ern in china

2008-05-22T02:08:00.002+08:00

Flight Origin - HongKong

Carrier - CathayPacific

Flight Number - CX735

Belt - Unknown

ETA - 1800hrs

Terminal 1

Singapore, I'll be back soon.

Beijing, I'll be back soon.

=((

足球。

2008-05-21T03:50:00.001+08:00

The Singapore Lions
I'mmm... the extreme bottom right. Hamsome siol.

And i play right back. Wes Brown? G.Neville? Ern? heh
Look pro right?

Yeah.. pro but we let in 4, the little Lions scored -0-(zero).

Me being treated for war wounds. It was really painful when Joson applied some antiseptic wipe burning thingy. It hurts.. bad. I covers my face in pain.

Followed by a mega -Tao Pok-. GG.

t-2

2008-05-21T03:12:00.003+08:00

Now it's time for all the goodbye formalities.. Shake-hands, exchange gifts and hugs, last minute photo transferrrrs and goodbye videos.

Again i say.. it's time to pack up.
1 lugguage, 2 soft big bags, Total weight= 45kg+-

China Mourns

2008-05-19T15:03:00.004+08:00

Photo: XinHua News Agency

Half masted at Tian'anmen.

a view from the lab window at 1428hrs.

We had a solemn 3minute silence. The students paused whatever they were doing, basketball stopped, everything stopped. The air was weird still , only loud sirens and horn blasted through the air.
In a way, it was eerie.

Only God knows best.
God bless.

The Art District

2008-05-19T13:20:00.007+08:00

A decommisioned Military Factory transformed itself into an Art District. This place is called the 798 Art Zone. The place was littered with huge industrial factories, lined with railroads to whisk away ready-tanks and ammunition. Now, the factories have become galleries, trains have become works of art but the history remains.

I like this place. It's another one of those "ern's must-visit places"

In the factories are galleries displaying visual art, paintings, sculptures and shops. It's quite a wonder how the Chinese conserved the factories.

A shop that sells paintings. The desk there is his office, i presume.

Another gallery displaying photographs. Children roam the "war torn" environment. Dont worry.. There are no AK-47s, RPGs, grenades, mines or snipers.

Old rusty pipes act has Billboards.

A typical entrance to a gallery. Hmm.. Bricks, cement, dirt.. eugh.
But really cool artefacts, respect art. Dont take photos of art. I dont show art here.. heh.

I think this is bomb shelter.. But it's now a huge museum and shops.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/798_Art_Zone

Skype shots. heh.

2008-05-17T23:48:00.012+08:00

Weird skype moments. Ming K.O. sprawled on the bed.

Uncle and aunt.

My coolest classmates peering into the screen.. Post-presentation debrief..

Post-presentation. Hi Regina... . hhe.. i'm comin home soon. =)

Hi moommma ..

Mike showing me the Threadless that arrived late. THat's Kev's 'Stat City'. har har!!!

LiPing dunno how to use the snapshot function.. LOSER! hahhaha! kk.. kidding k.. laxing.

And not forgetting the rowdy sunday mornings with my cousins and uncle! See.. child abuse!! hahaha.. awesome fun!

The power of Skypeee....

Beijing 城市。

2008-05-13T10:09:00.010+08:00

After a Friday's rain, it calls for a bright, clear, sunny, windy Saturday! A day of outings and visitation once again! This time i went to 2 Museums! The Military Museum and a World Museum, showcasing artifacts donated by various countries.

Yes. As expected, communist style! Huge flags calls for patriotism!

In the main hall, Tanks, planes, rockets, missles of World War 2. The hall was huge, considering it could accomodate planes and tanks.

Walking around, the air was fresh, it just reminded me of AussieLand. It was clean! Where's the pollution?

Up we went, up to the CCTV tower, 6th highest free standing tower in the world.

And that's the view of Beijing. It looks likes NY from here, NY's Central Park. And where's the pollution the pussy atheletes were talking about?

In that direction lies Singapore.. 4534km aways. argh!

What a great day in the city.

I'm okay

2008-05-13T09:52:00.002+08:00

Photo of messy downtown Beijing,
ChannelNewsAsia.

Beijing is Okay after the massive quake that rocked and killed 10,000 in the Sichuan Province, far south of Beijing.

And I'm okay. thank God.

highlight

2008-05-12T08:59:00.001+08:00

Glory ManUtd!
10th title win.

2008-05-09T01:12:00.002+08:00

After all sorts of difficulties, the Olympic flame has reached Mt. Qomolangma (Everest) this morning at 0918hrs for the first time in history.

The torches are designed by rocket scientists!
"The torches can burn in temperatures of minus 40 degrees Celsius and 0.3 atmospheric pressure, and can also withstand hurricanes,"

Friends of BJ

2008-05-09T00:49:00.007+08:00

After a great evening of Frisbee and a game of Guess-the-number-and-die, the group of us, Jarett & Yude, Johnson roomie, grace and another 2 other China friends(which names i have forgot) went for dinner behind the supermarket. It's dark and secluded.

Noodles, rice, sausages, meatballs, vegs and bottle of YanJing beer.

But it got too windy outside, we decided to move inside to finish up. We talked about chopsticks, Singaporean's bargaining skills and others. This is cultural exchange! haha.

The 2, Johnson and (the girl's name who i'm gonna find out tml), challenging each other at darts.

These are my friends in Beijing(the 3 on left). The coolest!

A cause for concern: Myanmar

2008-05-08T15:38:00.004+08:00

Images from Wikipedia
Cyclone Nargis in the Bay of Bengal.

It's path. And it makes a deadly landfall in Burma.

Devastation throughout the underdeveloped country.
A dead bull lies next to a corpse.

Countries like Singapore, America, Italy and China has pledged help and sent troops, doctors, food, medicine and clothes to the land.

As of 1600hrs, 08/05/08:

Confirm 80,000 - dead.
40,000 - missing
Some non-governmental organizations estimating that the final toll will be over 100,000.

Price of Rice, is set to rise.

Ms. Yarny

2008-05-08T11:17:00.007+08:00

Ms Yarny's some IT lecturer from NYP and she came here to take care of all 39 of us. It is a real feat to do that. It is really not easy when there's so many wild animals roaming.

I think she really did a great job. Too bad, she's left the baton with Mr. Chai. I'm sure he'll be doing a great job too. He is!

Ms Yarny with Miss Norti.

She's extremely sporting too! Taking up challenges. Here, taking a spin in a teapot with Johnson at the Happy Valley amusment park. hahah! It left her with severe head trauma.

See.. sporting! The guy's our cultural exchange meeting IC.

Ms. Yarny and her body guards.

Sometimes, she's the root of evil! She wasted the Turk's ice cream. The big blotch of wasted Ice Cream on the floor. Sad!

All in all, she's a great "muumy". =))

see you soon!

there's a symmmmetry

2008-05-06T14:11:00.015+08:00

National Grand Theatre
their Esplande..

Some Pagoda atop of mountain

the colourful interior ceiling.
Look at the details. Paintings, carvings, and shapes.

Tian'anmen
Guarding 毛爷爷。

reverse angle of the photo above.
We are not facing the People's Monument and the 毛爷爷's memorial hall.

The Forbidden Kingdom under restoration.

Tiles of the HuTongs.

At the edge of some.. building.
oh. this is a place called 十三陵. It's like Egypt's Valley of the Kings.

We, flying kites at Tian'anmen square. The building behind is the Great of Hall of The People.
Where Communist Party meetings are held.

天坛。
This is where the Emperor comes to pray to the gods.

Just look at the details.. awshh!! Darn cool!

Hmmm..

quiet night bus rides.

And the airport.

My best-test day out shopping!

2008-05-02T23:24:00.022+08:00

Alright. This place is called (above). It's a few lanes around the 鼓楼 (clock tower). Around it, there are little lanes and houses. a.k.a. 胡同hutongs, the old Beijing.

if you wanna call it Haji Lane, go ahead! Cause it's really like Haji Lane. But Longer, far longer. Cooler, way cooler! Wider, super wide.. hahah..

The 鼓楼 among the 胡同s.

This is the street Jarett, Yude and I walked. Left and right, shops on both sides.

On the street, there are shops like Boutiques, mega toyshops, restaurants, cafes like the one above, record shops, guitar shops, bars, band houses and a bicycle shop.

Check out some of the exteriors of the shophouses, wacky! All the shops are different in sizes, shapes. But they all preserve the architecture. Nice work!

Open the door to cool stuffs!

Yude asking the punk-shopkeeper for XXL shirts.

Hey mike! You like that shades? yoyo!
Some of the lil incy-wincy things they sell.. all sorts!

Along the street, there are lanes. In the lanes, are more shops and boutiques!

Here comes the contrasting photos. Have a look at the differences. Between a cafe and a boutique, lives a old couple. Can see clothes hanging.. messy and dark.. People still live in the 胡同s.

salon and an old man.

Hardware shop next to a pretty lady shop.

Yea! we stumbled on a restaurant here too.. Called 'Paper'. Jarett says it has a nice ambience. Refreshing when the sun's hot outside.

But we didnt eat there.. =(
HOWEVER we went to their sister restaurant instead!

Cafe sambal. A restaurant serving Malaysian Cuisine.
Click on the Picture to enlarge. Uber nice right?

Yude ordering the food as usual. He's our saviour. Behind, the malay couple, we decided, had to come from Singapore or Malaysia. haha..

Corona man Drinks Corona beer with lime!

Hallelujah for them, Kang Kong.

After dinner? More walking! whooo!! hahah.. Really good place to shop.. We reached the place at 3 in the afternoon, but we havent got time to finish the place, darn.. We'll be back there for more!! hahha

i'm estatic.. maybe because of mr.Domo? hmm.. yay!

As China progresses, the history of Beijing still lives within the Hutongs..

Happy Mayday.

2008-05-01T13:08:00.012+08:00

Hellos! Since Thursday is an off day for us, we took a late night out to Beijing's Nightspot, 什刹海(Shi Sha Hai), right in the heart of Beijing. It is similar to that of Clarke Quay and Boat Quay. Expensive restaurants, caucasians, bustling nightlife!

The gate to the place. In the background, the Forbidden City over looks the area.. nice!

This lake is encircled by the shophouses and restaurants, later at night, couples in 'love boats' set out to paddle around the lake. 好浪漫ah!

bars and pubs line the banks. We came here to have a drink after dinner.. Raunchy!

Instead of our colonial styled shophouses, they have their very own shophouses. Dynastic style.

Amidst the enjoyment, there's always security asking you to this and not do that.. hmm. safe place!

THis is Ivan and ruby soaking in the fun!!

The gates where we left the place.

And the drunkards singing and dancing on the bus back home. I just had to plug in my iPod. =)

Happy holidays!!!
i've to go out now.. heh!

Amendment

2008-04-30T11:45:00.002+08:00

Correction:

All of China not, not like JingJing.
Sorry for the mistake k!?

=)

My roomie..

2008-04-29T15:28:00.007+08:00

Okay! This guy's name is Johnson. And he is my room mate. Hmm.. He is guy, ready to explode with energy no matter the time of the day. He is the best room mate! For sure.

This is a picture way back, from the first few days. He loves parading everytime we have gatherings, dancing and stripping. Singing solos on long bus rides and in showers. He loves the stage.

He loves girls too. These are PRC girls. You can see that he's not shy at all.

He's also a sports man. basketball, badminton, soccer or frisbee.. 没问题！haha!

He shows sportsmanship in a game against the PRC doods.

Johnson, my roomie!
Who takes care of ME when i'm sick! =)

This is sooooo gay..

the 4th friday.

2008-04-26T00:04:00.016+08:00

Hello again.

A personal recap.
Friday no.1: Tian Tan
Friday no. 2: The Great Wall of Ching-Chong
Friday no3: 故宫

Friday no.4: 清华大学

But before that, we had to drop by the Bird's Nest, cuz it was along the way. Of course, i was super excited to see it. Everyone was!

The Beijing National Stadium.

And here we are.. walking towards the stadium. The nest sticks out among the buildings. Whoot Woot!! Cameras ready!! Fingers on Trigger!!!

But in the end of all that walking and anticipation. Siolo! This is all i could get.
So sorry ron. very sorry.

It simply reads "Construction in progress. Authorized personel only."
More like people with head gear can enter. Police hats, army barets and construction helmets..
I was quite pissed. seriously man..

But a Morning FilletO'Fish made me smile again. yumm.

Okays. So the main aim of today's outing was to visit a university called 清华大学. It is the NUS of Singapore. It is the most prestigous university in Beijing.. and maybe the whole of China.

Some facts about it:
-Established in 1911 during the 八国联军 period.
-Establishment and construction was funded by the indemities which China paid the United States after the Boxer Rebellion. SOme history eh?
-The university was built within the a former prince's Royal garden. That's explains the beautiful sceneries and trees and lakes.. Power siol.
- Then after the Cultural Revolution, when the KMT fled to Taiwan, the university's president & some professors setup the National TsingHua university of Taiwan. So practically, there's 2 schools. One in Beijing and one in Taiwan. But they are totally not related to one another or whatsoever. sighs.
- Many great scholars studied here. Prestigious!

Inside the school's compound. Old trees, pagodas and shelters says it all.

Trees are conserved. Century year old trees.

The school's compund is home to thousands of visitors each day. The young and old find it a place to relax and share the environment. Check out the wind in the auntie's hair. The wind today was crazy.. Really went wild. I was blown away a few times.

a statue of Confucius remind the students of knowledge.
That is Ivan taking a photo with him. He worships him, his religion. Bad photo!

The school is home to animals too.. Peacocks and ducks roam the cumpus.

Random folks playing Mahjong. Its very nice to see them relax here among the students. But truthfully. i havent seen much students at all.. where are they?

as i was telling you about the wind. Bicycles flying around too. sWoosh!

Ok. serious business. This is how the campus buildings look. Western architecture.

Well.. the school was too really too big to just walk around. We left it after 3 hours. WE couldnt take it any longer. We left for more shopping at 西单。

I always like this shooping area cuz we always get to pass by Tiananmen along the red tiled stretch of road, passing by 毛爷爷's portrait. Looking as cool as ever. It's really nice..

Let us discuss about the 福娃 (FuWa)

2008-04-23T19:20:00.005+08:00

The 2008 official mascots

北京欢迎您
"Beijing welcomes you"

So cute right? Not!

the Olympic flame vs. The Panda

In a peaceful world, there's always bound to be conflict. right? right..
There's a saga going on between HuanHuan and JingJing. The people of China adores HuanHuan. Plush toys, figurines and shirts are, most of the time, sold out. As for JingJing, we(Singaporeans) love it! ahha! damn cute right? My friends bought lotsa JingJing stuffs.

However, the people of China hate JingJing. For the simple reason: It's ugly. I dont know how and why, but they just do. So sad. They go all the way to show their disliking by defacing it, tearing out huge billboards along the highway and vandalising on him where possible.

and that's that. Concluding today's discussion.

Traffic conditions

2008-04-21T12:51:00.013+08:00

Well.. one of the promises the Chinese government made for the Olympics was to ease the gridlocked traffic conditions on the roads of Beijing. So far, so good.. We've only got stuck in a jam abt 2 times in 4 weeks. Not too bad la ah? heh.

One of the days we got stuck in a jam. It lasted abt.. 1hr30mins? We should've been at our destination in 20mins.

No island dividers, white painted metal fences line the roads.

No matter how expensive the car, Porsche or Audi, the cars are always dirty. Eugh!

Chery! The Chinese made car. Fugly!
京(jing) means that the car's from Beijing.

MGoetomo on the window ledge taking photos of I-dunno-what.
It is quite safe to hang your head out. cuz surprisingly, there isnt alot of motorcyclist whizzing around. They're called cyclists, and they have their own lanes.

As usual, campaigning for the Olympics, everywhere..

No smoking while driving? hmm..

Sometimes we drive past huge ancient buildings and temples, really beautiful architecture.

The week ends.

2008-04-20T09:28:00.003+08:00

19/04/08, Saturday.
Happy Valley Theme Park.
欢乐谷

18/04/08, Friday.
Forbidden City
故宫

News:

2008-04-17T21:26:00.002+08:00

The Beijing National Stadium, the Bird's Nest,
opens for business this Friday.
hmm. Tomorrow!!! ahhhh!

the kids in Beijing.

2008-04-16T21:08:00.009+08:00

And I am NOT a pedo. Get that right!
They're cute lil' play things! hahah..

A closer look at 万里长城

2008-04-14T23:00:00.013+08:00

as you dont already know, i like to look at things from a different perspective.. the little things. And the Wall had lotsa them! i love it! =)

Well.. During the wall’s lifetime, they are built and repaired multiple times, I noticed different construction styles. Sometimes I think to myself. Is this the real deal? Is this the real Great Wall? Is it another scam where millions visit a year? But come to think of it.. ancient paintings scrolls reveal it's true history..

The terrain is very unpredictable.
Mountainous, the wall sometimes just stops continuing. Like the photo above, the wall ends with 50 metre drop. It is a spectacular sight. The watchtower looks like its still standing strong! Formidable!

A chunk of rock bulging out from the wall's body. also, check out how steeep the pavement is..

^Vandalism on rocks, a common sight.. Disgraceful..

^The ground is mostly covered in dark rock, smooth and sometimes slippery.

inside the watchtower are lined with thick pillars, narrow walk ways and unclimbable stairways. It's dark and errie..

The wall has sophisticated drainage systems too. Openings like these can be found around the watchtowers and along the wall. Even drainage openings have detailed designs. Cool!

The section that is opened to public are all being lined with rusting smelly handrails.

And that is the Great Wall for me!
I like.

不到长城，非好汉。

The Great Wall of Ching-Chong.

2008-04-14T08:35:00.016+08:00

Finally.. i have scaled one of the 7 wonders of the world. WHooHoo! It was on friday when we made our way up North from the capital to a section of the Great Wall, called 八达岭(badaling). It was the first section of the Great Wall to be opened to the public. Richard Nixon climbed it too on his historical visit to China.

It was a long bus ride through the winding valley. But it was worth the trip. We passed many sections of the wall. Some were either unclimbable, damaged or simply disappeared because of erosion.

1 historical step for ern. On to the Great Wall!

1 of the many openings on the Great Wall. The view is always different but all reveal beautiful sceneries. Spring brings blossoming flowers. And the valley was lined with em'. As you can see.. the colour of the sky and the surroundings are so dull.. so demoralising. The weather was cold, dry and windy.

My frens and i on the Great Wall.

Jarett helping us take the photo.. You've to hold on to something, anything! or else you'll just fall over and break an arm. That's why he's proning?

Finally, the first watch tower. Magnificent! Check out how steep it is!

A view from one of the watch tower's opening.

Cheaters!

It never ends!

a multitude of tourists

After the 888m climb which took us 4hours, we rode roller coaster down the wall to the tourist center.. i think it's the slowest, most not-fun, boring roller coaster in history. ahha. Even uncle white hair can do it.

--

HA! Who cares! i've done it! i have climbed, not walk, the Great Wall of China. It is one of the best experiences. Just to think about the magnitude of labour put into the wall. We climbed just 1 tiny section of it. 1 section of the 3 in Beijing, The wall winds through Beijing, and across the whole of China. It took dynasties to complete it. From the Qin, to the Ming and beyond.

comment

2008-04-11T21:15:00.006+08:00

a pro-Tibetan demonstrator in Paris attempting to snatch the Olympic torch from Jin Jing, a chinese wheel-chair bound athelete.

i feel that the Olympic Torch Relay represents Us, celebrating the World, thru sports.
Protests, politics and violence is unacceptable and irrelevant.

I strongly condemn the violence.

---
One World, One Dream!
---

Hmmmm..
i think CCTV has done something to my brain.

Classroom

2008-04-10T22:39:00.003+08:00

“新加坡学生欢迎会”
(i took 5mins to write this line.)

This is the student's classroom, very traditional. i remember the chalky blackboard we used to have.. now we have marker boards (hurts the earth). Wooden tables, solid cold hard chairs. Dirty walls and pipes running around the ceilings.
The students study HTML here. How do they do it?!

-_________-

Anyways. The weekends are here! That simply means.. sight seeing! shooping! eating! resting! sleeping in! whooohoo! i've never looked forward to the weekends like this before. Nicely done!

This weekend's itinerary:

1. Visiting the so-called Great Wall of China.
2. Shopping at Xiu Shui Jie.
3. Museum visiting? Maybe?
4. Exercise! And get ready for my Badminton confrontation with the Chinese pepole.

-good night Singapore-
我爱你！

Cheap Chinese Electronics May Not Be So Cheap Anymore

2008-04-09T13:10:00.001+08:00

In part three of our impromptu exploration into the world of Chinese manufacturing and disassembly of our everyday electronics, we've got Slate's look into the current economic situation and why the era of super cheap goods from China could be over. Here's why: Chinese inflation.

We don't want to get into heavy economics, but here's what we can break Slate's take down to. Raw material costs are going up, the Chinese renminbi is appreciating, Chinese wages are going up, and importers' (the people who buy goods to sell to us) negotiating position are weakening.

What's even worse is that there's no suitable "next" China to take China's place in manufacturing cheap goods for us. This in turn means that sooner or later, "Made in China" will make the same transition "Made in Japan" did in the 1960s and 1970s, and will be less a sign of cheap, low-cost electronics, and just a sign that someone who looks like me built that DVD player you're using. No guarantees on whether or not they pantsed it, however.

-gizmodo.com

China's jobs

2008-04-08T14:54:00.009+08:00

Right. This taxi stoppped in the middle of the junction. speechless
Being a taxi driver. The traffic conditions are bad.. Chaotic, honking every few minutes, other road users swerving in and out of traffic.. goodness.. A taxi usually travels at 80-90mph on the highway. btw. the backseat doesnt have seat belts.
Not stopping for your customers will get you into deep s***.

A pair of window cleaners dangle off a 50 story building. Only to be fastened by a single rope and a harness.

Labourers have no proper shelter.. Will they freeze to death?

...

emptying a drain full of stinking black sludge with a shovel.

he longs for the green fields..

The first week

2008-04-06T19:48:00.014+08:00

Right. it's been a weekend of great fun. Great outings. So far, we've been to Beijing's version of SimLimSquare, Silk Road Shopping thingy, city walkabouts with yude. That was done on friday. Lots to see. lots to do! Here are some of the photos of Saturday's trip, to Tian Tan Gong Yuan(the emperor's temple), Lao She tea house and a inprompt2 visit to Tiananmen Square.

Tian Tan temple thingy. It's quite blue & round.

i am still healthy as you can see.. lots of beef and veggies.

This is at the Lao She tea house. where we sit around square tables, drink tea and watch cheapo circus shows. There were shadow puppet shows, magic tricks, not-so-funny comedy acts, singing and the best of all, the er hu girl(above). so very pretty.

across the road from the tea place was tiananmen square. down the underpass and then poof! The infamous square.

Some facts:
1. the Biggest city-square in the world
2. It was bloodwashed in some civil war in the 40s.
3. A place of many other things..

We thought that the square was too big to walk in just 2 hours, yude and jarett decided to buy a Kite and fly it as high as possible.

Now.. at sunset, (time varies everyday), yesterday's was at 1842hrs.. everyone sscrambles to the fence at the tip of the square to witness the flag lowering ceremony. And yes.. this happens eveyday.

They treat the flag with such respect, sharp marching discipline and folding the flag swiftly and neatly, awesome show of love to the PRC. I video-ed it.. i can show you when i'm back. =)

Without a doubt, Tiananmen remains the most guarded place in China, the area is surrounded by important buildings, like the The Great Hall of the People, Mao Tse Tung's Memorial, the Forbidden City and the National Museum of China. Military and police personel line the fences, some march around the square, police cars zoom IN, and around the square vacinity yanking their honks away.

When the flag is down, everyone is being squeezed outta the square, police vehicles manovuer like trapping a school of tuna. The square empties out in under 10minutes, it is a mad rush.

The government buildings around the square light up and glow.

-It is grand-

But anyways.. that draws an end to the first week. Ithink there's more stuff to come. It's only the first week and i'm getting excited! =)

More pics during the week. Laters you guys!

2008-04-02T22:01:00.000+08:00

now now.. after 4pm when school is over. Music is aired thruout the campus. on this day. Jap music was air. i dont understand.. volume up to listen to the music. nicce!

day4.

2008-04-02T21:45:00.001+08:00

lunch today!

Instant hamburgers for a little tea break during the afternoon stint..
Xiang la ji tui bao!

hey to those who-gave-me-something-before-i-left, look! i BluTacked your letters and photos to my wall in the dorm. really nice! thanks doods and doodettes!

hmm.. i thought time's passing really slowly. there's still 50 something days to go. Hope my room at home is still as neat before i left. i miss my bed too. my mac. i miss rosey's cooking.

Project's going on great. everything's on time. I should be able to report what i've done so far to Mr Teo(supervisor). I hope he accepts the design brief.

okay. my fingers have frozen.. Good nghit.,..

Videos so far..

2008-04-01T14:59:00.000+08:00

DAY 3 IN PHOTOS

2008-04-01T13:29:00.000+08:00

okay. It's day 3 at death camp. We started it with a project brief where everyone introduces what he or she is supposed to do in her 8 weeeks here. Seems like mine was the easiest to explain.

Some Ching Chongs sitting in the brief. I bet you 104% they had NO idea what we were talking about. I betcha!

After which we proceeded with a meeting with the leaders of the school. I presume the guy in the center must be the chairman of sort. The guy to his left the vice? the third guy the discipline guy? because he looks whack? no idea man. They all repeat the same stuffs. 1. weather 2. proud to host the olympics 3. thanks for coming. 4. take care. boOOring!

our spokesperson.

the death camp.

yude taking photos of treess.. hahha

Most of their trees are gonners!

the rest of the death camp. Without doubt, today was the coldest. 5-10 degees C. You can see in the photos, it's slightly foggy.. cold.. brr..

LUNCHTIME!

here we are outside the school, just crossing the road to get somehting to eat. And i was talking about big cars yesterday. Thats just one of the many big cars in the suburbs. Kwek, your dad's car. kwek=rich.

To the left is the school building, to the right is the JingKelong supermarket.

and next to the JingKelong supermart is this little building where we settled for our lunch. I would think it's their fastfood restaurant. It weird to see a building standing alone there.

They serve soups, rice and noods. Like what i ate. Beefy, Chilli-y, LaMian thingy soup. reall good on a cold day. yumness..

YESTERDAY

Huan Ying Guan Ning!! it's rice for everyone! a restaurant meal which was real cheap. tofu, veggies, fish soup, donkey meat, cold chicken thingy and Peking's signature dish, roasted DUCk! Qkwek! all for a SGD$6. Seowness!

Peking Roasted duck. YOU wrap it with stuffs. just like Burritoes. But burritoes are yummier! =)

this is our project centre. It's nothing much really. just tables and computers. Nothing else. Jarett is here doing his stuff.. Dont be fooled. He's playing games. From DOTA to Wahjong to CS.

On the other table, i am seriously doing my work. No time to lose! Maria Sharapova accompanies me while i do my stuffs.

Simin up to her business again.

Arrival day in pictures

2008-03-31T12:48:00.000+08:00

Before saying our last goodbyes at Changi Airport, a short useless briefing by this woman i've never seen before. She wasnt even going with us. Just who is she? Besides that, the peeps in black are the people i'm gonna spend the next 8weeks with.

en route to Beijing, the sunset is fantastic.

yes. team SDN at Beijing Int' airport. Yude, jarett and simin riding the travellator towards the immigation check point. a really beautiful airport.

high high ceilings, huge space, quiet surroundings, empty shops. as if we were in North Korea. Me, filling up the immigration card against a glass panel..

white planks line the ceilings against the golden shelters. A nice flowing effect. Great!

We had to take a train to the other side of terminal 3 to collect our baggage. that is how big the terminal is. Gigan-normously BIG!!

the person behind yude, in the maroon leather jacket is the driver. i dont understand...

as usual. security is everywhere.. scary security. they should join the rugby team.

We've been given food. yuck from the canteen! eugh..
fried egg, bread with dunno-what and banmian(no taste).

enjoy! =)

I AM REALLY HERE...

2008-03-31T00:41:00.000+08:00

aights. we have just arrived here.. at the hostel. hahah.

Thanks to those who sent us off! grandma, mama, papa. And frens! Denise, minHui, yongqi, km, meiling, liping & clara!! thanks guys! we shall do the same! thanks for the Campbell soup.. It'll definitely come in handy! ha!

I've been flying for nearly a whole day, and i'm super shaggeddd! tired sehh!

From Singapore to HK- When we reached HK, we just thought of eating. that's all. haha. so we queued to get our luggage! WHAT LUGGAGE!?!?! yes we made a mistake and wasted 20-30mins queueing up. We werent supposed to collect anything till we get to Beijing. Silly us. hahha. We then dragged our embarassed feets to popeyes.. sadly we had to rush. Simin nagged endlessly about us being late and all. But it's good to have a time keeper with us. - moral of the story. follow the huge group and dont wander off.

yes. then it was beijing bound! boarded the flight that had no return! argh! hahha. well 'Juno' was good.. i enjoyed it very much. i thought to myself that that would be the last english movie i'll be watching in a long time. heh.

Flying over the mega city which was showered in street lights and buildings, just metres before the Cathay flight touched the ground, i had a revelation... WHY on Earth AM I HERE?!?! monster-argh!!! i just had a bad feeling abt it. sighhs..

anyways. we were greeted by the College's principal at the spanking new gigan-normous airport terminal 3. Thick mandarin accent-tall-chubby, nice guy. We were led to the buses and shipped away as if we were going to our death camps.

the air was foul, smelt abit like shit. Thin cold air. but it felt nice and refreshing. mmm.

upon arrival at the death camp.. i mean the college, we were saluted by guards at the gates. As we drove those the campus, chinese eyes stared at us, and of course, i stared back at them and waved as a Prroud Singaporean. Hmph!

settled into our bunks and.. it was aight. i would rate it 3 star if i compared it to a standard hotel. 2 pillows each, a TV with 83 channels - sports channel as well with BPL. nicce. 2 chairs, a coffee table, a desk and a heater.

right. i'm tired. zzZ
photos up, hopefully tml.
night singapore. i loves you.

2008-03-29T14:04:00.002+08:00

(photo courtesy of liping)

These are the peeps i'm gonna hang out with.
Yude & Jarett.
Great people. Great fun.

2008-03-29T14:04:00.001+08:00

I forced myself to go to China. Just like me eating veg. I just hope i don't gag halfway through it.. May God go forth with me.

anyways.. why?
I have always hated China, esp the people. The spit, the smell, the look, the sound! eugh! It disgusts me and for all i know, the rest of human kind. however, DAD always told me, China, China, China, China, China... and look where am i now. monster-argh!!

I guess it is inevitable, i have come here to check it out for myself. Here is where the Olympics is, and is where I may be gonna work in the future, and here is future superpower of the WORLD! Controlling the markets, oil & trade! Here is where you have to be. You aint got no choice man! Shit!

China is a changing place, I am talkin' rapid, rapid change! People, buildings, infrastructure, business ethics.. everything! And i am here to check it out. It is the place to be.

Pray for me..

-53 days and counting-