Indonesia revisit 07!

Being born in Indo and havin spent a part of childhood ther, I've full of memories there, from the place, to the people, activities and of course food! This time went back with bro to meet dad n mum at Jakarta, finally a time where 4 of us together again at Jakarta, used to b only either me or bro there. Arrived there on the 20th, which is oso the 2nd day of class chalet, missed many fun, the bbq... The plane ride kinda sux i tink, travel with bro n aunt Olive, not very occupied, me n bro took up 1 whole row of seats (still got 1 lady in my row, he moved to the empty 1)

Its of course freaking hot on there, they dun hav many trees and there are LOTS of vehicles, duno wth the gov there doin. As soon as we touched down, mum came to fetch with chauffer Om Didi, then went to met with uncle Tat where he bring us to eat Pempek n Otah wich is heavenly!!! 1st day ended quite fast with dinner at Mall Artha Gading, having Tempayaki at Hanamasa, mum n dad had shabushabu coz they vegi-eater. The 3 of us chiong meat which is very very nice, dip into the sauce then cook on the steel pan... Mmm, Oishii!! By the time finish eating quite late liao, cannot shop, we just strolled around the huge mall and its really HUGE, almost 5 times bigger than westmall, they've this themepark for kids inside the mall. Anyway go slp early to prepare for tml morning, need to wake up early to set off to Bandung with uncle n couz over at Indo.




Oisii~~~ Jap food rox!













WARNING! This photo of Mal Artha Gading is stitched!








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I really hate car rides, its damn boring during the ride and its freaking stuffy and hot even though i got the back seat with aunt Olive and with many food and luggages (its a MPV) Lucky, got many companions like mp3, DS and of course every1 on the car, talking. This trip got me, bro, mum, aunt Olive, uncle tat, couz Novi and her husband Awang. Its always fun to travel with uncle tat n his family, coz they nv stop to joke and he knows lots of places with seriously EXCELLENT food! Like wad mum said, if only aunt Jenny and couz wii was here, seriously damn fun man! Our 1st destination was to this Queen's port... there's an urban legend behind this, heard is smth about the queen who loved the color green, then she was like a sea god or smth, then hor, they say dunt go near sea if ur wearing green or u will just vanish... damn, i'm wearing a dark green T at that time la, felt abit freaked out while we were having lunch by the beach restaurant. Btw, the meal was superb, seafood, the everything on the dish except the veggies are nnnnnnice! Also drank Es Kelapa, coconut! Missed it so much, Singapore can hardly find it and its so Ex.

Later on, went to the hotel wich is oso near the beach. The hotel is really really the Classic 1! Exactly how it looks 40 years ago, it may look really old n like a historical site now but i bet 40 years ago, its really the 5-star hotel. The lift has no Open or Close door buttons, strange? At least in place got Up and Down buttons! They got this notice by the side to teach peeps to learn how to operate it. Btw the room was not that bad, looks decent and the view is facing the sea. The bed, kinda bad, the bed sheet so pathetic, looks dirty, dunt tink they washed it, its like dust-full carpet. At night went out to just get some snacks and food like Martabak then later back to hotel's cafe to have a light dinner. While eating, just chat around then also discuss wer to go tml. Back to hotel n I was preparing to bathe... Omg la, the shower still ok, but the lower tap to run the water for the tub de... its brown wen the 1st 2secs of water flowed! Heck, i just bathe in that not so clear water, cant expect much.

Day 2, went to beach to play, not exactly play coz like its not with many peeps of my generation. Just hand around the hotel area a while then later head towards this south-guanyin temple. The place is located at a super Ulu place, wer the road there sux, undulated landscape, within the mountains. Went to pray ther, the place like some kinda sanctuary, facing the sea, then got all the nice nice structures. Also head to a geyser sorta river area to see see. Alot of locals ther, every1's havin holidae! Damn funny, got some teens there help us wash car but uncle dun wanna pay them, the reason is: oso nv ask u to wash. Was kinda worried then if they'd b angry then attack us. At nite, went to a relativ's house to stay somewer far again which required another long long car ride.



Me, yi Olive, Novi jie @ Queensport beach









Another stitched photo, by bro













Fun at Geyser, wadeva hotbath place








Day 3, the damned day, my stomach freaking pain, almost cant breathe, duno stomach ulcer or cramp, its jus super uncomfortable. I was lying on the bed for the whole morning actually, mom stayed behind to look after me n didnt go out with the others. Well, lucky she stayed behind coz i almost blacked out. Had runs for the whole morning, then at once wen i felt like goin to the toilet, suddenly felt unconcious then later just vomit like siao, 4 to 6 times, like got something forced to the head. Almost collapse at that time and felt super weak, mom had to hold me by the arms to support me. Heng, after the vomit, felt better, just some pain occasionally then also feeling sore all over. Still duno wads the cause, cant be food poisoning coz i vomit water out... no trace of food i've eaten. In the evening,had porridge which is the only ting i ate since the nite b4. Feeling better though... still can travel back to Jakarta, back home...

During car rides, we talked about lots of stuff, very interesting is about... spirits n ghosts coz couz Novi's husband Awang got so called yingyang yan, can see and feel em de. After we left the hotel at the 1st day, he told us his room got, but he nv sae, tat explains y he bought beer that nite, to get himself drunk n sleep better without noticing the pressence. Then later at the relativ's house, he also like quite picky abt wer to sleep, far from the front door, then pulls a pillow over his face to sleep. Creepy man, Also heard from him an incident wer he was driving with his family one nite at a highway then suddenly he braked, every1 (sleeping) jus suddenly woke up then ask him wth happend, he just said some1 was crossing, of course every1 else denied seeing. Then seconds later after they lef that spot, a car coming by just skied and turned... Omg, I tink he damn unlucky to have such... abilities and cant help but feel the pressence.

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2nd part of the trip was to Lampung in the island of Sumatra. After a day of rest since the Bandung trip, we're off again on a stupid long car ride on xmas day. Nothing much to sae since mentioned it on the previous log.

The 2nd day, went to the beach, 2 cars, 15 people and a dog. Lol, very funny, coz go out to play then also bring Jacky along. 'It' still needs to wear shoes n clothes, damn cute. Anyway, at the beach, got kayak, then of course boats, i dun tink its a beach actually, more like seaside or lagoon, coz can hardly feel the waves. Went for a boat ride which was a scam coz it costs like almost Rp450,000 for the ride out to sea, budden the boat sux, then no life vest, while coming back to the shore, the boat broke down! WTH! Pulled by the other boat back which was damn slow... Cool ting is the marine life, ther, can see corals then also got millions of these jellyfish eggs, which is like a cherry then surrounding it is a thick coating of jelly.





I love my family~~~!











Jellyfish egg!




Nasi Padang for lunch then went to a adventure camp park, smth like those obs camp, got all the rope challanges n stations. Played for the whole afternoon then went for dinner at a local restaurant. It was a fun day coz got all the couzes from my mom's side, got abit of communication barrier but still gd coz i still rmb how to speak lil bit of Bahasa. At the end of the dae, every1 was dead beat, esp Jacky, it just lied down below the bench then slept. Adding to being tired, every1 was kinda sad coz aunt Olive lost her phone... very strange case coz the maid dun wanna admit that she stole it (mayb). In the morning, charge the phone at the 2nd floor, near the kitchen, then we went out, aunt forgot to discharge n bring it along. When we came back, phone lost... the charger... coiled nicely and placed at the 3rd floor desk!!! That's so very very strange, y would a thief care to do that? Its obvious is the maid coz she's the only 1 at home the whole day while we were out. We combed the house, the maids' room but nth found, well of course a smart thief wld hand it to an outsider n not hide it in the crime scene. Bad situation, then every1 just went to bed and tried to forget it. Aunt Olive lost her contacts, notes n many imp stuff on the fone.



Scaling up the sky










Jacky on train cart










My generation







Last day, goin back to Jakarta, long long car rides again, hate that. On the journey, on the ferry ride, the sea was quite rough, goin left n right, I was indoors n dun feel much. Got a kid sea sick then vomit then heard from Om Didi, it was almost flooded outdoors, waves came crashing, then even his cup of coffee spilled, some even... prayed for safety. Well... arrived safely, we also gave a stranger a ride, a lady, coz shes alone then she stayed like quite far, so she hitched till this urban area to wait for some public transport. Well, i guess its gd to help... like mum said, we may sometimes need tis kinda help too. Back to home at Jakarta near 10pm liao, got some fried beef Kuayteow and Baso, which is again, 1 of the nicer food in Indo!

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Left like 3 days in Indo... Shopping! Friday went to dad's office to see see and meet some people. Many of the staff still recognize bro but not me! I really changed alot meh? Anyway, that evening went for a short shopping session at Mal Kelapa Gading, my all time fav hangout place. Most tings quite cheap, saw this hat that i really want! We went to the pizza hut ther for dinner... Omg, its like 1/3 the price compared to SG! Later on, we went to walk around again, then very very coincidently, met Tony, his mum n his niece! Woah, i was tinking of visiting him that nite, then there he is! Talk for a while then went home le.

Saturday was more dedicated to shopping, the whole afternoon at Mal Artha Gading. 1st at the Sports warehouse, bought lots of clothes, damn cheap cheap, around Rp50k each piece. Then later oso went to supermarket to buy many food and titbits back. Then also hunt n scout around for many xmas gifts for frens. At nite, went to eat with dad's fren, coz he wanna treat me n me bro while we come to Indo, the restaurant quite classy, Ming, chinese cuisine then got nice food, expensiv of course. Damn, actually, plan to eat at Sizzler de, budden eat this chinese food wich can b found in SG also, wasted. Sizzler in Indo is relatively cheap!

Last day liao, not that sad to leave, haha, coz can alwaes come back. Its my home afterall! Went to the airport like noon, with more luggages and boxes of food... Back to SG! Oh, 2 days left to sch, my homework, not done, haha, i'll chiong everything bah! Still... Holiday is fun!

Merry Christmas 07 from Indonesia!

Bloggin overseas, somewer abit far from home, Indonesia, Sumatra island, Lampung, somewer south, near the town... in my uncle's house. We kinda have a family gathering for xmas with relatives from mum's side. Since internets' avail here, thought that i'd blog to keep record but only for this day and the events for today.

Wake up quite early by aunt Olive, she kinda threatened somehow and by someway. Today's another long trip to somewer like acrosss to another island. Actually intend to depart at 7.30am budden in the end drag till like 10.30 or so then leave. Very not punctual, left at the same time with dad, hes off to work even during xmas... feel so sorry. Few hours drive till the port, harbour or wadeva then travel on ferry, with the car inside the vessel. The ride was around 2 hrs, we went to the air-conditioned cabin to rest. Well, gained abit coz I use tis time to do maths :P, cant believe it, after so long, finnaly touched hw. Even though only 1 paper, at least SOMEthing, 2hrs doesnt seem so long with stupid maths ppr, wich is also so around 2hrs per ppr.

Then is another crappy car ride from the 'wer the ship docks' to the town, no choice but to chiong DS till the batt drained. After like an hour plus of drive on the shytty road which is all rocky and full of undulations, finally arrived. Expected, once reached, got dog bark from aunt susi's dog, Jacky, then the other 1, Kelly, will sniff my foot. Had so called dinner, like, just a crackpot party or smth, local delights. Then later gather around on the floor to chat and talk, very very enjoyable and fun! Talk abt from the most unsual creepy things to discussions about dogs and animals. Jacky was damn funny, he get jealous damn easily, if couz agnes hugs aunt or if Kelly gets hugged by aunt, he'd just bark all the way then snarl. Then heard of many story and behaviours abt this 'almost human like' Jacky, only difference in sound and looks

Well, gonna sleep now, Merry Xmas 07 to my blog!

Day10 of BJT07

Day 10, 27/11/07, Tuesday

Last day in Beijing, can’t bear to say goodbye. Anyway, we went to the planning exhibition hall where there were showcase of information and more information on city planning and the infrastructure of Beijing. There were lots of things to see and I kind of hate the fact that we were only given a short time to visit the place. I do have to agree with the teachers that we SHOULD visit this place first when we touched down in Beijing. Inside was... exhibitions then got this theatre which says 3d movie wen u put on the 3d spec, wth, tio scammed, not very 3d lo, its like jus a video on the screen, the specs oso kns, screw came out 1... I like the toilet though, so far the cleanest compare to any other places of attraction.

Moving on was Silk street, another shopping mall for tourist; not interested at all, the things are slightly more expensive. We walked up n down a few times and I bought a set of gym gloves. Lunch was at mac, treat by the tourguides. Very nice of em! ThankQ! The mac sprite sux though, Nicholas asked me to try, omg, its like got some artificial ginger flavouring la, or mayb expire liao, then they mix the sprite with some crap herds to cover the chaosua smell. Lucky nv stomachache la, the burger n fries standard, like those in MACs everywer.

Soon, it was parting with Beijing after noon. Many of us were sad and get freakin emo'ed while saying goodbye to the tour guides, Zhudan and Apple. I think they do feel gloomy sayin goodbye to us yet also happy to have enjoyed this memorable time. Zhudan cried i tink, then Apple like not willing to alight the bus. Anyway, we can just email or smth mah, stil stay in contact.

As for me, not that emo, it’s just another farewell, just like back in the high school, the world is too big and in the future we’ll know of more people that we can get along with, then another farewell. China is a rising power today, there’s no doubt that it will surprise the world at any moment. Hence, I think revisiting this place in the future is not impossible. Packed with an extra checked in luggage and loads of local food and souvenirs, it’s back to warm and humid Singapore! Oh, duno y my luggage got add extra weight, tink mostly coz of food, from 14kg (SG-BJ) then 21KG (BJ-SG).

Since its the last day de post, i wanna finish up with the Shanghai versus Beijing ting... Digging out some thoughts while i still rmb. Very sadly, Shanghai still score alot.
-In terms of toilet, most places in Shanghai, the toilet more clean, Beijing 1 like almost kns everywer u go.
-The police, Shanghai 1 oso like more friendly.
-My own adaptibility to the place, Beijing better bah, coz in Shanghai most peeps speak their own Shanghai hua, which I cant understand, Beijing, no own language, only accent bah.
-Then for traffic condition, shanghai pawns, coz ther not alot of traffic jam, hav oso not as bad as in Beijing, then hor, the Cars in Beijing all very qianbian, as though they bang us is confirm our fault. I nv see most cars in Shanghai with tis prob.
-For goods, erh, prob Beijing bah, they lots of cheapshyt, in Shanghai the flea market oso not cheap.
-Then like amt of patches of saliva found in both city almost the same, duno wads wrong with these faggots, like to spit so much, hope few of them accidently spit on each other then start conflict, initiating some anti-spitting campaign.
-For places of attraction, Beijing kinda win la, coz i tink history more long mah, then love all the historical sites.
-Comparing no. of irritating china people, Beijing win la, got so many arsholes talk so loudy, very rude, push u around in the crowd, even in the high school, i got freakin pushed by 1 lower sec bugger from behind, nv even sae excuse me or sorry, ARGHGGRRGGR! So Shanghai gdgd.
-Since follow tour, wil go alot of restaurants, in terms of the waitresses n waiters, Shanghai 1 more polite n nice, but Beijing 1 got more pretty 1s, me n kahkian like go everywer oso go compare. Guess its a draw.
-For safety, i tink both ok, but i prefer Shanghai, coz somehow, by some way, the peeps wont like tink u r weird by speaking english ther and they wont stare lo. Beijing, unless u fake some kuku accent, they will tink u weird.
-Oh, airport, Shanghai 1 nicer la duh... Beijing 1 like some kind of Bus terminal liddat, the outside look so argly, onli inside better after the immigration. Shanghai 1, the outside very nice, high ceiling, very bright, inside oso nice, except its alwes crowded.
-Urban-scenery Shanghai oso nicer, Beijing like out of nowhere suddenly some high rise building, then later a few metres, 1 slump, then later 1 shopping mall. Very messy, city planning quite lousy. Shanghai the CBD very nice, along the huang pu river, they sae is 1 Bakua sign in the city center wer the east pearl oriental tower stands.
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Final score: [Beijing 2, Shanghai 9]
So, i've decided to visit Shanghai again, mayb Bejing to see if got any improvements while preparing for the 08 Olympics.

Day 9 of BJT07

Day 9, 26/11/07, Monday

I’m starting to love Beijing, all the things and places are just too wonderful! We went to Temple Of Heaven, a.k.a. Tian tan, a really huge garden with lotsa trees and… old peeps! ya, which park dun see old peeps at all, well its kinda different here, coz like its like the whole park made for them la, 90% of the humans in there are oldies excluding the staff n cleaners inside. Coz hor, old people can pay like a yearly fee to get unlimited access to the park then for us young folks, pay per entry. There were all sorts of activities for the elders, the space seem very big for any physical activity to be conducted, i think can even have few baseball games going on at the same time inside. The things inside, trees and pavilions, kinda like man made forest, probably can hunt animals inside, then if play treasure hunt, mayb will find till become like those oldies. There were group taiji sessions (can feel the qi when passing them), chinese dance grps, groups playing games like ‘jian zhi’ and the ‘taiji tennis’.

The coolest thing is the choir formed by the senior citizens. It is an optional and self initiated activity; the whole choir was very enthusiastic and they sang awfully very well,lol, coz its like propaganda song budden consider if i dun understand the lyrics, its perfect. There was a huge crowd gathered around the choir and some have song sheets with them. They do impress me with the harmonious voices, then they also position themselves according to STAB, quite nice. Never can one see this spirit in other countries, especially from old people! Those in SG and Msia, sian sian de, in kopi shop, slack, gossip and stare at us young peeps -.-.

The places of attraction in Beijing really amazed me one after another, underground city was nex. At first I was thinking that it was just another town just that its built underground. What surprised me was that the entrance to this city was so insignificant that it’s located in a residential area, through a door between shop houses, wth la, its like suddenly i discover under my bed got this trap door lead to the core of the earth. Then, another shocking matter was that the place is actually a bomb shelter, narrow and damp deep down the ground, not the town I imagined. The bomb shelter was built like a network of tunnels covering a large area. It was another impressive structure and it just add to the few reasons that I think Mao was a smart n cheeky person. However, the stupid thing was that later on, we arrived at a small hall where they are actually selling silk blankets! That kind of beat the purpose of the visit to the underground city because I was expecting things like souvenirs sold. Then the 1st thing is like, cheh... wanna sell things thats y make this place an attraction, The stupid link is that these silk blanket, the material used as bullet proof vest in the past, wth... china people smart in making random links, wanna sell then sae la, no need hide underground and set this fake mood. I was thinking mayb is fake lo, if the bullet proof vest so geng then wont so many people die liao, they can just mass produce it like they did for everything else then just owne any country.

The next destination was the military museum which was nothing much, to be honest I think the Chinese just want to show off its might and standard of its military sector to other countries, indirectly, the tourist, us la. However, the exhibition on the civil war more interesting than the weaponry displays, weapons all look the same to me la, mayb diff is how strong the firepower, whether can kill some1 with 2 inch fats or 5 inch fats. Of course, inside every corner can feel the propgd aura, cannot avoid de, I think toilet oso hav some pics.

After lunch was a revisit to Xidan, to shop of course. All I do there was eat again and stroll around the area to the other side of Xidan, which is like a classier place. Me n Kahkian went to revisit the roadside stalls, get to taste the Oishii food again, yan shu chicken, milk tea, etc. I think this is call traveling lo, eat everywer u go, damn shiok, duno y those losers only wanna shop, oso not filling, then later tio scammed of fake shyt then complain n cry, or else if chi kui for like 20 cents than angry. So is better to buy food, serve the stomach n taste buds!

There was Kung Fu performance at night, nothing impressive, I think maybe because the acrobatics were much better and Kung Fu is nothing new to me. They perform by some crap story la, some jackass called Kong or smth, then he become monk, then fell in love, so mundane. I think if i would write the story i would write like the Kong should just go terrorize with Kun Fu in new york city then gain some fame, then later just get bounted for few million, after that go into some mortal kombat tournament n get owned.

Last nite le, every1 busy packing, i tink my luggage was okok la, got some space left, most weight contributed by food. This nite, we plan not to have some happy hour at nite de. 1st we me n Zhilun just went to Jes n khaiting de room go finish all the food so no need to bring back, like cup noodles. Jus watched Tv and crap lo. Later went to the 4th floor to join all the non-arts class peeps, with apple and Zhudan. Then again, shift to Ahboi they all de room to play cards, talk kok and stuffs. I wanna see ahboi de way she tio kiap by the bed la budden she not willing to demo, dissapointed. In the end, reaching 4am le, most people half KO'ed. me n Zhixiang jus left Zhilun to sleep in the girls' room :P coz he sleeping quite soundly. Then we oso went back for some slp, prepare to go back to SG the next day!!! ( and sae byebye to the flousy and fugly hotel)

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.

Day 7 of BJT07

Day 7, 24/11/07, Saturday

The Great Wall of China, a wonder and pride of the Chinese people; many people talked about this magnificent structure and how 1 can feel its ‘ba qi’, well, I feel so lucky to be able to visit this megastructure in person! It's the coldest,lowest temp we experienced since we arrived in China; I guess coz of the location, mountains and valleys. The bad thing abt a famous tourist location is the crowd density. Got an astronomical no. of people already walking up the wall when we arrived. It’s very difficult to walk among the crowd and the steep steps and slopes makes it worst. Then cannot stop anyhow as the people behind are still walking up and u will be against the flow. However, it’s a maybe once in a life time experience; the view from any part of the wall tells different story, that is, how it is used to defend China against the Mongolians and how peasants in the past sacrificed ( erm...mayb forced to..) themselves to build this structure. Took alot of pics there even though can hardly stop to. at the so called quite high spot on the greatwall got this stall they selling certs with ur name n pic on it. Lol, i tink itsa total scam, can just print that myself la... and jus take some pics, put name in all language somemore then haolian to every1...

The awe doesn’t end with just one historical site, after lunch, we went to see the Ming tombs. Strangely, as I walked around the tomb, the outside and inside, it does not give the eerie feeling like any grave, it’s more like a peaceful and soothing feeling. The area is full of trees, within a valley and even though it’s like afternoon, the surrounding is rather dim. Maybe the place is ‘spiritual’ and supposed to be built in a rural area. It’s a tomb after all, not a graveyard or cemetery, the word to describe is GRAND; I can’t imagine there are more of these kinds of tombs even though we only visited one of the 13 tombs around the area. Oh, then there are lots of these taboos and like 'not to do stuff' while we were inside... No photographs, no shouting, no talk rubbish, no leaving any matter inside the tomb. Quite obvious la, its kinda spiritual place and no harm being abit superstitious, its also to show some kinda respect to the dead. 1 particular thing is the entering of the 'spirit gate', must say 'im comin' wen entering, then also must shout, ya, SHOUT... ' I M Back', then must like 1 leg walk across the door, ledge? guys left leg n girls right... Oh, then b4 that must wipe off dust from ur clothes then also stam the feet a few times.

After spending the whole morning on history lessons, we were off to dinner then another shopping district Wang Fu Jing. This place is more classy, no more ‘bargain shops’, it’s like orchard road in Singapore and the only difference is that it’s an only-pedestrians area. Went to bookstore to look around, then Shenghong and Kahkian they all got lots of books, probly for the sch... coz the teachers sae we can pick for sch. Then also went to eat some rubbish... lol, i ate starfish, its super tough then the wadeva sauce they put on it is god damn salty... That nite felt quite sick but nth serious happened la. Then they also sell seahorse, some bugs n also chou dou fu which is oso nice. Wang fu jing oso got quite some pretty girls la, even at the bookstore la... but i tink for that, Shanghai still got alot... so now score is [Shanghai 2, Beijing 0]. Lol, i tink i abit biased, i should find some crap factors to compare so that Beijing gets some pts.

Metro SIF PJC project

Hmmm... been writing all about the Beijing trip, i tink i wanna write also on recent stuffs. There's this Metro for children charity thing and pioneers who sign up suppose to go out to all metro outlets at diff time and date to ask people for donation. Of course i got sign up coz i wanna go Cambodia! Hmm, and i tink CIP is quite meaningful la, all sorts of way, even if the CIP hours kns. S22 was incharge of making sculptured balloons to b given out at the metro booth, and i tink also another class os balloon.

Kinda nervous b4 going for the event coz scared cannot make the balloon or it will like burst while i m makin. Went to internet to research on the various shapes then also ask those class peeps who had done it... Well, quite prepared during the 1st day, know an idea wad to make: dog, bird, bee, swords, bear, flower, bunny hat, heart, swan and pHd hat.

1st day, 15/12/07, Saturday

The location is at Causeway points' Metro. Me n Alvin arrived quite early as planned coz we wanna like warm up the also recap while the previous shift is there. That time still not alot of people, so we were quite relieved. Later after we took over, duno for some reason people start to flood in. I was at the 2nd storey, inside Metro store, near the escalator. Me and Alvin seperate coz balloon making person only got 2 and there are... 2 stalls. Most stupid ting is, i was tending the stall myself, baokaliao... from talking to making balloons and to doin all the voucher giving. The 2nd shift person who is suppose to come and do the tlaking job was late and heard he caught in the rain... KNN, !@$%^&*()_+, i've to do like everything and damn busy lo. Later he freaking late like 5pm+ then come, Alvin was sibei pissed off that he late liao still attitude him, so he came down to my stall and help me. That faggot's partner was a girl who actually came only abit late but did help Alvin at the 3rd storey. The faggot himself was an arshole, late liao still so slack, then wen Alvin damn pissed off n walked away, he didnt even come down to apologize and got the girl to do so. Then i guess they feel abit guilty so came down say wanna look after our stall and ask us to go eat dinner. Of course we went la, heck them lo, they oso nv do anyting de. Went to eat KFC then came bck at around 7pm to continue... Lucky ate quite full coz super busy after dinner, both of us were at the 3rd storey stall, right at the Metro front entrance. People keep walking pass then see wad we were selling... So we kept repeating tings like, " Would u like to donate for charity, any amount will do, we are raising funds for a project to help to poor in Cambodia, u can get this bear or a balloon as a gift" or else its " Hi, you mei you xing qu juan qian, duo shao qian dou ke yi, wo zhai chou kuan, ning ke yi na dao yi ge xiao xiong huo zhe ge qi qiu"... I tink its damn catchy to me liao. Then b4 dinner i've to say more about the gift voucher and also the pursuasion part... so i tink i wan 1.5 CIP hours leh! Anyway, we did the balloons quite fast, taking orders of wad shape n colors, like working in restaurant. At the end of the day, gave out until almost 9pm liao, supposedly 8pm leave. While leaving still got few kids gather so we just gave out those balloons we made for display. Damn tired... seriously, hands and fingers all swollen and painful, my throat oso very dry, muscle ache and many crap.

2nd day, 16/12/07, Sunday

Well, me n Alvin quite confident and more excited now. Coz we reflected on the 1st day and we tink is super fun even though tiring. We arrived abit later than b4 coz no more warm up needed, its more than enuff! Mark and Ivan was in the previous shift so Alvin came early to teach them how to make the balloons. Then later evening shift got 4 girls, all doin the talking job. so its 2 of them at each stall and now i swap with Alvin, i go top n Alvin bottom. I knew its a bad idea actually coz 3rd storey confirm more crowded de, at entrance mah. Very busy even though got help from the 2 girls, they like take orders and i've to make. But... talking alwaes very easy compared to the making... i've to make like super fast to meet the orders. But hor, i love the job, its so fun, making balloons then giving out to those little kids. They are very very very cute, got few catagories: 1 is those stare at the balloon in my hand, like they die die want it. Then some very shy coz dun dare to look at me to ask for shape or color yet run towards me. Then also those drag parents all the way from the stores beside to ask from me. Also got those ask me de, very bravely and some shy shy. Got 1 guy most cool de, he came beside me, nudging n pulled my shirt askin me for 1 balloon. Lol, very very kawaii de la, also wen they got the balloon n while leaving, they'd say thankyou korkor or uncle... -.- i very old meh? Anyway, i still like it wen they smiled n took the balloon they wanted, the expressions like very grateful and happy. Its worth it man! Totally! I dun mind the sore and swollen finger since the kids love it. Their parents also quite appreciate our work. Then also got sell the teddy bear, which is like also any amount. I tink quite not worth to sell, since the bear actually coz $10, then to $2, then now to any amount. The balloon is confirm any amount. Then of course all parents and adults wan the bear but kids wan the balloons. The parents oso tell the kids like, balloon will burst, not worth it while bear better can hand on bag... Ya true la, who wants that lousy balloon except for kids. This oso made me thought of y 21st century kids still like balloons, they should like action figures or like gameboy more... Coz even like pri sch kids wants them and some like sec 1/2 de. Anyway, i love this job, no pay but got allowence of $7. Like wad Alvin said, we most kuiben 1, have to work for jus some imaginary no. of hours, then suffer. Anyway i tink its fine for me la, then hor cool thing is got some1 ask me if wanna work for some events like party or performance. Lol, i gave my hp no. lo, coz got job of course wan la. He test me abit also, like ask me make cheem stuff, 1st penguin then crown, i sae i duno lo... but he quite impressed by the bird i made. Seems like i can b a clown liao. Things are more interesting at 2nd storey, experienced by Alvin, he told me about stuff like got detective working on case, following a girl who stole some $95 bra...

Its only a 2 day CIP, me n Alvin ended out shift today, Gampai with a packet of milk and a bottle of soyabean. Thats it for today, of course bringing home the sore n swollen fingers. However, i really enjoyed myself, even plan to go help nex week budden in Indo liao. So far i tink these 2 daes got raise more than $200! very happy indeed.