Day 8 of BJT07

Day 8, 25/11/07, Sunday

It’s exactly a week since we arrive in China, I’m definitely adapting to the food, culture and language even though there are still many things to learn. The local accent was cool, with all the 'fu wu yuaners' from kahkian... and all sorts of funny phrases! For starchy food, I just leave them alone if i dun wanna eat, start to be picky actually abt meals. At least we dont't learn how to spit anyhow, thats god damn disgusting and unhygenic.

It was Tian An Men Square in the morning then a long walk all the way to Jing Shan park till noon. The Tian An men square was like a place full of taboo. Cannot shout loud loud, cannot gather as a group. It’s where Mao did all his rally talks and also where all the important Chinese events took place. There were police officers and ‘Gong An’ patrolling and keeping their sight at every corner of the square. It feels like a prisoner inside just that you can come and leave at will. The gong an there oso quite funny, they cannot anyhow talk or take pics with visitors, then Shin Yun and Joyce was damn funny, go die die follow 1 officer, say wanna take photo together, make that guy freakin paiseh, blushed n stuffs. We also took a pic of grp photo, holding a banner! Well, actually it sounds normal but in tiananmen sq, its kinda forbidden, coz of past incidents like the gathering of some fa lun gong practitioners.

The Forbidden City was a better place and it is definitely a spectacular place. I do have to admit that the Chinese are once a powerful nation, even stronger than the Romans and Britons. Just imagine, a palace for a country’s emperor, built like and as huge as a city. Nth to say man... We didn’t get to walk even a tenth of the palace but only visit the main and important structures and gates. The sight of those structures is rather unbelievable as I always thought that they were just made-up settings for video shooting seen in television. Being able to visit the Forbidden City is liek a chance to time travel to ancient China. The view from the gate ‘wu men’ was the most magnificent as it shows the high and tough walls.

After a morning of wows and marvels, we had lunch in Hutong, another historical site, more like zone. It was also shocking to hear about the land value there, a very very run down rural area, worth almost as much as those in the city area. I think the government wants to preserve this place to show the life and environment the old times Chinese lived in. We went there to have jiao zhi as lunch, then also a chance to make the jiao zhi ourselves... erm, kinda stupid la, coz i can help mum make em everytime dad came back from Shanghai with the 'skin'. About that place, kinds dirty, i was walking past this i suppose to b a public toilet, ZOMG, its freakin disgusting and like full of brown material n green moss at the sai hole there... heard from the other grp it was pretty much worst, somemore in a house, like a dug out drain.

Afternoon was another round of shopping, this time, it was to places meant for tourist; rather surprised that the vendors are multilingual! I simply can’t believe how cheap things are there. Budden it was like a Warfield; they are more desperate to sell their stuff to us than we wanting to buy them. Competition was intensive too, when I was abt to walk off from one store, the other store opposite was gearing up to pull me over to his store. Funny incident is about kahkian buying shoe, he was lying abt his parents owning shoe factory... nice shot at that dramatic lie and i tink the shop keeper kinda believe him. Anyway, he went also to help Jes and Khaiting they all bargain. I bought this orange nike bag, wich i tink very bohua, freakin tio ripped off even after the bargain... initially was RMB300, then talk talk till RMB100, budden i still tink its pretty expensiv. So abit pisssed off. However, the bag was kinda nice, gd for putting sport wares. By any way, i'm still more happy to get something!

Zzz, its like 2nd last nite liao, so all start to pack n stuffs, then hor, tonight went out again, now with more people. Besides ahboi trio, then got zhixiang, shenghong, kahkian, shin yun, jamie. We went left instead of right this time, at the road junction. Walk quite far till we see the red sign board with KFC... of course got there supper la! After that walked back then pass these railway station, underground. Went to explore, knowing that we will b late, but still go see see. Got this station master very friendly help us take pics then also talk kok with us. Around 10+, near 11pm, we know we late and Mrs Wee will get us freakin murdered, indeed, wen we knocked her door, she abit annoyed, kept asking y we so late. So we have to abit drama, say we make some discovery at railway then blablabla, so she will forgiv us.