Day 5 - 22.nov.07
Its time to say goodbye with our fellow buddies today. I gave them the souvenirs that I bought for them in Singapore; bookmarks and key chains.Right at the start cause gladys told me that her buddy said there's no formal farewell ceremony and exchange of souvenirs as stated in the program list. So I hastily went ard the class to distribute the souvenirs and postcards with little greeting on it to friends I've made in this class :); before the teachers come...

Surprisingly, the English teachers suddenly asked us to give them a talk about school life in Singapore. It came to us so sudden and we were unprepared, so we just start blabbering about it. at least i was :P hahas..

We had quite a rush schedule in school today too! So, we had to hurry and went on to attend paper cutting lesson.Actually, before that, me and gladys silly-ly followed our buddies to their class as we thought we still have lots of time! Then the classmates were taking photos with us. We had so much fun tat we forgt abt the time and ended late for the meeting! then , when me and glads reached the meeting area, no one was ther!! we thought we were lost! and started walking ard aimlessly looking for teachers to ask for directions. All in all, we were atill late for the paper cutting lesson. But still, I learnt that paper cutting is an activity enjoyed by folks of all ages and had quite a long history. We also tried on hands-on activity by doing a paper cutting on the Olympics cartoon characters. I did one on ‘欢欢’. This is one of the activities which I enjoyed most. Perhaps the school can arrange one such program for the students. They would be having fun and would be able to learn something more about Chinese culture.

Then, we went to the front of the fountain to meet our sweet buddies for lunch :))My buddy gave me a present and another of the classmate gave me one too! it came to me quite surprised but, I was touched .AND,they even treat us lunch at a steamboat restaurant! They promised to send us e-mails and letters. I really can’t bear to leave them so fast. Even thought we only know each other for 4 days, but I can say that I had a great time there and I’m really looking forward to their arrival next year!

Oh ya! then we went dinner at a steamboat restaurant! I was so urgent that i had to rush to the toilet! Then, this thing happened which is another point that I'm gonna complain about the general Beijing people, especially the older folks. For example, I went to the public toilet today and an old lady, thought already white haired, just rudely pushed me, like bum me out of her away until I hit the door with a bang. She did not even apologise or care, just gave me a cold look and walk away, like I don’t even exist1 and Beijing people do not wash hands after going to the toilet. This is very unhygienic and I hope that they could change this bad habit for the best.And so uncivilised lah! Piang....




Day 6 - 23.nov.07


It is a cooling day today, not too windy, just right:)

Our first destination is Tsing Hua University. They have very unique architectural buildings there, i wld say. And i saw alot of 柳树 there! Very nice sceneries they have there, It is also one of the best universities in the whole world too!. And, from wat i learnt from the guide, the students there studies very hard sleeps almost at 3m everyday and can hardly get enough sleep. But, they have very nice and cheap cafeteria food. Their food is so much more delicious that PJC’s canteen and café food!Its so much more edible!!!!!

Next, is Summer Palace. It is a place with many crafted artifacts which is best to see it with our own eyes rather then from the internet. Behind each artifacts lies stories linked with the most greedy official in history; He Shen. Summer palace seems to be one of the tourist attractions as it is very crowded.People were squeezing me!! I get so SO pek chek! And then, Beijing people once again, cut queues and push us all away just to get free entrance if they see gaps and opportunities. U see hw they treat tourist like us?!

Dinner at the steamboat restaurant wasn’t very enjoyable as it is very plain, with vegetables, couple of plate of fish and many plates of mutton which I don’t eat.
And I just learnt something today. That is that the reason why Beijing old folks spit is because they regard spitting as cool in the past and it has ever since been their bad habit. In their lingo, it means 拉风. This is also one of the embarrassments of Beijing citizens today from wat the teacher of the school said be4. =S



Day 7 - 24.nov.07


Today was sunny but temperature was lower. Our first stop is the Great Wall of China. I had a tough time climbing it as it was energy consuming and tiring to be going against uneven steps which have different heights; some high, some low and some parts of the path with very steep slopes. we were lucky! cause its not very misty or snowing today. so we can see the surrounding quite clearly!

Along the way, I saw tourists with different features and colours. Perhaps, the Great Wall had such strong mystery that can attract tourists from all around the world. hahas... Since this is so, our coach cannot park there for more than 2 hours, thus we have to hurry and rush.And I noticed that there are a lot of roadside stores selling certificates and some souvenirs and postcards. The sellers seem so desperate to get rid of their goods that they are even willing to cut down the price by half! I wonder why they are behaving that way…

Upon approaching one of the peaks, I looked back and saw very beautiful scenery filled with mountains that make you go ‘WOW!’

Our next destination is the Ming Tombs. It is quite a spacious area for a person’s tomb. I learnt more about the past china’s history, like the place have only 11 emperor’s bodies rather than the full 13. Ad I also got to see many other exquisite gold and bronze artifacts that were used to be buried along with the emperor.

Then we went on to Wang Fu Street. Mostly youngsters and tourists were there. My only interest; the wang fu jing bookstore!! a place where i can shop for my long-waiting chinese story books!!! The bookstore was quite far from our meeting area,its all the way til the end of the street! we hurried there and saw this big tall building! and oh! thats the bookstore! hahas... I bought 5 Chinese storybooks in total! then, At around 9am, the shopkeepers chased us out by shouting in Chinese,’别看了，出去吧!’. it made me so panicked lah!! wa piang they sound so fierce! like we are taking up their precious sleeping time!~ Zz.... This is so different from Singapore where the shops do not closed at such early hours and shopkeepers usually allow people to enter the bookstore.

Beijing people have no nightlife lor. Their shops usually closed around 9-9.30 pm while Singapore have either 24 hrs shops or shops which closed at latest 10-11pm.U walk out to the street at nite , u seldom see anyone except a couple of old people taking their dogs for a walk.



Day 8 - 25.nov.07


It is rather windy today. But it was only freezing cold in the morning. We visited the Forbidden City. On the outside hangs this very big Mao’s huge painting. It was told that whatever angle you are, Mao’s eyes will be following you always looking at you. It is something similar to Mona Lisa.But i wld say that its 心理作用. Its because u think mao is looking at u, thats y u will see his eyes following u lor...

Anyway, artifacts shown on display are gold-plated on the outside but are actually made of bronze. I was told that in the past He Shen made used of the trust that the emperor has on him and fake that these artifacts are made of purely gold.


喜喜 brings good luck to the people.The tour guide told us to touch this 双喜 once. so we touched it and moved on.

The Emperor’s life at the palace seems boring. He would occasionally go out of palace to visit folks and to check on their standard of living. But at the door of the palace, there is a statue of shape of lion and dog which serves to remind the emperor not to forget about the major business still awaiting him at the palace.

For lunch, we made dumplings. It is fun. We took trishaw ride there. It was rather bumpy along the way plus the strong wind that chill us down the bone. But it was this that made the whole trip something memorable. And since this is the first time I am riding on a trishaw, I find it quite pleasant and special. Plus, the driver was super nice! He introduces the place while driving us there and did not demand for tips like what other drivers did.

After lunch, we went shopping at 2 shopping malls. The shopkeepers there were only 16-17 years old. We had lots of fun bargaining for the price of the goods. We were really surprised by how the tour guides bargain for the price. They did it so well!



Day 9 - 26.nov.07


We went to the temple of heaven, which is like a park. Old people who have retired gather there for activities like calligraphy using plain water as the ink, hand made big brush ad the brush and floor as the paper, mass choir which has retirees as volunteers taking part in it and other activities. The uncle was talking to us and I learn from him that the old folks are there almost everyday except on rainy days and that as senior citizens, they get to purchase a package for their entrance into the park at very low price per year. After that, we went to climb this hill where we get to reach the peak and take a good look at the whole of the Palace. The view is really breathtaking! I guess it is also this place that glads and I took a photo wearing this 古装 costume hahas...

Afetr that, we go to the underground city. It is an underground tunnel of more than 18m in depth. Even though it does not smell that pleasant there, we are still able to breathe without difficulty. And I learnt that this tunnel was built by the folks without any mechanical aids or funds by the government. It was build solely as a safe location to protect the folks fro the destruction of war.

Next is the army museum where we get to see all kinds of weapons and machines design for war purpose. From the past where people use walking stick which also act as a gun to the current small and compact gun, old tanks to new and modern tanks.glads, yw and i had fun taking photos at the stairways and with these weapons! hahas..

We went shopping at Xidan again! ahhas the second time:) We get to bargain for price again and had big achievements!



Day 10 - 27.nov.07


It’s the last day we are going to stay at Beijing. And I still see no signs of snow!!! Sad…

After we packed all our belongings, we checked out of the Hotel. Our first stop is the planning exhibition. There, it shows Beijing’s history and system, including the hosting of coming 2008 Olympic Games and the model of the whole of Beijing. An interesting happening is that there is a lot of electricity running through the planning exhibition hall. Such that when we just touch any metallic object, we feel statics and it was so strong that the ‘sizzling’ sound is very loud! Especially yingwen, ' The Beijing 发电场 '. she tounch anything also static, then she told my left hand got the sound lor. then she play not enough toch my right hand, static again! the current so strong lah! Zzz..

Then we went on top the Silk Street for our last minute shopping. And lunch at McDonald’s. We then proceed to the airport. Our tour guides were tearing hard as they can’t bear to see us go. Even thought we were here for only short 10 days, I felt that we had already created a bond, a friendship that we would never forget and never let go. I really hope to meet all the friends that I’ve made from Beijing again. ^o^

Labels: beijing, love lots n lots