Spring/ early summer in Jing

Spring blossoms in Beijing. Peach, cherry blossoms, almond flowers in bloom makes for a pleasant trip to the park. this one is taken @ Yuyuantan. I snuck out during lunch time on a weekday so as to avoid the hordes of people and not to mention those spoilt, screaming kids that plague public places on weekends.

If you wanna show that YOUR multi-coloured plastic flowers are the best, you gotta walk the talk and wear them, esp the pink ones. Even if you're a man. yes.

Sandy Lam concert in Beijing. Thoroughly enjoyed her concert even though i'd never really consider myself a super-fan of hers. Still, i remember several of her hits back in the 90s and had fun singing along.

It's been a weird summer. Usually it's a sauna by May but this time, its been relatively cool with lots of rainfall. in the meantime, Beau was in his element with the internet shopping and stocking up on camping gear and gadgets - foldable chairs (with pockets that keep your beer cold!), bbq pit, taupaulin sheets, cooler box, etc. He then decided a camping trip was in order to test-drive all that gear!

We drove to Miyun and camped by the Bai river for the weekend. I'm proud to announce we've reached new heights with our camp-dinner standards - korean flavoured bbq pork (marinated at home) and veggie salad washed down with beer! It's no michelin of course, but getting there ;-)

The next morning, we climbed up to a waterfall, did some rock-climbing and then cycling.

Exhausting but fun!

Roadtrip to Datong, Shanxi

I've been wanting to go to Datong since my 2006 China backpacking trip. But with the sudden detour to Hangzhou for the interview and all back then, i had to change my plans and head south instead. After Hangzhou, I was suddenly employed and i had to rush back to Singapore to prepare.

Fast forward 3.5years later, I finally made it there. We took a road trip to Datong with Beau and a couple of friends over Qingming.

Visited the Hanging monastery, the Yungang Grottoes, Wooden pagoda of Yingxian, crumbly bits of the Great Wall, as well as some ancient volcanoes. all in all a really pleasant trip to the "countryside" and managed to check off a few more UNESCO World Heritage Sites off my list.

Shanxi's not so idyllic countryside. some of these villages look downright wretched. Dry, arid, rundown..and empty.

View of a villager's house standing on the GW.

Showed my mum photos of the Yungang grottoes and she was really impressed. Someday i would love to take her to see the real thing. This particular statue is 60+m tall, and the mini statue under the Buddha's arm is already 1.8m. Impressive indeed. Now that i've seen Yungang and Longmen, i MUST make a trip to Mogao in Dunhuang to finish the entire series of "Greatest Grottoes in China"

Elaborate carvings in the Yungang grottoes. Some of the colours are still very well-preserved.

Xuankong temple (Hanging monastery) - tramped to death. Disappointing because its been over-developed commercially and concrete reinforcements had to be put in - which kinda destroys the whole point of it all. Thousands of people stampede their way through this delicate wooden structure and have no qualms about sitting on it, touching it, and just eroding this structure. Of course i'm guilty since I've also paid for a ticket to go in. I guess it might not be there in 5 years time. or, chances are, they'd tear it down and rebuild a replica so they can milk even more $ out of this.

Making up for more lost time...

Guess i'll just speak with pictures instead of words.

New Year's 2010 was spent in Dongbei again, it seems we do like to torture ourselves. Beau convinced me the rime trees in Jilin would be worth the cold. Well, as "tropical peoples", -35deg C was definitely a novel experience. Snce i didn't bring a down jacket (silly me), i wore about 5 layers on top (1 cotton long-sleeve, 2 fleeces, 1 pullover and 1 ski jacket), and 3 layers of pants - 1 pair of leggings, 1 fleece pants, knee-high socks, ankle-length socks, and padded ski trousers. oh, and undies of course. but that amount of fabric was immaterial compared to the layers outside. and a hat, and the hoodies from the pullover and the ski-jacket. and i was STILL COLD.

For the record, the above amount of clothing keeps you warm for about an hour or so.. then the condensation from your breath cools so quickly that icicles form on your eyebrows, eyelashes and hair. Snot just runs down your nose non-stop.. brrrrr... yip. not a pleasant experience.

Skiing also takes more than the usual effort if you're so cold your limbs are frozen and you have so many layers of clothing on you can't move, or see very much.

But don't let this post discourage you from experiencing it for yourself! ;-)

Making up for lost time

Didn't get a chance to post pix when i was behind the friggin GFW so here are some of the highlights from 2009, or posterity's sake.

i've been thinking about switching blogs but i'm kinda attached to this one since i started my travelling in 2006 and have had 130+ posts to date. Nyeah. i'll be loyal.

Longmen Grottoes, south of Luoyang city, Henan province. Awe-inspiring collection of statues carved 1500 years ago.

There you go.. i took the plunge.

Sunset in Uluwatu, Bali

Looking back at 2009

Time of the year for making a recap list again. 2009 certainly zipped by.

Let’s see, I spent the first quarter of the year being unemployed… spending time in Singapore and in Beijing job-hunting, reading and generally relaxing. I say “generally” because there is this certain anxiety when you don't have an income, worry about when you're going to find a job, and feel guilty about any form of spending!

The main story of the year was that I got hitched twice, in 2 locations (to the same guy)! Beau is officially The Husband, but that sounds really “square” to call him that. Anyway for the benefit of continuity, I’m just going to stick with the afore-mentioned term. Getting hitched, and all the planning that came along with it is a whole story in itself. The miracle was surely, the fact we both survived the planning, the massive travel logistics for visiting relatives, and the handling of family relations relatively unscathed.

Trips: Numerous trips to Qingdao and Singapore (because of the weddings), enjoyed a short spring in Beijing with a couple of outings around the city, spent the may holiday in Luoyang, Henan to see the giant Buddha. Saw my first Beijing opera. A camping trip in July.

The rest of the time I spent working my a$$ off, and made several business trips down to Shangers and Hangzhou. The down side of it was that I was hardly in Beijing to establish a regular workout routine, but the bonus was that I managed to meet my old friends quite frequently.

Oooh.. and another highlight of the year was I made it 365 days without losing my wallet. Dare I say, it seems the annual curse has been broken for now.

Ended the year in Dongbei again. It’s the second year running I spent new year’s in freezing temperature. This time, I’ve outdone my self in Jilin, in -35deg C temp – I didn’t ever think I could survive this sort of weather. All the way there to see some bloody rime trees! Ok admittedly, it was all very nice but I’m definitely looking forward to a tropical holiday now.

Pictures to follow… soon as I get VPN or back home – whichever happens sooner.

Great Wall revisited

Spring fever

Each time spring comes along, I always have the irresistable urge to go hiking. I joined a hiking club on one of their trips to the great wall near the Miyun reservoir. Along the way, we walked past some watchtowers



Sunshine, clear blue skies with no clouds.



This is my first hiking trip for the season and hopefully there are many more to come.

View of the roundtower from the other cliff

Miyun Reservoir thru the watchtower

Yunmeng gorge

Long overdue - Part II - Yabuli

From Harbin, we departed on a train south-east towards Yabuli, about 2hr 30mins away. Yabuli touts itself as the winter-sports hub of China, where there are a number of ski-grounds, including the training facilities for the national team. It touts itself as an affordable alternative to Europe or Japan for skiing, and this year, Yabuli is hosting the winter universiade, where a myriad of students from various countries will compete in a variety of events like ice-hockey and skiing. No chance of any representation from Singapore then!

Yabuli train station

The resorts offer beginner to advanced slopes, and for as low as 100yuan (approx. US$15), you can ski for 2 hours, and it even comes with snowboard/ski and piste rentals and ski-lift rides to the intermediate or advance slopes. Hire a coach if you can’t ski to save your life.

While I was there, struggling not to fall down the bunny slope, I saw little kids from the national team repeatedly whizzing past me (running uphill in their skis) and then racing down at top-speed N times– so much for thinking I’m athletically-inclined! However, I saw just as many beginners crashing into the fence. My excuse for my poor form - I was born in a tropical country!

At Yabuli, the ever-resourceful beau found us a homestay in one of the nearby villages for an "authentic” dongbei experience for only 50yuan a person.

Dongbei people traditionally in-build brick stoves into their brick houses. The locals burn wood-fire to cook and warm the house. The heat from the stove is channeled into various parts of the house, including the walls, and the bedrooms which have a platform about 1 m high (thus eliminating the need for a bed-frame) where you can lay mattresses and bedding. This keeps the house incredibly warm and toasty during the long, harsh winter.

However, for whatever reason, i couldn't sleep well that night. Maybe the platform was too hard and i was used to sleeping on a thicker mattress. Or, maybe it was because the heat coming through the mattress was so strong that i felt like i was a pizza being cooked over a fire.

Anyhow, our homestay was very pleasant and relaxed- we felt enveloped in warmth inside the house (even though it was minus 20 deg C outside) and the very nice hostess also served us hearty home-cooked meals.

The next day, Beau and I embarked on an ambitious plan to hike from the village to the top of the mountain. It didn't seem very far (from where we could see) and it appeared to be a half-day job - just had to walk past the lake, and into the forests and cut through a couple of hills to get to the top - or so it seemed. Everybody we enquired said it could "possibly be done" although they had never tried. Needless to say, we lost our directions since we didn't have a topo map or a compass.

After walking past the lake, we entered the forest and meandered our way through. the trees There were no visible trails and the ski-slope was obscured from view. I grumbled at Beau while we trudged in knee-deep snow and fought the branches in our face. The snow in my shoes were making my toes frosty!

Suddenly, we became aware that someone else was amongst the woods, watching us as we walked through. We turned and saw some wild-looking man in a tatty army jacket and a dead deer lying by his feet. He sat there motionless, staring at us until we said hello and ask for directions to the ski-slope but he seemed very sinister and unfriendly. He pointed us in the opposite direction of where we were heading, and without saying much else, dragged the deer into the forest and disappeared. We were sufficiently spooked-out when he appeared behind us just as silently 15 minutes later without the deer. We let him past and again, he melted into the forest in a matter of minutes. We decided to turn back - there was no way we could make it on to the ski-slope by our targetted time, and this guy spooked us out. Did he shoot the deer? it looked like a bullet went through its body but we didn't hear any gunshots.

On our way back out of the forest, we saw drops of blood along the trail and we figured out that he had dragged thie animal down the hill to store it somewhere and came back up again. How on earth did he drag this load down and return so quickly?!

Beau and I had a field day speculating various theories about this guy - he didn't seem like a farmer from the nearby villages. Our most plausible theory being he was a convicted criminal on the run, hiding in the woods and living off the land. Was he alone or did he have some fellow hunters?

Anyway, that was how we ended of our little hike and in the end, we had to hop on a bus to get to the ski-grounds -an unglamorous conclusion to our little Siberian wilderness adventure.

By the lake

I love the wilderness and the stark landscape -pristine white snow that glisten in the sun and the desolate forests. In the distance, spires of smoke rise from the farmhouses. There is an overwhelming silence except for the crunch of snow under your feet (or in your shoes!).

This is what i imagine Siberia looks like.

I didn't take that many photos because my fingers were frozen beyond mobility. Plus, my camera battery went flat frequently because of the cold and i couldn't be bothered to take my hands out of my pockets to warm them up!

Long overdue -Part I - Harbin

Long overdue photos of my winter trip up to the north-east

Spent the first few days of 2009 in Heilongjiang in the north-east or “dongbei” as Chinese call it. First stop was Harbin, where it was a mind-numbing minus 15 deg celcius.

Heilongjiang has strong Russian and Japanese influences, and it was ruled by the Manchus since the beginning of the 17th century right until 1911. The Russians came in the early 20th century after the Harbin-Vladivostok railway line was built and essentially built a miniature Russian city in the heart of Manchuria. From a dusty middle-of-nowhere northern outpost, Harbin was transformed into a modern city. In its heyday, Harbin was the playground for Russians, and boasted the first movie theatres, bath-houses, and a brewery (that still churns out Harbin Beer today) in the whole of China. During summer, they swam in the Songhua river, and in winter, played/invented sports such as women’s swimsuit snow-tubing (really).

The Japanese invaded Manchuria in the 30s and Inner manchuria was then known as "Manchukuo" and became a puppet state of Japan until WW2.

In the early 50s, Harbin, together with the rest of “dongbei” became the industrial base of China. Heilongjiang became a major producer of heavy industrial machinery and vehicles. Coal-mines established, and even oil was discovered. HLJ became synonymous with smog and pollution.

Today, it still retains some of its Russian flavour, with its stately architecture and cuisine and has an exotic look and feel to it. Coming into town via the airport bus, Harbin, at first impression seemed an old, gritty city. Several of the residential buildings were dilapidated and neglected.

Here, majority of the laowais are tourists from Russia, who hope over the border from a little town called Black River via train. How do you identify Russians? They wear fur and leather - loads of it. So much so that PETA would have a field day here. Even the locals here look different – a mixture of Han, Manchu, Japanese, and perhaps Siberian. The girls have round faces, straight midnight-black hair with a short fringe, large black eyes, and double-eyelids -very pretty. They all look like they are named “Irina” for some reason.

On the whole, Harbin’s infrastructure looks like it badly needs modernizing to catch up with the rest of the 2nd tier cities. The city buses were old and sluggish and bus-stops had graffiti all over. Beau commented that even the beggars here seemed much worse-off.

We visited the provincial museum and while it boasted an array of historical artifacts and relics (including some massive dinosaur skeletons), the displays were old-school and looked like they haven’t been updated since the 80s.

“Zhongyang dajie” or “Central street” is the showcase of its “Russian-ness”. Zhongyang dajie is a pedastrianized shopping street that has been spruced up and proudly proudly shows off its stately European-style buildings. There are a multitude of shops selling 红肠 or literally “red sausages” (a Russian tradition, apparently), Russian goods (think matryoshka dolls), and fur coats.

2 bears walked past me. I had to resist the urge to hug them - they looked so warm while i froze.

Another 2 Russians looking at the St Sophia Church

The highlight of my Harbin trip was definitely the annual ice-sculpture festival. Every winter, temperatures drop well below 0 degree Celcius, and huge blocks of ice are harvested from the frozen Songhua river and transported north of the city onto Taiyang Island, where they are transformed into a themepark wonderland. Even the park itself is ringed with a 1.5m tall wall entirely made of ice.

The scale of the sculptures were, frankly beyond my imagination and one can’t help but just gawk at all the magnificence of it all. . There are 40m high castles that change colours every 20 seconds, a huge Buddha sculpture, Chinese temples, churches, etc, all cleverly in-built with flashing neon light circuitry. In addition, it also has a miniature skating rink, snack stalls that peddle bintang hulu, souvenirs and little tents where you can escape from the cold for a steaming hot drink. There was also a big tent featuring Russian cabaret dancers.

This is the 10th year the festival is held and it's the ultimate crowd pleaser for adults and children alike but for the love of god, do wear warm clothes!!





A log of what I wore (and yet still felt frost-bitten) while i was up north:

• Thermal long-sleeved top


• Fleece top


• Thick pullover


• Ski jacket


• Leggings


• Fleece trousers


• Ski pants


• Socks x 2 pairs


• Neck-warmer


• Gloves


• Hiking boots

Hello Spring, goodbye woolly thermal underwear

Spring has finally sprung in Beijing and i've ditched the woolly thermals - nothing like sunshine to improve one's mood. my feet are absolutely itching to go hiking. i NEED to go outdoors Now.

Meanwhile, I've been playing tourguide for the past few days to an assortment of visitors and this week, dad arrives (with $10 worth of newton carrot cake!!) and i brought him out for a little jaunt downtown Beijing. Amongst the many common traits we have, serious caffeine addiction is one of them. A coffee stop is de rigeur as part of afternoon sightseeing.

looking out of the cafe @ Nan luo gu xiang hutong

the domey National Theatre - i like

Tiananmen - sparse crowds since its a weekday

post-olympics

Went to the Olympic park today for another look at the stadium/cube, and to admire the vastness of it all. The crowds have since come and gone. Now, the touts peddling instant photos, Olympic mascot keychains and other kitschy souvenirs outnumber the tourists who come to gawk at these new symbols of Beijing. Amazingly, I managed to snap this where there was nobody else in the square except the uniformed personnel. They look terribly disinterested, even from the back.

Snow in Beijing -the first for the year

Beijing has been relatively snow-less this winter.. until today. Apparently its global warming. Thats the explanation for any freakish weather anyway. From the warmth and comfort of the apartment,i can see lots of excited kids (and their parents) playing outside amidst the flurries.

Brr... i don't want to be outside, especially when i've just came back from 30deg C weather. Just as well i'm stuck at home job-hunting eh?

This reminds me, i've yet to post my Harbin /Heilongjiang photos from new year's day... I suppose i'll get it out soon.

It's great to be home ...

I get to :

--Spend time with my family and friends. My brother is back from Australia so we get to catch up, take walks together and stuff. He gets to annoy me just like the good old days.

--It's nice and warm! the birds are chirping, the sun is shining and i'm surrounded by lush greenery. And, I don't have to dress in multiple layers of clothes and look/ feel like the michelin-man. Those short winter up north do get a bit dreary.

--Eat all the local food i've missed out on - "i have a list, and i'm checking it twice" and conscientiously ticking them off everyday.

--Swim (do the hamster equivalent of just laps and laps around the pool - its something i really enjoy and it clears my head out because i'm just concentrating on making every kick and stroke right. I've swam only once in the whole time i've been in China.

Oh, and i don't get zapped by static electricity here, EVER!! its made me so wary of opening door handles, or touching anything with my bare hands. i resorted to closing taxi doors by poking the window with one finger when i was in beijing...

So, the poor inflight entertainment on my way back gave me a chance to do some reflection and take stock of the year that's just past, and the one coming up.

2008 recap:

Jan - i started the year with a hike with 2 close friends in Hangzhou. Shivered through the rest of the month. 2 of my schoolfriends (whom i've known since we were 15) gave birth to healthy little babies and i was really happy for them.

Feb - Massive snowfall in HZ and I almost couldn't get home for chinese new year. When i returned to HZ, a few of us hashers went on an epic hike, where we circumnavigated HZ's hills in 11 hrs - by the time we finished at wushan square, it was 8pm and we were ready to collapse, but with an immense sense of satisfaction.

Mar - Dad visited Hangzhou. I went for a bad haircut and ended up with a really dorky fringe.

Apr - Arrival of spring. Picnics, boat rides, tea-drinking, tulip festival - all in all a happy month.

May - Flew home to attend one of my best friend's wedding in Singapore - one of the nicer, intimate weddings i've attended, but the after-party was a different story. Then the 8.0 earthquake struck.

June - Suzhou and shanghai with Dad. Preparations as well as the actual Hash 50th run -complete blast. Climbed up Taishan single and came down engaged - the boyfriend's proposal on bended knee at the summit took me by complete surprise.

July, Aug, Sept - hot and sweaty summer, the Olympics, oh and i turned 29.

Oct - meet the parents session in beijing and qingdao (great success!), mountain race relay in hangzhou, and left my job!

Nov - ran a 21k race

Dec - Offically relocated to beijing. Then, promptly went on a 10day trip to Sichuan. Ended the year with my wallet picked in freezing Harbin. [This whole wallet business happens annually (this is the 4th year running) and i almost made it to 365 days without losing it.. until 31 Dec 2008 6pm that is] I'm convinced it is a curse so this time, i've chosen to maintain some stoicism. But, the boyfriend said to count my blessings - my passport was intact so i made it home. And my driving licence wasn't stolen this time (because it was lost in last year's wallet incident, i made a new one and had yet to collect it!)

my new year resolutions (drumroll..... )

** Not sure if i should fight this curse but i really don't want to lose my wallet AGAIN.

** Keep up my fitness and health - running, biking, outdoor sports and all.

** Learn to conquer my fear of falling on a ski-slope (so i don't continue to ski like a wimp)

**Be more green/ eco-friendly (like, more recycling, eat less meat, use less resources etc.)

**Be more budget conscious. guess i'm used to earning and spending on whatever i want, but i really should save money for rainy days, or for that matter, snow, hailstones and all.

and then there's the usual ones on every year's list - do more travelling, do more good, count my blessings and be thankful for everything i have!

happy new year everyone !

Sichuan Revisited [2008]

My first visit to Sichuan was in Nov 2006, as a somewhat carefree backpacker. From Zhongdian (Yunnan), my travel companions Will, Hazel and myself crossed over to west Sichuan into a little town called Daocheng, and thereafter taking long bus rides to Litang and Kangding on the way to Chengdu. Even though i complained inccessantly then about those colourful, long bus rides in freezing weather, they were, in fact one of the most memorable parts of my trip!

Looking back at my posts from 2 years ago, I am no doubt amused by the stuff I used to be amused about. I can sense a different mood in my writing then and now - I was definitely more carefree and adventurous before! Back then, I was new to China, and new to the country’s culture, language, and ‘the way things worked”. Everything was a lot more fresh and exciting and I discovered new things everyday.

Admittedly, this novelty has since waned significantly now that I’ve spent 2 years now in China, and I’m familiar with “the system”. (Or perhaps growing older makes you more cynical generally?) I don’t think so hard about eating in hole-in-the-walls and wondering whether I’ll get food poisoning, my Mandarin and bargaining skills have significantly improved and allowed me to research a lot more local information, travel more inconspicuously ( not a blatant laowai), and navigate my way around like any other seasoned Chinese traveller.

I remember Yingtze and I chanced upon a lamian shop in Yunnan and excitedly watched the guy shave slivers of dough into a pot of boiling water – my very first Lanzhou daoxiao mian experience! We gawked and even took pictures. Later on, I realized that Lanzhou lamian stalls were so ubiquitous they were in every other street corner in every city in every province!!

I don’t want to lose this sense of adventure and joie de vivre – Life would be so bland if one became blasé and jaded about everything, no? Although my trip this time was short, it was, in many ways, a timely reminder for me to “rediscover my sense of discovery” so to speak.

While living in Hangzhou, I took short trips here and there, but nothing beats going on a long trip on your own. It’s been awhile since I’ve travelled solo – and I missed that feeling (and perhaps I might not have many more chances to do so in future!), being on the road, taking in new scenery and meeting people. So with about 10 days to spare, once again, I stuffed my rucksack with warm clothing, and “just-in-case supplies”, and boarded a plane for Chengdu with a vague plan to explore North Sichuan.

Leaving Hangzhou, next stop: Beijing

I had a busy 2-3 months prior to leaving Hangzhou for good. In between work, my weekly schedule of yoga, running and drinking, my parents visited China and i spent some time with them. Then there was a decadent Shanghai weekend trip squeezed in, visits to Beijing, the HZ mountain race, HZ marathon, a raucous Halloween party and countless other reasons i was in the bar - birthdays, farewells and such.

It goes without saying that by now i have developed a strong attachment to the city, not least because of my friends here that have made me feel at home in Hangzhou. But at the same time, towards the last 6 months, i had a growing restlessness and a niggly feeling that it was time for me to move on. Perhaps my only regret is I could have achieved more work-wise. It was hard to prise myself away from my friends and my life in Hangzhou. To relocate to a new city, find a new job, new friends, and have a new life would mean scrapping the rythym and stability i had acquired and starting from zero all over again.

But hey, this is what life is all about - There's much more to be done and experienced elsewhere!Change is the only constant, as the cliche goes. Keep on dancing!

"The wheels of the bus go round and round.. "

So goes the tune of the children's song...

My favourite bus in Hangzhou is the tourist bus Y4. Here's why - for a start, it goes past 2 of my favourite bars - Seven and Maya. Then it goes down leafy, tree-lined Shuguang lu and swings west into the countryside - passing through the Hangzhou botanical gardens, rows of picturesque teahouses, the "new" west lake, and some new-ancient Buddhist temples. Then it chugs into the Meiling tunnel and emerges on to the winding road leading to Meijiawu and Yunxi bamboo forest, where both have excellent trails leading up to the hills. Best of all, it costs next to nothing, and its a joy when you get the window seat and get to snap photos of the scenes passing by.

Evidence presented below :-)

Huang-ni-ling （黄泥岭）

Meijiawu valley

Cute - its a toy-boat by the way.

Mao Jia Bu (茅家埠）

Opposite Yunxi bamboo trail (云栖竹径）

2008/08/08 18:08:00 hrs

Countdown: Only 120 minutes more to go to the opening ceremony

Probably fair to say 1 billion people in China will be glued to their telly tonight at 8.08pm.

Beijingers got a day off work today (presumably to clear up the smog and clear the streets of errant motorists), and over here in Hangzhou, some offices closed half day, and we got off work an hour earlier in my company just so we can go home early and view The Event of the year.
Popped into C-store (Hangzhou's answer to seven-eleven) earlier and everyone is busy buying up snacks and drinks - potato chips, guazi, bacardi breezers, beer, etc.

The hype had been steadily building up over the past few months on every available media and its been hard to ignore or escape from it.

Everyone here, i mean EVERYONE is waiting in anticipation and today O-fever hits new heights. Shops, and supermarkets are going to shut early, even taxi-drivers are planning to abandon the streets in favour of watching China's glorious moment. Several cars are already sporting "Go China" flags and decals.

The opening ceremony, as i am cynically thinking, is going to be one big giant parade with thousands of people waving synchronised placards and flags. Oh and fireworks - loads of it. But having said that, I do like watching sports events, especially the Olympics and the mood here is infectious.

So, excuse me while i get ready to go to my friend's pad for the Olympics party (yes, i've already bagged my potato chips) *fingers crossed i get a cab!*

1.5years in Hangzhou

Arrived fresh off the boat 1.5years ago in Hangzhou and started work.
Looked back at my Feb 5, 2007 post and laughed my head off.
http://travelpede.blogspot.com/2007/02/hangzhou-survival-101.html

All that excitement, panic and anxiety i experienced relocating to a new place, my communicado problems, that terrible weather, navigating around the city, colleagues, protocols, landlords, agents, etc seemed so long ago.

So i've came some way in improving my Chinese. Actually, i don't know if its an improvement or an actual deterioration of my language skills when these days, i sometimes blank out and can't remember an English word, but can find a word in Chinese to perfectly describe something (!!)

I know now more about working in China - not the expert but suffice to say the more i know, the more i realise i don't know. when i say Chinese protocol and working culture = Lake Baikal, its an understatement.

Time to take stock - what i have accomplished thus far, what i need to do next.

Time to move on - do something else, be something else, try something different.

Time to leave Hangzhou, and move on to other pastures.

Suzhou snapshot

Dad visited Shanghai on a business trip in June and yours truly went up there and spent a weekend with him. We decided on a day trip to Suzhou since neither of us have been.

To be honest, Suzhouw as a bit of a disappointment, and we didn't get to see everything we wanted, in part due to my own balls-up with the return train tickets.

Nevertheless, it was nice to spend time with the old man. He seemed quite taken with the trishaws and we went everywhere in them, paying 10-15kuai a pop each time (probably ripped off!). Helluva fun as we weaved in and out of the streets dodging cars, people, bicycles and other trishaws. Dad keeps getting mistaken as a Japanese tourist and I, the translator for some reason - perhaps its because i'm doing all the navigation and bargaining! Plus we tip them extra. And then he says to them in broken chinese "We are from Singapore, and she (pointing to me) is my daughter!" somewhat indignantly.

Cue aplogetic look from trishaw riders. i didn't think too much about it until they apologised effusively. Maybe, there are, um, other sorts of older Japanese tourists accompanied by other sorts of younger multi-tasking translators. Who knows?

Dad remarks that Suzhou city looks similar to Hangzhou but as a sign that i'm now a seasoned Hangzhouvian, i immediately rejected that idea - Hangzhou looks mucho better!

We visited a couple of the requisite tourist sites (pagodas and temples) , strolled around leisurely and then had lunch at a local noodle eatery - cheap and deeeelicious. After that, we both telephatically signalled to each to other it was time for coffee, spotted a Xing-ba-ke and made a beeline for it. Always count on the MickeyD's of coffee when you need a caffeine fix.

The Suzhou museum had a long queue snaking out of its entrance and we both decided it was too much of a hassle to wait. It was the "wrong season" to visit the famed gardens apparently because there are't too many flowers in bloom - Ugh.

We got the train back to Shanghai, but not before his camera got picked amidst the heaving crowds at Suzhou train station. Dad sulks for about half the journey back but he quickly regained his jovial mood and persuaded me (it wasn't difficult) to go to the hotel bar for a couple of pre-dinner drinks. That was followed by a quick dinner, we said our goodbyes and i hopped back on a train to Hangzhou.

Ah well, i'll have to visit Suzhou again. Maybe better luck next time.

L: Austere-looking Suzhou museum designed by I.M. Pei. Very distinctive - i like.
R: Dad smiling... until his camera got picked at the train station!

L: Cheap tricks: A wooden clothes-peg solves the age-old problem of flapping trouser-cuffs when you're riding your tri-shaw.

R: Boat-woman paddling and singing along one of the canals.

Taishan & Jinan, Shandong

Summer trip to Taishan & Jinan in Shandong

Took a weekend camping and hiking trip to Shandong during the Dragon-boat festival break to climb Taishan and spend a day in Jinan.

Like any other "famous mountains" and "must-see" attractions in China (e.g. Huangshan), the main "Imperial" route up the mountain was bustling. Tourist hordes with megaphone-toting tour guides, students, touts, sedan-chair coolies all blend into the melee that is a 6000-step artery all the way to the summit. Amongst all the goods on offer, notable ones peddled include gaudy red "I conquered Taishan" headbands, good-luck mini-statues of assorted Tao deities (pretty cheap luck at only 1yuan a piece) for people needing blessings for health, exams, lottery,etc. , T-shirts & flags (again in the same vein of "I conquered Taishan"), whistles (that sound like birds or crickets), towels, sun-shades, instant photo services etc. What amazed me more was the fact that people actually bought them.

Thankfully, we took a quieter back route up the mountain and it was virtually empty. It offered some great views of the rugged range, waterfalls, springs and swathes of pine forests. Here, you could stop whenever you want to enjoy the scenery, listend to birds chirping (real ones, not those bloody annoying whistles) or take a snack break in peace. In fact, there were few shops we passed and most of them called out lackadasically to you to buy something, have a rest or some tea but were never pushy. At one point we ran out of bottled water and filled our bottles with sweet, refreshing spring water. I did worry at some point about giardia and other nasty parasites (You can take me out of Singapore, but can't take the Singaporean out in me!) but decided to flirt with danger anyway .

5pm, almost sunset and a few hundred metres altitude to go. We had made slow progress in part due to the heat and heavy backpacks. A cable-car station loomed in sight and looked extremely tempting. It was a case of Cable-up-and-enjoy-the-sunset vs continue-heaving-reach-the-top-possibly-in dark.

Surely it would be extremely wimpish to take a cable up to the top after we've made it this far on legs! Wouldn't i be relegated to those "softies" (that i usually scorn) who take the easy way up? So weak! so wimpish! Ugh.

In the end, Cable-car won. To hell with pride. The cable (more like a ski-lift) zipped us and our heavy backpacks to the top in cool efficiency and for only 20kuai (4SGD). It was an awesome ride and definitely a different experience to feel the breeze, look down and see the tops of trees whizzing past beneath your feet. Made a mental note to try the soft option more often in future.

The summit offered -you guessed it - more souvenir shops, instant photo services and of course temples. It was almost sunset when we finally reached the top and we hurriedly pitched our tent, sat outside the tent watching the beautiful red and orange glow in the sky with a bottle of red. Dinner was a simple, hurried affair in a tiny eatery - as the wind howled outside, we wolfed down steaming bowls of noodles with fried vegetables and eggplant. And then we scurried back to the tent again to escape the wind.

Stars in the night sky - lots of them.

Early start at 4am after a particularly uncomfortable sleep (in part due to some other noisy campers) for the famed Taishan sunrise - but we didn't get to see it due to too much cloud cover.

Oh well - time to de-camp and head down!

We tried to weave through the crowds as quickly as we could via the "imperial" route. The route up was much more pleasant than the way down! I had a vague feeling that Taishan (esp the main route) isn't the sort of place to get away from the crowds or to have some quiet contemplation of the navel. Even the temples atop seemed rather commercialised and had lost its "sacred" aura.

6000 steps downhill wasn't a piece of cake like i envisioned, and after about 4000 of them, we caved-in once again to the comfortable option - a BUS!

And so, that was Tai-shan crossed of my long "To-do" list.

Clockwise from L (Sedan chairs to carry visitors up the mountain, Taishan, sunset with some satellite dishes camouflaged under a pagoda, and yours truly bringing my own bar up to Taishan)

"Webpage not found" ..or dare i say it...

So.. i'm messing around the settings in blogspot and pressed "view blog" just for kicks - even though i knew it would bounce back with a "webpage not found" type error.... and
OMG - it actually opened! Magic!!
For 1.5years now (which is, how long i've been here btw), i've been able to post via blogger.com but not actually open my blog on blogspot.com, nor keep up with any of my friends' blogs. Happiness!

I wonder how long this is gonna last though... as with the Great Firewall of China, you never really know when they'll randomly decide to pull the plug again. Is this some sort of Olympics amnesty? Youtube, Wiki, and BBC news have all been un-banned this year in China - now is this progress or what?