Saturday, August 05, 2006
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These few weeks had been the most happening times of my life! 12-day trip to China had been a very memorable one, though unbearably hot at 38 degree celsius! :X Evidently tanned .. Visited quite a number of cities, ranging from Shanghai --> Xian --> Luoyang --> Nanjing --> Suzhou. Spent an average of 2 days in each city. Really fortunate to have someone to look out for me..it was akin to a mini pre-departure course (practicum) :P A little breakdown on each city...as we soon found out that they were mostly ancient cities with historical places of interests..
Shanghai
Undoubtedly modernized and a city drowning in its fast pace of life. Shanghainese think the world of themselves and are relatively impatient. (esp when ordering food and getting up buses and trains). Bund was not as romantic as I thought..as it was swarmed with lots of tourists every night. :S Nanjing Dong/Xi Lu are simply another version of Orchard Road...lots of Starbucks outlets and cafes serving coffee. Oh yeah..Xiao long bao is nice..and juicy! :D Architecture of FuDan University relatively westernized and it really looks good! Shanghai is indeed a shopping and food paradise..Shanghai Museum is a must-go..cheap entrance fee of 5RMB (int student pass) and you get to learn about ancient civilisations, history and culture! :)
Xian
Spent about 3 days there...we climbed Hua Shan (1 of the 5 sacred mountains) at 11pm and almost reached the East Peak at 4.30am! Just in time to catch the awesome sunrise! It was the most challenging huddle of my life thus far...having traversed close to 2160m in that period of time. The view was simply breath-taking..but scary too! You either watch your steps or admire the scenery..nothing to be done simultaneously. :X Visited Museum of Terracotta warriors and tomb of Qinshihuang..filled with awe at the extent of preservation of the warriors and the level of degradation tourists have caused with camera flashes. Musical fountain performance at the Big Wild Goose Pagoda Square was a beautiful sight...with occasional fireworks and huge spurts of water (think Bugis's X10 at least)
Luoyang
Not a very interesting city, especially when only the elderly and young children reside here. Shops open at 8am and close by 8pm..no night markets..like a dead city.
The only saving grace was SongShan Shaolin temple! Woo..impressive martial arts performances..met a very cute 5 year old disciple of Shaolin! :)
Longmen Grottoes were basically caves...and stones..of religious significance. Bai Yuan is where the late poet Bai Ju Yi was buried. Rather large plot of land of 50 mu. Quite an interesting tour.
Nanjing
By the time we reached Nanjing..we were burnt out from the climb..leg muscles were strained and we only went to Mausoleum of Sun Yat Sen. Missed the Nanjing Museum where I could have "witnessed" the Nanjing Massacre. Sigh.
Suzhou
I admit I got a little lazy in Suzhou...we only visited The Humble Administrator's Garden (Zhuozheng yuan) which is representative of the beautiful gardens in Suzhou.
The rest of the trip was merely shopping, eating, chilling at a posh restaurant when we simply ordered a pot of Lemon Grass Tea! :)
This evening marked the end of TSPC...our much-awaited ceremony with MOE. I was really surprised when Mr Tharman read out my name and the short paragraph that I wrote about how Mrs Ash'ari (my eng teacher in Anderson) inspired me. :) Unfortunately, she was ill and was unable to attend the event..The skit turned out fine..realised Nic mellowed in his exaggeration and Darius was less harsh..heh. :) Great job everyone! Tea reception was enlightening as we spoke to various VVIPs in MOE..sharing of experiences studying abroad.."bringing the world into the classroom" and the changing education landscape in Singapore..
It had been an exciting journey.
InDuLgeD~|2:17 PM|
