zhong rong @ wuhan

Day 42 - Homecoming

2009-10-13T10:44:00.011+08:00

A number of us decided not to sleep since we are staying here for the last night. For me, I was just starting to do the IS video. Worked through till 5am and we went to set up fireworks outside our school as it was too late last night to light up the fireworks.

It is rather ironic to light fireworks when the sun rises. But oh well, that is our only chance to do it. First we did it at the alley beside our hostel and was complained by a man who wants to sleep, so we went across the road to finish up our fireworks.

Did some last minute packing of our belongings and off to the airport. Took a transit at Guangzhou airport and back to Singapore again. :)

School's starting next week!

Reflections
Lighting up fireworks reminds me of my childhood times when my family would always go to my aunt's house in Malaysia to put fireworks with my cousins. Now, we are putting fireworks with our friends whom we had been together for 6 weeks. It was fun, with the stunts done by our friends. Haha! Back to the old days~

I'm finally back to Singapore. I'm gonna miss the roadside stalls, GST-free shopping and dining, and the weather. This trip is beneficial, making new friends from MDE. After 6 weeks, memories are shared and jokes are laughed at. These are the things that made this trip enjoyable.

A video on Anyu and me lighting up the fireworks!

The fireworks that we bought last night.

My roommates for the past 6 weeks - Chin Kuang, Daniel, me.

MDE gathering outside our hostel, getting ready to go!

A machine to charge your handphones at Guangzhou airport.

SINGAPORE, HERE WE COME!

Look at my dented and "exploded" luggage!

Singapore welcomes us back! Not full strength in this photo.

Day 41 - Squeezzeeeee

2009-10-11T23:59:00.007+08:00

Slept till noon and off to Grand Ocean for last minute shopping. The crowd is more than usual. Most of the sales have ended. Shopping for cheap clothes is a chore as it is either they don't have my size, or the design is not suitable for me. But the fact is, they are having clearance sales, so oh well.

Just had an impromptu birthday celebration for Chin Kuang in the middle of the road. Haha! Long story~

Flying off to Singapore tomorrow morning! Singapore, here I come!

Reflections
Sometimes while looking at the beggars asking for money on the streets, it's really pitiful of them. They are old and weak and still asking people for money, but with no returns. You don't see beggars in crowded streets in Singapore.

Took this in the PEAK changing room. It says "While changing, please be careful that your clothes doesn't spoil your makeup."

冰糖葫芦!

My stuffs to be packed, not much actually.

Day 40 - Last weekends

2009-10-10T23:59:00.002+08:00

Woke up early in the morning, feeling deprived of sleep, we went to a shopping district near the Yellow Crane Tower. We took the same van there! Was quite tired throughout the trip.

Had our lunch at the 首义园小吃街 and off for shopping. Managed to get 2 pairs of jeans at Baleno, maybe giving one to my brother.

Took a different van back to campus and we were brought to the wrong school and after some time, we finally reached our campus. Went for the farewell dinner at the place where we had our dinner on Day 1. To our surprise, it is held together with a wedding dinner.

Reflections
It is either China is too big, or there are too many branches for one university. The driver somehow got frustrated about the incident as it is so confusing to have so many branches of WUST. Whereas in Singapore, you don't really see schools have so many branches which is confusing and difficult to locate.

Chocolate ice-blend!

My group and the 2 local students!

MDE OIP family!

Day 39 - TGIF (Thank God It's Friday)

2009-10-09T23:59:00.000+08:00

Studies have finally come to an end for this trip. Today had Assignment 3 persentation using Flexsim. Not a good one I think.

Last time visiting our classroom 407, last time climbing up the 135-steps up to our classroom block, last time we are doing BPE.

Met up with my groupmates(Shun Qing, Rebecca and Kai Chung) to work on the IS video. Finished what we can do till quite late at night.

Reflections
Last presentation of BPE really made us more relaxed for the next few days here. No more work to worry about, except for the IS post-trip assignments. After the weekends, we will be back to Singapore again, have been missing the Singapore food for 6 weeks.

The students are learning how to dance.

Day 38 - Back to square one

2009-10-08T21:58:00.005+08:00

Assignment 3 presentation was canceled today as there is no classroom for us. So, it is time for us to get out of campus to explore the shopping hot spots!

We called up the shifu driving the van to bring us to 群光广场(Chicony) to shop. We had too many people so he called his wife along to bring us there, so there are 2 vans now! Reached our destination and walked around for a while and the place looked like you are in Takashimaya!

Headed for lunch at Ajisen. The portion here is more I guess, and cheaper! Then off to shopping. Little did we know that, after walking some time, we are actually very near to 老鼠街 area. We thought we are going to another new place.

Oh well, went to some streets for window shopping and headed back to campus after dinner at KFC.

Reflections
I feel that spending things without GST and service charge can really save you quite some money. I guess that is why products overseas may cost cheaper than what you pay for in Singapore. The sales here are much longer and more than what you can find in Singapore.

Finding a toilet in China is quite a tough job I guess. I seldom see any directions to toilets in shopping malls. If not, it is hidden in some corner of the mall. Today, I witnessed another small kid urinating in the middle of the streets because he is very urgent. He just squat down and pee.

Our bedsheets are changed this morning! Shall last until Monday morning.

A roadside stall selling pets like turtles and hamsters.

BreadTalk in China!

Some folks playing Mahjong.

Day 37 - Day in the hostel

2009-10-07T22:14:00.003+08:00

Woke up at noon, had lunch at KFC! Shared a so-called "buddy meal" with Chin Kuang and Yoke May. Came back and felt quite sleepy though. Laid on my bed till evening and started to work on Assignment 3's report while some of them went out to Grand Ocean for shopping again. Went out for dinner at the roadside stalls, bought something light and I still feel quite full.

Oh well, that sums up my day.

Reflections
After looking at the amount of oil they put in cooking our food, I wondered why the China people just won't grow fat? You can't really see any obsessed people on the streets, they are all thin or small-sized. Maybe it's the kind of oil they use? Or is it the weather here?

KFC egg tarts!

My dinner, all BBQ food. Hehe!

Day 36 - Window shopping

2009-10-06T20:58:00.004+08:00

It's the 36th day here.

After a long day of shopping yesterday, it is shopping again today at 光谷(Grand Ocean). I think I had finished my shopping yesterday, nothing much to buy anyways. The price is almost the same as Singapore. We took a van there today! We managed to squeeze 10 people into the van!

Maybe I shall wait till the weekends to buy other stuffs to clear my money. :)

Reflections
The school's still pretty empty now, with almost all the students going back to their hometown to visit their family during this 1-week National Day holiday. They can actually resist the temptation of going home for such a long time while studying here. One thing is that they can concentrate better when they are away from home, without the distractions. Their hometown may be some place far far away from school! Our 6 weeks here mean nothing to them. :)

How I wish Singapore have such a long holiday for National Day~

Sounds wrong to you?

They have this collectible at McDonald's too. They just started it.

Day 35 - Zhongshan Park & Jianghan Street

2009-10-05T22:42:00.007+08:00

Today's "free & easy" is accompanied by the tour guide who followed us to Wudang Mountains. It's quite hazy during the day.

Zhongshan Park

It is a really huge park. You can see the citizens doing recreational activities there like playing the Erhu and a theme park! Roller coaster rides, Viking ship and more! I never went for those rides but went into the mirror maze. It's too easy for us. Haha!

Took a train to Jianghan Street for shopping. Jus like Singapore, we have to buy a ticket to board the train. For us, we used something like tokens. Interesting.

Shopping!

Had lunch at 真功夫 and off to shopping! China is really big! Streets after streets is all shopping centers! You can see multiple Nike and Adidas stores all over the place in one area itself.

Managed to buy a Nike Free 5.0(RMB592) and a wallet(RMB69). :) Discounts everywhere! At night, the streets are lit up nicely, and the night backdrop of the skyline is really very nice.

Reflections
I guess the theme park here is nothing compared to the one you can find in Singapore. Singapore is based on per-entry-fee while in China here is pay-per-ride. I think this theme park is based more on children as most of the stations are rather not suitable for us.

Some folks playing chap teh.

Train gantry.

Doesn't this looked like those you see in Singapore?

I never knew that there is a shop named after me. Haha! ZR!

The Nike shoe that I bought!

The wallet that I bought!

Day 34 - Working on Report 2

2009-10-04T23:59:00.000+08:00

Went for lunch at a restaurant. Back to hostel to work on Assignment 2's report for the afternoon. Whereas for some of our friends went out.

Went out for dinner at roadside stalls and back to slack. Tomorrow's out with one of our tour guides to Hankou for theme park rides and shopping!

Reflections
I think the workload we received for this trip is still alright, just that we really have to plan our time carefully to produce the best work possible. We still have Assignment 3, IS video, IS powerpoint slides and a final individual report to be done for this OIP trip!

The book that we have to sign in/out when we leave campus.

BBQ food!

Day 33 - Mooncake Festival

2009-10-03T23:59:00.000+08:00

We spent our day shopping at somewhere else - 卓刀泉. We went to this place called 老鼠街. It is all girls' stuffs when we guys are finding guys' stuffs. So we decided to split our ways where we guys went further down to shop.

We found this district which is full of IT stuffs, just like Sim Lim Square in Singapore, but 4-5 times bigger! Sales is practically everywhere. There's Nike and Adidas sales, but there is nothing appealing to me, or the price is almost the same as Singapore.

Did some night shopping with some of the girls at the alleys, which looked like Bugis street! Shoes, accessories, clothes, everything you can find there! We wanted to take a bus back, but took a cab instead as the last bus is gone at 9pm!

Anyways, happy mooncake festival! My room had one mooncake to eat, thanks to Eshlyn!

Reflections
Whenever someone asks where we are from, they will be like "Ohhhh, Singapore~". I think Singapore's name is quite popular here, even the taxi driver know how Singapore's traffic is like from past feedback of tourists. They are also very friendly to us, but always thought that we came from Hong Kong initially. In their eyes, we speak Chinese very well too!

The experience of flagging a cab just now is very funny and interesting. We are walking along the road from one end to the other just to flag a cab. The taxis are either occupied or they don't know the route. I shared the cab with Yoke May and Rebecca.

A vehicle that washes the roads on both sides by spraying water! Cool...

A bus route in the bus, opposite of Singapore's MRT system.

This is one GIGANTIC Pooh!

KFC deliveries on bicycles!

The 3 of us, pathetically waving for taxi! :)

Day 32 - End of tests

2009-10-02T23:25:00.003+08:00

Had our BPE written test 2 this morning. Finally the heavy burden is off our shoulders! Now we just have to finish our Assignment 3 project and a video for IS presentation when we return to Singapore.

Took a bus to 光谷街(Grand Ocean shopping center) for shopping! Had Pizza Hut for lunch and is so much cheaper than Singapore.I just went there to survey prices and see whether they have the stuffs I wanted. Majority of us went to a saloon to style their hair, excluding me. My shopping spree shall start next week.

Reflections
I really salute the bus driver today. I noticed that the speed meter is spoilt(photo below) as the needle is not moving even though the bus is driving. They can only use their experience and 'feel' to gauge the speed then.

The bus conductor is also very helpful to us tourists. She reminded us where to get off so that we won't miss our stop, and this was the second time. Good service indeed.

I find that the people here are really patriotic towards their country. Shop owners actually hang their national flag outside their shops(photo below). You don't see this in Singapore, at most at HDB flats. But I guess the trend is decreasing.

The spoilt speed meter.

Mascot at 光谷街!

The national flag outside the saloon.

Day 31 - Happy National Day, China!

2009-10-01T21:36:00.006+08:00

Happy National Day, China! 60th birthday.

Whole day was just slacking in hostel. Watch part of the marching parade in the morning and went for lunch. The school is really empty due to the fact that today is a holiday. We decided to play Captain's Ball in the afternoon. It was fun, with all sorts of stuns we do.

Didn't managed to go out to town as we were afraid that it will be very packed and difficult to get our way through.

Went out for dinner and can tell that the streets are quite empty.

Reflections
Their national day marching parade is very grand. Their marching standards is really very high, everybody is very synchronised. Even the tanks passing through the parade is aligned straightly! It's really different to the national parades you see in Singapore. You can feel the pride in them that they are very proud of their country.

One thing I noticed here in China is that, they are quite humble at times. When we say "Thank you", they will just reply "You're welcome!" or "It's okay, you don't have to thank us" in Chinese.

The empty school today.

A repeated telecast of the marching parade while we are having lunch at the wanton shop.

The place where we had our dinner.

Day 30 - Assignment 2 presentation

2009-09-30T22:47:00.004+08:00

Morning class with the dean again. He continued his lecture on Taoism and Buddhism. I think most of us were suffering throughout the 3 hours as we spent the night doing our Assignment 2 till quite late.

Afternoon was assignment 2 presentation. Everybody is quite dead by now. Presentation was quite smooth. One more written test on Friday and Assignment 3 presentation next week!

Had dinner at Mala steamboat again!

Reflections
The news of the SP student being stabbed in China is spreading quite fast. I think it's quite sad and pitiful of the victim, as well as the family. Died at such a young age is always not a pleasant thing to happen.

Day 29 - Last lecture

2009-09-29T23:46:00.004+08:00

BPE class at 2pm, with no electricity throughout the whole campus. So we just do quiz 10 without Mr Loh explaining it. That means, class ended early and we went back to our rooms to work on Assignment 2 which we have to submit tomorrow.

At night, we were invited to a party by the local students. It was a great night with games and performances by our own students, Edy and Roy from MDE and some from ICT.

Just had a birthday celebration for Gloria! Happy Birthday Gloria!

Reflections
This was the second time we interacted with the local students. This was a more fruitful one I suppose. The games they organised was quite alright, with no disgusting and extreme tasks, but rather interesting.

I'm still bewildered about why the electricity supply was cut off for the whole campus for the second time.

Disco ball~

Roy performing his breakdance!

Edy's singing performance.

Musical chairs!

We are playing the games too!

Day 28 - Disappointing trip

2009-09-28T23:08:00.003+08:00

Had BPE class later than usual at 10am. Covered chapter 8 and quiz today. Had lunch and went for industrial visit. We went to this pharmaceutical plant and there was nothing for us to see. No photography(but we still managed to take some) and almost everything is restricted to us. We can only wander around the buildings.

Reflections
The industry visit was quite disappointing? I was expecting to see more things there. Assignment 2 presentation was extended to Wednesday, so we can have more time to finish. Now we just have to get over with this week and we are carefree for the last week, with one more presentation to go. Today marks the 4th week already!

An Ox!

Magnum that costs 4.5RMB only!

Day 26 & 27 - Wudang Mountains

2009-09-27T23:09:00.010+08:00

Day 26

Gathered at 6.30am early in the morning. Had a long 7 hours ride to Wudang Mountains(武当山). Served with good lunch and off we go for our first scenic spot - 太子坡. It was raining but the weather feels hot.

Then had a tea session where we get to try some of the different teas for free. One of them is quite special. After you drank a few cups of the tea, and drink some plain water, the plain water actually tastes as if it is sweet.

Next, 紫霄宫. Nothing much there, just a temple. Went to put our belongings at the hotel and went to a place to see the highest point of Wudang Mountains.

The scenery is nice too, with the fog and mountains.

Our accommodation was quite bad, maybe for my room. The toilet has a stench in it.

Day 27

6am breakfast and started on our hiking journey up 武当山. We are supposed to reach the highest point that we saw yesterday. It is very high and some steps are very steep, especially between the cable car station to the top. From the knowledge of the tour guides, it's about 6500 steps from our hotel I guess. We managed to finish it in about 2 hours! What a good way to train your thigh muscles! Took the cable car down.

Had lunch and back to campus with an uncomfortable 7 hours ride. Reached at about 9pm and bought our late dinner.

Reflections
I feel that the tour guides for all of our tours have pretty much knowledge about the places we visited. It's like they had memorised everything and just recite it out. China's history is so long and complex, with so many names, customs and places. Maybe they aced their history classes when schooling? Haha! They took great care of us too.

Guess what, 2 more weekends and we are back in Singapore already!

Me and the scenery at 太子坡.

See the small red houses? That's where we went on Sunday, the peak!

Our mission - Point 21!

Steps...

... steps...

... and more steps to the top of the mountain! Don't belittle these steps!

The very steep steps up to the peak. Can be quite scary at times.

The view at the top.

I've reached the top - 金顶! We are 1613-feet above sea level.

The cable car we took to get down the mountain.

Day 25 - Business Etiquette & Chapter 7

2009-09-25T21:29:00.004+08:00

Started off our day with Business Etiquette lecture by the local lecturer. Rather informative, telling us about some customs by some countries, the dos and don'ts. The way he conducts his lecture is quite interesting, which somehow uses the technology of "remote assistance". Everybody's computer screen will see what he is viewing on his own screen.

Afternoon had BPE class. Covered chapter 7 today and quiz again. Same old routine~ Had soccer with the locals again. Didn't play much as the freshmen are having their military training till quite late.

Reflections
During lunch, we went at the wrong time as the freshmen are released for their lunch too. This means that one whole bunch of students coming into the canteen. Now, you really have to immerse into their culture - squeezing and cutting your way through to order your food. I finally know how it is like to be squeezed.

Please concentrate and listen in class!

Our lecturer for business etiquette.

Our classroom for business etiquette.

Day 24 - A good rest

2009-09-24T21:50:00.005+08:00

Last night was quite fatigue and just doze off. Lazed on my bed mostly half asleep till 11am with the just-right temperature of the room. It just feels great to get a good rest.

Had lunch at canteen 3 and off to class at 2pm. Mr Loh covered chapter 6 and the quiz of course. Gonna start on assignment 2 tomorrow I guess. 3 more chapters to go, with chapter 9 for self-study and will be having our second written test at the end of next week. Assignment 3 presentation will mark the last lesson here in Wuhan.

After dinner, went to have a look at a mini national day concert held at the front of the admin block. I think it is held in conjunction with the end of military training for the freshmen.

Reflections
Well, the school actually have a national day concert for the country too! From what I heard, all the performers are volunteers or freshmen, and not those representing their clubs and societies. I think that this is a good spirit from the students here as not everyone is willing to sacrifice their time given the fact that they are not in the CCA too.

In the blink of an eye, lectures will finish by next week. Time flies.

黑糖奶茶. Tastes not bad. :)

What a nice view of the admin block at night!

Day 23 - High elements

2009-09-23T20:26:00.005+08:00

We spent our whole day doing rock climbing, free-fall and high elements.

This morning we had to create our tribe and ours is 龍. Xanier is our tribe leader, while we are the smaller 龍. I am 小龍十一. Haha! Then, had rock climbing. The last time I did this was in my Secondary 3 camp. Somehow, the position of the rocks here is quite far apart, making it difficult for me to get higher. But it was fun.

Afternoon did some free-falling and high element. Free-falling is those that we play in camps, so nothing much of a difference. The high element is quite short. We just have to climb up and jump to another platform, then a free-fall jump from that height. The feeling was GREAT! You can feel your heart in your mouth! How I wish I can do that again~

And that ends a great day. Back to lessons tomorrow.

Reflections
The instructors here are quite friendly and nice. We even taught one of them how to play ice-breakers - Barang Barang, the one that we played in MDE FOC. He joined in and I can see that he is having fun, and he learns fast!

I have a little bit of heights, but I still love such high element stuffs. Once you get up there, you won't feel any fear, and just enjoy the moment up there doing the stuns. I still feel that the moment when you just jump down is still the best, the adrenaline in you.

While having dinner at the roadside stalls just now, I saw a woman collecting used plastic bottles and cups for recycling/selling. I thought that would only happen in Singapore, but this is also happening here. For collecting so much, they only earn such a small amount. So pitiful of them.

Our tribe flag with Polim.

Our tribe leader, Xanier!

I am 小龍十一!

Free-fall.

MDE, LSCT, ICT.

BPQE!

Day 22 - Coca Cola factory

2009-09-22T22:09:00.005+08:00

Morning was free and easy, afternoon was an industrial visit to Coca Cola factory. They show us how the final product is made, from filling up the drinks to bottling up. But we are not viewing it on the production floor, but at a gallery. We have free flow of drinks too!

Had dinner at a different place near our campus. We had some good food especially the fishballs! The fishball here is very different, it's like it's made from fish only, and it's one big bowl! Very special. A total of 5 dishes, shared among 11 people, 1 person only have to pay 10RMB! How much cheaper can it get?!

Tomorrow's rock climbing and stuffs! Looking forward to it! The last time I did such stuffs is during my Secondary 3 camp.

Reflections
It's quite a pity today that we never really see how Coke is being mixed. It will be quite interesting to see how much sugar and other ingredients they put in. A trip down to the production floor would be better to feel how it is like to work in a factory.

Ribena with lemon! Very nice. :)

Singapore!

Day 21 - China history lecture

2009-09-21T22:47:00.007+08:00

It was a lecture on Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism, but we only touched on Confucianism today. China history is really long and complex with all the conquering and expanding of the kingdoms. But it was still quite interesting. We were taught by a dean and he can speak English well and sometimes have a sense of humour.

Afternoon was a trip to the city to explore more - the same old place, Grand Ocean at 步行街. Had Sirloin Steak for lunch! Yummy! Went around to see what we can buy when the National Day sales come. I've targeted on a Nike shoe, but not sure if I need to buy it.

Took a taxi back to campus, the taxi is quite cramp and the price is so much cheaper than Singapore taxi fare rates. Good experience.

Reflections
There are 2 things special about the taxi here - there is actually a barrier between the driver and the back seats, and the rates. For the steel barriers, I assume that it is to prevent theft and threat from the back seat passengers. The rates are very low here, when shared among 4 people, each only have to pay 8RMB only, which is even lower than the starting fare in Singapore! But it is really cramp, not as spacious as Singapore ones.

I've learnt something today too, you can actually stop the bus along the road without having to wait at the bus stop. Just hail it, and you can board!

The Dean.

Coke float! Some time since we see it in Singapore.

Day 18, 19 & 20 - Three Gorges Tour

2009-09-20T23:00:00.012+08:00

Day 18 - The Dam

Checked my results in NPal at 6am and started off with our Three Gorges Tour. Met up early in the morning at 6.20am and had a 5 hours bus journey to our lunch destination. The food was very good! Something that's not too spicy, oily and salty. Then off to our first scenic spot - Three Gorges Dam.

However, the weather is not very good. It is too foggy, so only part of the dam is visible. But I can tell that it is a very big dam. Then we had a tour around the surroundings, then went for dinner elsewhere.

Waited for quite sometime before we boarded the 4-star cruise at a Yichang jetty. "4-star" sounds nice, but it doesn't look as nice. The rooms are very stuffy and a stench. One of the rooms have 3 rats in it!

Day 19 - It's GORGES!

Woke up at 5.30am for breakfast in the cruise. Our ship docked at 白帝城 and we will be going around that island. There's nothing much there except the 200 plus steps of stairs which is longer than the one in our WUST campus of 135 steps only.

Back to the ship to have lunch and had some sightseeing at the top of the cruise. There, the tour guide told us about some amazing stories about the mountains, such as a part of the mountain shows a rat, an area on the mountain that looks like a foot, a rock at the top of the mountain that actually looked like a lady at 神农溪.

Later on, we headed to a smaller ship to cruise around the mountains and we managed to see coffins suspended on wooden planks. It still remains a mystery to how it is placed there. Later, we ended up somewhere where we will be taking small boats like sampans. The sampans are rowed by the local Tujia people, and they are VERY STRONG! They can even pull the boat! Totally amazing.

Night time was the best. Our ship actually went into the water locks! It was very cool, you can see the gates slowly closing and our cruise is lowering down in height to get into the next gantry. Worth the trip.

Day 20 - It ends here

Had breakfast on the cruise and we left. It was raining quite heavy at Yichang. Had a long ride back to campus because of the rain and the route the driver took. Had a late lunch at the wanton shop, and dinner at Mala hotpot. The weather is getting colder now I guess. The wind is really strong and cold and rain is coming too.

Reflections
The standard of a 4-star cruise here and a 4-star cruise back in Singapore IS REALLY DIFFERENT! The facilities here is really bad and once in a while you can smell fuel of the ship. The worst is the weird stench in the rooms and the uncomfortable toilet. What the cruise have is just rooms, a few recreational rooms(eg Mahjong) and a eating room. What's worse is the rats, very unhygienic of the ships. Our tour guide told us that the cruises here is filled with rats. If you can find a rat in Singapore cruises, it will be a big matter.

The dam and the water locks were really MASSIVE! It's so much bigger than the Marina Barrage in Singapore. I just wondered, how they actually build such massive structures. The fascinating thing about the water lock is that, it can actually drain out the water to lower the water level for ships to pass through the gantries.

From my point of view, the people here are quite easily agitated and tend to get into quarrels when they are unhappy with anything. There's one tourist unhappy with her room when we boarded the ship and quarreled. Today, saw another commotion at a store again. I think patience and giving-in is very important in our lives. Sometimes it's just unfair.

Our OIP team!

My group with a gigantic tractor!

An obscene public toilet.

The very very small toilet in our cruise room. You have to get right into the toilet before you can close the door. What's worse is that unluckily my room's toilet door can only lock from the outside.

Part of the 200 plus steps!

Anyu, Edy, me!

Mr Lim CB, your magnets!

This is used to carry tourists to some parts of 白帝城. 2 men will support it on their backs! Strong men!

A kid urinating on the top of the cruise so openly!

Photo with Mr Loh on the top of the cruise!

The spot that resembles a rat!

The foot print!

Bird nest cave.

The suspended coffin! Amazing!

Look at the muscles of the men rowing our boat!

The strong guys pulling our boats.

Closed gantry!

Day 17 - Written test 1

2009-09-17T20:33:00.005+08:00

The morning was vacant so went to buy breakfast. Had the "chee cheong fan" again. It's actually called 广州肠粉. Ate in our bunk and just slack our way, with some studying till 2pm when we have our first written test.

The test was very straining for us. The whole 1.5hours is just writing and writing and writing, there is no time to spare. My handwriting should be the worst I had seen. Haha! Still managed to finish 4 questions within the time limit.

Evening was spent play soccer. For the next 3 days will be at the Three Gorges Tour. School results will be out tomorrow, good luck people!

Reflections
The packet box which was used to packet 广州肠粉 was actually recyclable(photo below). Last week when I went to a provision shop, the counter staff asked us if we are actually conscious about the bad effects of using plastic bags in Singapore. I think, China is starting to save the earth by reducing the amount of plastic bags as they are charging every plastic bag you use when you buy stuffs at the supermarket.

My room's electricity is cut off today. I think the people here is quite particular about saving electricity. My friends' room's electricity had already been cut off recently too.

The recyclable packet box.

The transport they use to transport goods within the campus.

Ngee Ann Poly's common test answer booklet!

Day 16 - Presentation

2009-09-16T21:15:00.005+08:00

Morning had IS class with another local lecturer. Today's lecture is on Traditional Chinese Wedding & Fengshui. It is conducted by Christopher. The interesting happened during class is that he actually wanted us to use the headphones to listen to his lecture. All of us were stunned. Interesting, but after a long time, my ears are hurting.

Had lunch at the second level of canteen 3. So far, this was the best canteen we had been. The economical rice stall is stretching from one end to another, lots of variety of dishes. Afternoon class was BPE lecture, quiz and presentation of assignment 1. Presentation was okay, 2 more to go. Written test tomorrow! :(

The internet is getting slower now.

Reflections
The IS lecture was somehow informative to some extent, from the wedding customs to fengshui. Sometimes you just see what is done, but you don't know the actual meaning behind it.

I think this is my first time using headphones to listen to lectures. The only purpose of it is that the volume is more concentrated into your ears. But I still prefer lecturers just project his/her voice across the class.

I really miss my internet connection speed back in Singapore. It's getting quite slow at times as compared to previous weeks. Oh well, we are here in a campus in China. Can't help it.

All wearing the headphones! Haha!

Our lecturer, Christopher.

My lunch!

Isn't it cute?! A dog at the roadside stalls at night.

Day 15 - Day with the local students

2009-09-15T22:35:00.011+08:00

Went down to buy breakfast as our stomachs are grumbling. We had something like Singapore's chee cheong fan. It's nice and it only costs 3RMB. Shall get a photo of it next time. :)

There's no class today, so we went out with the local students to a tangerine farm to pluck tangerines. It's a short distance away from our school, 30 minutes ride. Ate some tangerines, but it is not ripe yet, so it's a little sour. Anyways, all the tangerines there are all green in colour, there's no ripe ones.

Headed back to campus for a short rest and had a BBQ session at some remote area of the campus. Their BBQ setup is really rural, where you sit in a circle and there's a small pit in the middle where you BBQ. They do not have fire starters, so we just have to use twigs and leaves to set up the fire.

Reflections
This is my first time going to a tangerine farm to pluck tangerines. They had some sweet potatoes and pumpkins too. Our local student buddies then start up a fire and roasted the sweet potatoes. It was nice. I've never seen such stuffs before where you can cook the sweet potato right on the spot with a fire. It's a good sight to see.

The BBQ session was another astonishing thing to see. They don't have the normal BBQ pits you see in Singapore. It's really caveman-era where we have to use twigs and leaves to start a fire! Now we know what to do when we don't have fire starters. :) From what I heard, it is also the first time the local students have a BBQ.

Tangerine.

Inside the tangerine.

Jump shot of my group!

This is how they cook the sweet potato, they bury it inside the fire.

Sweet potato!

The small little area for our MDE BBQ pit.

The fire pit.

BBQ-ing mushrooms!

Edy the BBQ man!

Day 14 - Happy Birthday Shun Qing!

2009-09-14T20:38:00.007+08:00

Last night had a failed surprise for Shun Qing's birthday. But oh well, still sang the birthday song for her in her room. 21 people squeezing into her room.

Had quiz 4 this morning and did some Flexsim. Had lunch at the canteen 3. It's ventilation is so much better. It is not very warm and not smoky! The food here is better too, more variety to choose from. Now we know where are some of the better places to have our meals for the next 4 weeks.

Afternoon class was about Flexsim, doing a mock test, then the lab test. It was fine, I am able to meet the requirements given for the simulation. We are showed the results of our first 3 quizzes. I guess I am still quite satisfied with it.

We are handed Assignment 2 too. Hope that it can be finished on time. The first written test is this Thursday. Gosh.

This evening went to play soccer again, but with another group of local students. The weather is cooling today which makes it a much better time to play sports. You don't sweat much, and even if you do, it dries up quickly.

Tomorrow's a day out with our buddies(students from this campus) to pluck oranges. Hehe.

Reflections
Like always, the freshmen in army uniform would gather around the field, watching you playing soccer. When I scored a wonderful goal, those who surrounded our pitch was clapping and cheering. Somehow, it makes me feel happy even though I don't know them and vice versa. I guess that is just the way soccer is - it's about the game, not the people.

It's been 2 weeks now - 1 week of free & easy, 1 week of studying. Tomorrow will be the day where I will be living overseas for more than 2 weeks for the first time. For the next few weeks will be assignments and quizzes/tests, not leaving out the weekend tours. So far, life's cool here. The cold weather is coming too, which you will never experience in Singapore!

4 more weeks to go, Gogogo!

Pig liver noddles!

Roadside hamburger with meat and egg! Yummy!

Day 13 - City Tour (Yangtze River and Jianghan Street)

2009-09-13T23:02:00.008+08:00

Today's another day in the city! We visited Yangtze River first. Can see some bridges on both sides there. Along the river, you can also see people flying kites with their families on this Sunday morning.

The main attraction of the day - shopping at Jianghan Street. It was a long stretch of shops where you can almost shop till you drop. However, the price here is almost the same as Singapore. I noticed that there are quite a number of banks located there too.

A group of us went to the arcade to spend our afternoon away. We went to grab soft toys again! My luck was good today, managed to grab one of them, a small one.

Jun Ru was sent to the nearby school's hospital today as she was very sick since yesterday. Take care! :)

Lessons resume tomorrow! :(

Reflections
While having lunch at an outlet in Jianghan Street, a rat came out of the standing air cooler next to us. This is very unhygienic especially in a food outlet where it can cause unwanted food poisoning. If this were to happen in Singapore, complaints will definitely be received by customers. But we just kept quiet about it since it is not much of an annoyance to us.

In China, when there are no traffic lights, YOU are the "traffic light". Here, it is the people who give in to the cars, not the cars give in to the people. So, it is best to go in big groups where you can block the vehicles from driving past and not allowing you to cross the road. Whereas in Singapore, pedestrians are prioritized when it comes crossing the road.

From what I heard, the hospital's efficiency was very bad. So yes, Singapore's services should be way better and efficient. But we can't help it, we are living in a more rural area here. so don't take things for granted in Singapore! :)

This bridge is nice!

My group! From left: Shun Qing, Rebecca, Kai Chung, me.

A long lasting kite being released.

Their public portable toilet?

My lunch.

They do nt hv B1 or B2 in lifts. They have -1.

Our tour guide for Three Gorges Tour and Wudang Mountains tour.

Day 12 - City Tour (East Lake, Hubei Museum, Yellow Crane Tower)

2009-09-12T18:41:00.010+08:00

Gathered at 7.15am and boarded to bus to our first destination - East Lake. The surroundings give me a feeling that I am in Chinese Garden in Singapore. The bridges as well as the tower(photo above) which somehow resembles the pagoda in Chinese Garden too. We saw this old man playing tennis there, where the ball is attached to a string so that it will rebound on its own in the air. We are so fascinated by that.

Next, went to the Hubei Museum. There are lots of artifacts there, all the ancient coffins, bowls and weaponry which the ancient people use. Even though I am not very into such stuffs, but it is still a good exposure for me.

Left for lunch at a street hawker near the Yellow Crane Tower. They have all the delicacies of Wuhan, but of course we do not have so much time to try them all. I had a soup and some dumplings, filling enough as the soup is really a lot.

Yellow Crane tower, here we come! We were told of stories behind this tower, which is somehow interesting. The only nice thing about this place is the overview of some of the Wuhan states when we are up to the top of the tower.

That marks the end of our city tour today, there's more tomorrow!

Reflections
At the street hawker, I noticed something about a neighbouring table. There were 2 empty seats while someone is waiting for his friend. Then, 2 locals came and just sat down even though the friend told them that it was reserved and will only move when the other friends come. Eventually, the friend left for another table. I think, maybe that's just their culture unlike back in our country where we will just find other alternatives and not cause any inconveniences.

The small bridge at East Lake.

A buggy for the elderly to hop on.

Qu Yuan.

Jingle bells, jingle bells~ Opps!

This is how slag looks like.

The coffin!

More bells!

The street hawker.

Our tour guide.

Top view from the Yellow Crane Tower.

Bus connected by cables.

Day 11 - Soccer with the locals

2009-09-11T19:51:00.007+08:00

First of all, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MING YU!

Had our first IS class today at 9am. The class is conducted by a lecturer from the campus and in English too! She is known as 谢老师. She can speak English quite fluently as I can still quite understand her.

Today's lecture is about China's culture. Got to know about some interesting facts, such as how the car plate numbers are formed. Got to know what are the food they eat, places they visit and such. Afternoon's BPE class was somehow canceled due to the fact that we are very lethargic.

Had lunch at the same place as yesterday's. Initially wanted to order the steak, but it was out of stock, so had beef stomach claypot rice. Went back to hostel to do our BPE assignment and get a rest.

In the evening, Alvin, Chin Kuang, Daniel and me went to buy some birthday cakes for Ming Yu and Shun Qing's birthday. It was an advanced one for Shun Qing. We celebrate it at the sports complex.

Later on, I joined Edy, Roy, Jerold, Polim, Erwin, and Kai Chung for soccer with some of the local students. It was fun and we won 5-2. I scored quite a few! Whoever concedes a goal have to do 5 push-ups as punishment, good way to train your physical too!

Just now, some of the local students, or known as our buddies, came to find us to discuss on what they plan to bring us around during next week. Looking forward to it!

Reflections
It was quite amazing to hear that 谢老师 can speak such good English although she still have some sort of the China accent. From what I heard, she's never gone studying overseas, and she still can speak good English.

While playing soccer with the locals, I can feel that they never discriminate us by playing rough and foul play. They treat us like one of them, just a friendly match, a REALLY friendly match. They even advertised their bubble tea shop us, how nice. :) In Singapore, based on my own experience, the people there will usually foul play with us and sometimes exchange of verbal war.

Day 10 - A change of food

2009-09-10T20:14:00.005+08:00

Finally some new food we ate for this 1 week plus. We went to this shop which is actually set up by students. Good entrepreneurship spirit! I had braised pork rice, was quite filling though. Some of us tried the steak and it really looks appetizing, mmmmmmmm.

Just another typical day of BPE lessons at 2pm till 5pm. Quiz again, like always after a short lecture by Mr Joseph Loh. The weather today is warm again, it's fluctuating. Went back to our room to rest and out for dinner at KFC. The menu here is quite limited I guess, or is it that I am just lazy to read the chinese words. Hehe!

Anyways, I ordered a Prawn Burger meal. It looks little, but very filling. It's very nice too as you don't really see such exotic new burgers in Singapore.

Tomorrow's our first day of IS module taught by the Wuhan university's lecturer. This means that it will be a whole day of lessons from morning till evening! Next week there's a presentation and written test! Gosh! Gotta get through this~

Reflections
I guess the workload are slightly coming, with the presentation and written test next week. Really have to juggle time perfectly here as we are squeezing 6 months' of syllabus in just 6 weeks! Gonna be so cramp.

While going back to our rooms after class, we witnessed the freshmen here having military drills. In a way it is a good way to train them mentally. It will make them more disciplined and independent since they are already studying at the university level.

After our dinner at KFC, one of my friend left her purse in the KFC. Just as we left not far away, the staff actually chased after us to return her purse. This is something very commendable. Think about it, majority of the times once you lose your valuables, it's almost irretrievable. But, the staff is actually responsible enough to return it to the rightful owner. Even in Singapore, such kind souls may be hard to find.

The shop that we went for lunch which is owned by students.

The guys having military drills like marching.

Day 9 - Happy Birthday Rebecca!

2009-09-09T22:29:00.006+08:00

Okay, so sometime past 12am, we ambushed outside Rebecca's room and gave her a surprise by bringing the creamy cake to her and singing the birthday song. She looked surprised and touched I guess. So here we go celebrating the first birthday here in Wuhan!

Had to drag ourselves out of bed this morning. Finished chapter 2 of BPE and quiz. IS module has yet to start. Our bedsheets are also being changed, felt cleaner now. Better to sleep I guess. Had lunch at the second level of the canteen. It was really smoky up there but the food there I think is better. Had beef noodles!

It's been a week now here and 5 more weeks to go!

Reflections
While buying my beef noodles at the canteen today, the service is quite bad. We waited for quite a long time before we get our food served. The counter girl seems to be trying to memorise our orders but she keeps forgetting which delays our food. You don't really see such situations in Singapore canteens as you can get your food in just minutes. Like always, there will be cutting of queues here.

The canteen is very badly ventilated too, the smoke is just circulating in the canteen, very smoky, stuffy and warm. The moment we get out of the canteen, we can feel the cold weather again.

Look at the crack on the wall outside our classroom!

THIS IS HOW SMOKY THE CANTEEN IS!

Our bedsheets are changed! These are all the used ones lying on the corridor.

IPhone?

A short video on how La Mian is made.

Day 8 - An upcoming surprise

2009-09-08T23:59:00.003+08:00

Had a good long sleep till 11am this morning since class starts at 2pm today. Went to have brunch at the nearest canteen. Had economical rice. I was deceived by the looks of the vegetables. I thought it was long beans but it was all green chili with some meat.

Packed my bag and off for class. Had a short lecture regarding chapter 1 of BPE for 30 minutes and had our first quiz! It was all MCQs but somehow, the questions really looked very stranger to me and feels way too theoretical. But luckily it was a open-book test. We are also handed our first assignment project which is due next week? Oh well, gonna do it by the end of this week.

Went for dinner and bought a cake for Rebecca's birthday tomorrow 9/9/09. The cake is mostly cream and less of cake. For more details and photos, check out tomorrow's post! We are gonna celebrate it later at 12am.

The weather today was good too, with the wind and breeze cooling things down. The weather yesterday was way too hot!

Reflections
Another thing I noticed about this school is that, they do not have wireless connection in classrooms. It meant us good in a way as we can concentrate better in class. What you see students in NP doing on their laptop during lectures and tutorial are gaming, surfing the net or using Facebook.

At the bakery, the baker did the cake instantly LIVE right in front of us and it's really very nice. This is my first time seeing someone making a cake in front of me too. Guess what, he did it in just about 10 minutes! Very astonishing. In Singapore, the cakes are usually done behind the doors without having any chance to see it.

The teacher's table in the classroom.

DON'T JUMP!!!

Fireworks at night.

Day 7 - Lessons start

2009-09-07T22:11:00.008+08:00

We had our first lesson today - Business Process Engineering. The way up to our classroom is really tiring in addition to the hot weather. Mr Joseph Loh is taking us for this module. The classroom is quite simple and they are still using the chalkboard instead of whiteboards.

After lunch, we had a tour around the School of Information Engineering and School of Life Sciences. The interior of their classrooms/labs are somehow similar to those of NP? But I think the equipments they have are not as high-end and expensive than what we have.

Went for exercise with our MDE people. Played some basketball and had some runs around the campus area afterward. It was good, getting all the sweat out.

Reflections
After having our first lesson in the classroom, I really miss the classroom conditions back in Singapore. There is no air conditioners, bad ventilation and the tables and chairs are very dusty. These made the room very humid and warm. I think that even the classrooms in primary schools many years in Singapore is still better than theirs. This shows that we shouldn't take things for granted in Singapore where we have clean tables and chairs and air conditioners! We don't have the luxury of using whiteboards too.

As you can see from the small working space(photo below) we have in the class, it's very difficult for you to maneuver about in your seat to get a comfortable position. Their chairs are just stools with no back support. Unlike in NP where you have the luxury of being able to put your bags on the table while doing your work, sitting with your legs crossed and have a nice comfortable back support to lay back.

During the basketball session, one China student came to join us without asking. But what I feel is that, it is not a wrong thing to do in a way, as they are actually quite friendly in a good way where they are quite open-minded without having to feel shy. It's like basketball is their common sport and treats everybody as their friend.

My small little working space in the classroom.

OIP MDE! Look at how dusty the chair is when we are at the school tour.

MDE! SA SA SA!

Day 5 & 6 - Up and down Lulin Resort

2009-09-06T19:47:00.011+08:00

Day 5

We set off from our campus on Saturday morning to Lulin Resort. I had a last minute motion sickness once we reached our destination. The driver is driving very fast along the narrow, bumpy and curvy road. Everybody in the bus is bouncing up and down.

The activities lined up for us for Saturday is Whitewater Rafting and Waterfall sightseeing. First up, whitewater rafting of 7km. It was a man-made one, so the whole journey was not as rocky as we expected although some parts were really exciting. We bought the straw shoes too. I paired up with Chin Kuang and I took the front seat, which means that I will get all the first hand experience of getting splashed by the incoming small waves.

We washed up and off to our next activity - waterfall sightseeing. Plenty of waterfalls, some of them are man-made I guess. Still, it was magnificent! Took quite a lot of photos there too. Headed back to the eating house for dinner. Then, we checked in to our hotel room.

They have a night performance too, which is quite entertaining but difficult to understand their accent. Took some videos of their performances. Later on, we joined in too. Everybody surrounded the fire and started dancing. It was very fun.

Day 6

Woke up in the morning and went for breakfast at the eating house. Then, we took the bus high up into the mountains for sightseeing again. The mountain is called 绿林山南寨. Another bumpy ride! Here, we saw all the army statues and horses. There are actually horse rides available up there! I managed to get onto one and it was really bumpy for me as the horse is really running, but it was a really good experience! Kudos to the horse!

Next, we went to explore a place where we get to walkabout Camel Peak, Cave to the Heaven and Yangyuan Rock. The steps are really steep and uneven, especially the staircases.

Had our lunch and traveled back to campus.

Reflections
I really salute the drivers here in China. They can drive very fast and still drive smoothly especially in the mountainous area. They horn very frequently and I guess that is their way of signaling the front vehicles that they are coming since they are impatient to wait for the right time to cut the lane. I can say that this is a good experience as you can't see that in Singapore.

On the journey to the Lulin Resort, I can see that there are actually lots of agricultural activities on both sides the roads. The farmers actually dry their crops on the road which is quite dangerous for them since the drivers here are quite reckless and may knock down anyone.

The overall surroundings really resemble those of Malaysia's, with shop houses along roads, agricultural activities and such.

The night performance is really fun as we just joined in with other fellow China people. You can really see that everybody is having great fun dancing along with the music! The atmosphere is great too.

The horse ride should be quite tough for the horse as it has to run so much with different people of different weights on its back.

The straw shoes that we bought.

Group photo at the waterfall.

Eerie isn't it?!

One of the night performances.

The tower that we went to see a better view from the top.

All the army statues!

LOOK AT THE STEEP STAIRCASE!

Day 4 - A simple orientation

2009-09-04T21:29:00.011+08:00

It was a pretty hot day today, you can actually feel the heat from the ground rising up to you and warm air blowing towards you. Anyways, we went for a simple orientation in the campus this morning. We were brought to the place where our classrooms will be. It is on the top of the campus. The slope up was less steep than NP's but longer.

I came to know that our school is actually located just beside the sea and the scenary from the top is quite nice. And yes, we decided to send our dirty clothes to the laundry service just beside our hostel.

One of the Wuhan students who came to Singapore the other time, joined us for dinner and we had 麻辣火锅(Spicy Steamboat) for dinner. Her name is Ya Nan. All of us were sweating all the way because of the warm weather and the spicy soup base. It was quite nice, and all it costs is about 10RMB per person among 10 people! That is very cheap!

We will overnight at 绿林(Green Forest) Resort tomorrow till Sunday. We will be doing mountain trekking and whitewater rafting! So, see ya on Sunday then!

Reflections
The classroom facilities are quite bad here as compared to schools in Singapore. From what we heard from our lecturer, they don't even have projectors which we heavily depend on in Singapore. That's why we are still unable to start lessons until next week.

This is classroom where we will be having lessons.

"If you want to smoke, there is actually a time-bomb near you"

ATM machine in our campus.

My lunch!

Beef Wanton! Yummy!

"Let's bring our clothes to the laundry!"

Our laundry card to redeem our clothes later.

Pool tables in the open air!

That is how much we ate during the steamboat! We are heavy eaters! Haha!

Day 3 - What a ride to shopping

2009-09-03T22:03:00.015+08:00

I guess I am getting used to the surroundings already.

The schedule for today is mainly about shopping around the city area. We took bus 903 there, about a 30 minutes ride from our campus. This is the first time we are traveling on a public transport. The bus is rather smaller than Singapore's and passengers just squeezes themselves in.

The bus stops at every stop, like our MRT system in Singapore, and there is no bell for passengers to alert the driver. The fee for the ride is only 2RMB regardless of the distance you travel in. A bus conductor will collect the bus fees after you boarded the bus. The fascinating thing is, the conductor is able to recognize who had just boarded the bus when the bus is so packed and full.

Anyways, we went to 步行街's(Pedestrian Street) 世界成-shopping center for shopping. Had lunch at McDonald's and ordered Pork Burger! This is something that Singapore doesn't have. It was quite nice too.

After which, we went window shopping and ended up playing in the arcade. We played the one which you have to use the claw to grab a soft toy. Most of us managed to get one of those. Boarded the bus back to campus and something shocked and amused us. One of the passenger actually scolded vulgarities at the driver for not opening the rear door and nearly drove off. THAT IS SOMETHING YOU DON'T REALLY SEE IN SINGAPORE! :)

Went to the roadside stalls for dinner, the food is really cheap and delicious! Worth the money. :) Managed to see some fireworks too, but we don't know what the occasion is about.

Reflections
The incident in the bus really amazed me - from the memory power of the bus conductor to the anger showed by the unhappy passenger. The passengers here are quite impatient and rushing for time as they would just squeeze their way through to alight. Singaporeans are more considerate by trying not to cause any inconveniences to other passengers.

While crossing the road at pedestrian zebra-crossings, the vehicles won't wait for you, they will just start to accelerate once the green light is on. It's quite unsafe too, unlike in Singapore, both parties will compromise each other.

A video on the fireworks.

Me and my late breakfast! Look at that oily hotdog!

The bus stop outside our campus.

The bus ticket.

TV in the bus! China's "TV Mobile"?

OIP 3rd batch outside 世界成-shopping center! :)

(From left): Chin Kuang, Erwin, me and Edy.

Pork burger from McDonald's!

THIS IS HOW PACKED THE BUS IS ON OUR RETURN TO CAMPUS!

Food from the roadside stall - fried dumplings!

Day 2 - Shopping spree

2009-09-02T23:59:00.005+08:00

It is the second day now in the hostel. We bought our China SIM cards too, prepaid ones. We went to nearby shops to have our lunch. I ordered a plate of beef fried rice and it costs only 8RMB, with more portion you get in Singapore! Next, went on to shop in provision shops along the street. Managed to get some of our daily necessities there such as pails, kettle and hangers.

Headed back to our hostel to put our stuffs, get a break and headed out again. This time, we went to a bigger supermarket to look around for anything we need. But while exploring the area, we went further down the streets to get some groceries instead. For my room, we bought some drinks and food to stock up, in case we need some during the night.

We met up with some other of our OIP mates and headed back to hostel. We saw some night life going on along the streets such as some night market activities with food stalls being set up. On the way, we bought some take-away food as our dinner.

And yes, we finally managed to get our internet connection today! Our room is pretty messy now, with wires and stuffs everywhere.

Reflections
Managed to experience some day-activities today, and the weather is quite warm during the day as compared to night time. You can almost hear drivers sounding their horn every now and then while you are walking along the streets. Their roads are quite complex too should I say. Pedestrians are jay-walking everywhere without having to wait for vehicles to stop. I doubt you can see such stuffs in Singapore as you will be fined definitely by the police if you were to be caught.

The dumping ground(photo below) is also quite bad as compared to Singapore's. Singapore has designated dumping grounds which are maintained neatly, unlike in the photo where the rubbish just accumulates and getting the place messed up.

An outside view from our room's window.

The SIM card that we bought.

The opposite block from our block.

One of the canteens in WUST campus.

Wow, the width betwwen the 2 sides of traffic is so far apart.

This is taken at the pathway. Is this supposed to be a dustbin or just some spot that people take it as a dumping area?

A shop where we got some drinks.

Initially, I thought they are queuing up for toilet. But it is actually a food stall! I was amazed.

The menu for the food stall above.

Aren't the cakes fanciful?

A place where we had our lunch.

Food menu of our eating place.

(From left)Daniel, Chin Kuang, Kai Chung, Edy.

The provision shop where we bought our pails etc.

Some of the stuffs they sell in the shop.

A laundry shop beside our hostel, might be patronizing them soon.

The supermarket that we patronized. Just a typical store like Giant, NTUC.

The shampoo section of the store.

A mototcycle with an irregular-shaped umbrella. Cool and unique!

A rubbish dumping ground.

KFC!

A worker repairing a scooter.

The KFC outlet!

Our take-away food in a... ... washing tub!

... and this is the owner of the tub - Eshlyn! She is walking with this tub all the way back to the hostel!

Our refugee food(at the moment) bought at another supermarket beside the KFC.

My cup!

My take-away dinner! It is a pork-rib with rice. Quite nice.

It is a chair? NOPE!

It is an... ... assisted seated toilet bowl! All hail the best invention of all! It is for those who can't take squatting while doing their business in the toilet.

This is the card that Mr Joseph Loh gave us so that we can have our meals at the campus canteen. It's something like the Kopitiam card you find in Singapore.

Day 1 - Arrival at WUST

2009-09-01T23:59:00.003+08:00

Woke up as early as 4am, and met up with the other OIP participants at Changi Airport Terminal 1. After checking in, boarded the plane to Guangzhou for a transit. The journey lasted for about 4 hours. We reached Guangzhou Bai Yun International Airport at around 1pm.

We had our first meal in a Chinese restaurant called "Jinlong Restaurant" in the airport. Food was okay, just that it is much saltier and oilier than Singapore's taste. Well, that's expected and have to adapt to such food for the next 6 weeks here in China.

Gathered ourselves for the transit flight from Guangzhou to Wuhan. It is my first time having a transit flight too. It's another approximate 1.5 hours of flight starting at 5.30pm. We reached the Wuhan airport at 8pm. Set off in a coach to our hostel, and manged to reach at 9.30pm.

Had our dinner at the hostel, lots of dishes! Just managed to fill our stomachs as we had eaten on the plane. Next, we checked into our rooms. I will be staying with Chin Kuang and Daniel for the next 6 weeks. The room was quite alright, air-conditioned.

Overall, today had been spent on traveling from Singapore to Wuhan itself. The airport at Guangzhou and Wuhan are really nice as it is glassy and class. The interior designs are also rather interesting and unique. They don't really have No-Smoking laws in the airport as you can see people smoking in the toilets and restaurants. If you were to do that in Singapore, you will be definitely be dealt with. We were quite shocked that the staff actually did check our cash if it is counterfeits when we are having our meal at Jinlong restaurant!

Reflections
It's a really nice experience for me to travel so far away from home with my friends instead of my family, and it is my first time in China. Also, I can know how is the food like in China, as different people have different tastes and the culture there, like they will check for counterfeits.

Our plane to Guangzhou!

We are considered aliens?!

Collecting our luggage in Guangzhou airport.

A buggy in Guangzhou airport to transport passengers within the airport.

Jinlong restaurant menu.

Control tower of Guangzhou airport.

Some security-check buggy?

Our plane from Guangzhou to Wuhan!

Beautiful sunset view in the air in the airport.

Finally we arrived at the Wuhan airport!

Our room number! B-319!

Our beds, may look soft but is hard.

The washing area in our room.

Our cosy little toilet.

Our flush.

Our sink/basin! Huge eh?