

Along with some dance performance

The whole crew

The beautiful pieces of artwork:

Malachite, a type of stone

Bronze cup

Glit iron belt hook with gold and sliver inlay.

Vessels

Their oldest way of working/mining

Comb

Bronze axe

The big coffin found in the museum

Long -handled ladle

Bronze pot on single stand

Bronze dustpan

Bronze shifting shovel

A video showing in the exhibition hall of the history which I found it much more easier to understand with the explaination

The musical instruments

The utensils made of gold

Marvelous artworks:

Paper weight

Warriors

More on weapons:

Guns

Their protective outer layer vest.

Their stationery

I also get to see all the beautiful painting and calligraphy works in the exhibition hall

More antiques with fine lines and printed patterns were found in the exhibition hall :
It was fantastic !

Explaination on tombs and cemetery

Left the museum before it closed at 5p.m

While waiting for the bus to come, we played some games to kill our time.

The feeling playing on common pathway was great as we hardly can do that back in singapore.

The beautiful sunset !

Took it in the bus on our way back to hostel .

I'm more wiser as the days goes by

THE END

THE DAY

2009-03-23T20:33:00.001-07:00

Day 20 : Raining

It was back to cold weather.
I really don’t understand why the weather here changed dramatically.
The temperature just went up these few days and suddenly drop.
On my way to school, I discovered that the street was not as lively as before.
Yes! The weather was so cold that most of the street stalls didn’t operate as most of their stalls were built temporary.
So I can conclude that all the local street stalls work depends on the condition of the weather.
By right, there were no lesson today but Mr Wee wanted to go through our tutorials and doing revision with us.
At the entrance of the school, the wind was so strong that my umbrella couldn’t resist it.
My umbrella was out of shape in the end, badly damage.
Adding on, our shoes were wet and soak with water too.
Had tomato fried egg with rice for lunch, a very simple meal but it was extremely delicious!

Went back to NiuXiang Square for dinner and had second round of birthday celebration for Xiujin.
The 15 of us including Mr Wee went to Golden Hans for buffet.
The crowd was alright as compared to weekend.
Furthermore,Li zhen had make a reservation earlier in the afternoon.
There were no hesistate and waiting time for us to get our seat and table.
There were large variety of foods available but not as scrumptious as what we have back in Singapore.
To me, the foods were average but were worth the money as it merely cost 38 Yuan per person.
I love the honeydew ice-cream and the bacon too.
Although it was buffet but the staffs will also serve some of the meats to our table.
In between of our meal, we also played some finger games to finish our beer.
After drinking about 3 cups of beer, I realised that I have consumed my medication in the afternoon.
I nearly freaked out and worried that I will just die in the middle of the night.
My fear was gone when Mr Wee and the rest assured me that nothing will be happen.
Head back to hostel after our dinner.
It was an enjoyable night with fun and laughters.

Inside of the Golden Hans

Their buffet style

One of the beer we ordered

One of the staffs serving to us

Chicken wings.

Sushi

Salad

Our group photo

Lizhen sing with the local siting next to our table.

Me and XiuJin, the birthday girl!

The five of us !

My plate was completely clean .

THE END

THE DAY

2009-03-22T23:59:00.001-07:00

Day 19

I spent my whole afternoon, doing revision for the upcoming test on Thursday.
I must admit that it was hard to do serious revision here, especially I had very inconsiderate neighbours living beside us.
They were listening and blasting their music the whole day.
It was so loud that I could sense that whole floor was vibrating and shaking as if I was experiencing earthquake.
There were too many distractive here.
I am just worry that I couldn’t finish studying on time.
In my heart, I don’t want to repeat this module!
So the whole afternoon, I wrote my notes and at the same time bearing with the noise.

Took a break in the night!
Went out to buy a birthday cake together with Bernice, KiaFu and Jianwen as we planned to surprise Xiujin at her house when the clock strike 12 a.m.
Of course, it was hard to do the planning and leaving secretly without XiuJin finding out.
I was wearing shorts and tee-shirt with a jacket out to buy the cake.
Not to mention, the local just love to stare at our attire with a surprise look.
It was true that the local hardly wear shorts during this season.
For us, we were used to wearing shorts the whole year in Singapore due to hot weather.
The four of us were busy hunting for bakery shops before we finally settle down on the bakery shop near our school.
I get to witness how the cake was baked , standing outside and peeping behind the glass.
The staff was friendly too and I realised the cake selling here was far way cheaper than cakes selling in Singapore.
Adding on, the cakes here were freshly baked. They will only bake once we ordered.

Went over to study with Bernice in the later part of the night to kill time.

As the clock strike 12a.m,

we rock and roll..

Preparation in process

Beautiful cake with candles on

All of us barge into XiuJin's house once Yankhee open the door for us!

And of course, all of us were busy snapping pictures of her expression!

All the camera flash were on !

Xiujin is our star for the night!

She was busy unwrapping her gifts too!

Xiujin with her birthday presents!

Our candid shot!

Xiujin and the guys!

Me and Xiujin!

Happy 18th Birthday To You!

Hope she likes the way we celebrated for her!

THE END

THE DAY