wuhan wuhan

Day Forty One: Is this goodbye?

2009-04-13T09:59:00.000-07:00

Chaos in the morning as everybody had to throw all the remaining rubbish and bring out all the luggage.

As for me, the chaos started as soon as i stepped into the toilet.

I was bathing when i saw a shadow behind me.

And look what i saw.....

THIS!!

I swear it was a chameleon!!!!!

And of course i started screaming and rushed out of the toilet.

Nobody wanted to chase it out!!

Since we were running late,

I had to endure that thing staring at me.

It then crawled to the room and ja saw it.

The screaming frenzy begin...

Soon it was finally time to leave.

Goodbye room 121.

We then weigh the luggage.
28.5 kg.
Pheww..
Bye Wuhan University of Science and Technology.
Thanks for being such a good host :)

We had to wait quite a while in the airport since the plane was delayed!

I hate delayed planes!!

Where is my flight??!!!!!

We arrived at Guangzhou and had to run to the next plane cuz we were late.

There was supposed to be a 3 hour interval but since the previous flight was delayed, everything was messed up!

RUN RUN RUN.

and finally we were on our flight back to Singapore.

Oh it was really noisy in the plane.

Everyone was so excited to go back.

At last..

SINGAPORE!!!!! CLEAN WATER!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh i spot my family!!

Since it was already late and they had to work/school the next day,

I went back first instead of hanging around the airport.

Said quick goodbyes...

Oh well,

We would definately meet in school.

Day Fourty: Walking down memory lane, it feels like just yesterday.

2009-04-11T21:15:00.000-07:00

Woke up bright and early as i wanted to get my dad's sandals.
Its already the second last day and i havent bought anything for him.
Panic! Panic!
Went to Bu Xing Jie, this time round with ja, peijie and Joey.

Since its getting a little bit warmer, its the right time to eat ice-cream!
Took 502 and believe it or not,
Even the China student, Joey havent been there yet!
So i feel like im showing her around instead!

We did our last minute shopping, spending all the money we had left.

Since it rained, the roads was muddy.

It was such a turnoff since me and ja was wearing slippers and we had mud splattering on our jeans.

Urghh GROSS!

It was time for lunch and our tummy was grumbling,
Therefore we had to eat at the fake KFC for the last time.
Everyone definately have to try this fastfood outlet.
They food are really DELISH!
The outlet near the school is even better than the others eventhough its the same shop.

Next is our time to say goodbyes to all the shop owners that we had befriend during the past few weeks.
First up was the apparel shop.
We went there almost every week and did some hardcore bargaining.
Get a few more dresses and shirts, said our goodbyes and off to the next one.
Second shop was 'Barbie Shoes'...
We always wanted to get shoes from there but NO SIZE!!!
The shop owner is still very friendly even though we could not buy anything.
Then we headed off to the accessory shop near the dorm.
The shop owners always blast nice songs everytime we step into the shop and there's always some freebies for us.

See the photos on the shelves?

We took that picture with them a few weeks back.

It was nice of them to display our pictures.

So next batch of OIP students,

Look out for our pictures aite and tell us if its still there!

They gave me, ja and peijie a set of figurines.

See no evil, Hear no evil and Speak no evil.

So i took the 'hear no evil one' since it suit me the best.

Its definately a shop to visit!

Then it was time for our very last meal in Wuhan since we were leaving in the morning the next day.

I feel kind of sad to leave the place.

Its where me and Ja ate almost everyday.Last bowl of JI DAN LA MIAN!

Its a must try!

The one in pink is the chef!

Thanks for cooking us delicious food!

I'll definately miss the taste of Wuhan.

While the rest when for hair treatment,

Me and Clive went to play pool.

As we were walking at the backstreet, i realised that i never walk that alley before!!!

There were so many shops selling very nice clothes!

I bet its cheaper than malls too!!

Too bad i already spent everything.

So the moral of the story is: EXPLORE THE STREET! YOU WONT KNOW WHAT YOU'll FIND.

There's even one more muslim stall there!

What a waste!

After walking round the area we finally found an empty pool place.

HOWEVER....

The condition was terrible.

Played for an hour as it was getting late and we have to be back by 11pm.
Plus I havent packed yet!

PACKING MAYHEM!!

There was so many stuff to squeeze in one luggage.

Luckily we have a baggage allowance of 30kg!

I had to help Clive pack his stuff too cuz he have too many things.

WOahh.

Luckily we managed to close his luggage!

I cant believe its the last night in Wuhan.....

Day Thirty Nine: Goodbyes.

2009-04-11T13:10:00.000-07:00

Went to Bu Xing Jie - Grand Ocean yet again.
Cause somebody wanted to get his blazer.
I got more shirts which i intend to give to friends but..
I decided to just keep it for myself!
There's so many nice t-shirts which i cant find easily in Singapore.
Plus its much much much much cheaper.
If only i didnt waste money on useless things...
Rushed back to the dorm as we had a farewell party.

It also happens to be one of the student's birthday.

So good.

A huge 3 tier cake!!!

Plus another 2 cake they bought.

There's just too much cake!

From left: Yummy Chocolate cake, Fruit cake, The usual china cake.

And of course everyone attacked the Chocolate cake.

There's lotsa good food such as the heavenly cream puffs.

Entertainment like karaoke.

And a few tears.

The China students were teary as we have to say goodbye soon.

To brighten the atmosphere,

they played some upbeat song and the classroom just turned into a club.

I cant believe that the ending is drawing close.
It feels like just yesterday that we got to know the China students.
After six weeks, we finally have to say goodbye.

Day Thirty Eight: LAST.

2009-04-11T12:40:00.000-07:00

Had our very last presentation in China at 9.30am today.
The day before i only had less than 2 hours of sleep!
That explains why i look so listless.
Its all because our flexsim model couldnt run and we spent the whole night figuring things out.
When we finally did, its already 7am and we had to rush the report and powerpoint slides.
Throughout the whole presentation, i was zombie-like.
Luckily we were the first group to present and i could just rest after we were done.

After that, everybody was so happy that it was the very last BPE lesson.

Soon it was time to take lotsa pictures.

Now it really feels like we are really going home!

THANKS CLIVE for the tie!

Then we had lunch and it was time to enjoy!

Went to Bu Xing Jie for the umpteen time.

Thats officially the most visited place.

Shop shop shop.

Its so hard to find sandals for my dad!

When i finally see one, its too expensive!

Everybody did last minute shopping for gifts.

And now we are all broke.

Greatness~

Day Thirty Seven: Its killing me.

2009-04-11T08:27:00.000-07:00

Everyone is busy today.
Rushing the presentation which was supposed to be due today,.
But luckily Mr Wong postponed it as our schedule was too hectic.
Nevertheless, not enough time lahh!
I spent the whole day staring at my laptop thinking of what to write for the report.
I think im having a writer's block.
So, since staying in the room is super unproductive.
I went for a foot massage with the others.
Went back and i still did not have any motivation to continue with the project.
I think its too tough as I dont really understand the flexsim software.
The tutorials we had wasnt sufficient.
I hate hate hate it!

Day Thirty Six: If Only..

2009-04-09T13:39:00.000-07:00

We had to wake up early in the morning after all the activities during the weekend.
Of course many of us were protesting and unwilling to go.
With a sleepy out of bed look, we dragged ourself to the other campus where the ECE students were staying at.
We were then divided into 4 groups.
Each team then had to come up with a name and create a logo for the flag.
We finally settled for 'Spongebobes' which was derieved from Spongebob.
The reason
Our flag was yellow and it reminded everyone of spongebob squarepants.

Believe it or not, I DREW THAT!!

The first game was to build some kind of conveyor belt made of newspaper.
We then stand inside and start to move.
Unfortunately, ours wasnt strong enough and it broke halfway through.
We ended up third :(

Next up was lunch and we visited the guys dorm.

OH MY GOD.

They have a living room..

WITH A TV!!

A TV eh!!

And their room....

Totally like a hotel room.

They even have someone coming to change their bedsheet every week.

Not fair!

Ive been using my bedsheet for 5 freaking weeks!

They even have a toilet bowl.

So comfortable!

I wont mind staying there for 1 year.

We then resumed our activities.

First was this:

I have no idea what its called.

The gap is really huge.

I thought that i would fall right through.

But i managed to complete it.

Go me!

Next up:

This is a trust game.

I wouldnt dare jumping off if i dont trust the people catching.

Since im heavy, i was afraid that i would just fall flat on the ground.

Luckily everything went well.

Last but not least,

ROCK CLIMBING!!!!!

Ive never tried it before in my whole entire life.

So i thought, Why not?

SO i went for it,

I tried my best but my arm was not strong enough!

Oh well

At least i tried.

All good things must come to an end and it was time to take a group picture.

We still had some time left before the bus come to fetch us.
The ECE guys were kind enough to show us around.
They even help me and Ja take pictures with their camera.
THANKS GUYS.
We should have this activities earlier so that we can all know aech other better and spend our time together with them.

PS: Why is their school so nice?

Day Thirty Five: And the nighmare begins...

2009-04-06T09:32:00.000-07:00

We continued our journey from where we left off yesterday.
And guess what...
STAIRS!
Never ending.
I had enough of stairs eversince the trip to Wudang Mountain.
Oh goodness...the nightmare begins.

After all that climbing i was super tired.

I can feel my leg protesting.

Not another step!

I had enough.

But look.

MORE!

This thing is HEAVY!

Only Clive managed to lift it up!

Playing chess?

As if!

I dont even understand the game.

The girls!

The top of the camel peak.

Hit the bell 3 times for luck.

I found out that you cant hit it more than 3 times.

Have no idea why.

Maybe hitting it again will reverse the luck?

We then went to some kind of battle field.

Trying out archery.

My aiming skill- TERRIBLE

It cost 10 yuan!!!

But i took one of Mr Loh's arrow.

Heh! Thanks!

Spinning around in the field was so much fun.

Of course we were both dizzy after that.

Next up was the cave.

Before alighting the bus, Mr randolph and Mr clive assured us that its super hot.

So we abandoned our jacket.

And guess what.

The moment i stood in front of the cave, i can feel the gush of cold wind.

Since, they were apologetic, randolph lend me his sweater.

Thats better!

I had to be careful, i hit my head more than twice!

The lucky stone.

Im too short!!

I wont rest in peace if i dont add this in:

THE BUS DRIVER IS CRAZY!

He keep honking all the way.

It was driving me nuts.

And the way he was driving...

Goodness...

I still have a long life ahead

Please drive more carefully!!

Day Thirty Four: Paradise

2009-04-06T08:41:00.000-07:00

Went to Lulin Resort early in the morning.
Grabbed breakfast beforehand.
And LOOK!
It was super foggy.
Its the worse ive seen eversince im here.
The visibility is really low.

The bus journey took approximately 3 hours.
And one of the toilet stops...
Oh my..
Im speechless.
Its terrible beyond words.
There's a pile of shit in one of the cubicle and the other one...
Surrounded with vomit and blood.
Its super gross.
I really want to puke just thinking bout it!
Reached our resort and checked into our room!
I LOVE IT!
Ahhh. Comfy bed!

Everything in the room looks new!
After a quick rest, its time for sight seeing.

I LOVE this picture the most!

Look closely... You'll see a face.

Have i mention that i LOVE this place.

This is definately my favourite among all the other places such as the 3 gorges and Wudang Mountain!

After dinner we had a campfire.

All i can say is that its FUN FUN FUN! Going round the fire is super fun!

And behold.....

Clive is having a concert!!!
And not wanting to be left behind, me+ja+hardy went up and sang and english song.

Day Thirty Three: Just BUY!

2009-04-06T07:53:00.000-07:00

Decided to go back to the place we went yesterday to buy stuffs that we cannot afford yesterday.
In the morning we went to the bank to change money.
But guess what?
They dont want Singapore Dollars.
LIKE WHAT........
We have to wait till tuesday cuz monday is a public holiday.
But but,
They can change US Dollar right away.
We travelled all the way there to hear such nonsense.
What a waste of time!
At last we all just withdraw money from the ATM which could be done just near the school.
After that we walked all the way to the mall.
Although we dont know where it was,
We just asked for directions and eventually reached our destination!
Clive bought a Dior shirt for about 600 yuan i think.
He, being a persistant bargainer finally get the price that he wanted.
All of us bought something from that shop.
The shop owner is very friendly and treated us like friends.
Plus he speaks English which i can understand!
Too bad there's no ladies clothes.

Sidetrack...
Friends see what i saw!!!

OH MY GOD,

GREEN PSP!!

Next was time for lunch. The seafood baked rice was REALLY REALLY DELICIOUS!

After going round the mall a few times, we decided it was time to go back before we really run out of money!

On the way back we decided to try the massage that the boys have been going to.

I really felt GREAT after that.

The masseurs is really good.

She can tell i dont eat veggies and rice.

And she told me that my stomach and intestines are really empty.

Which means i have to eat more!

Plus, my backbones are crooked due to bad posture.

Oh my,

Im really unhealthy!

Day Thirty Two: SHOP!

2009-04-06T06:12:00.000-07:00

Since we are free to do anything we want today,
Us 3 girls and 3 boys decided to go SHOPPING!
The plan was to go to Hanzheng Jie where all the cheap goods are.
Took a van there as the 6 of us cant fit into a cab.
Cost us 45 yuan.

However, the driver dropped us somewhere else which wasnt Hangzheng Jie.
Walked quite a distance and bought some delicious snacks along the way.

And we ended up at Grand Ocean!

The place looks so familiar and i realised i went there a few weeks ago!

The guys went shoe shopping and us girls shopped for bags.

Initially we called the boys to ask them opinions about the bags but then...

They ended buying more bags than us to give to their relatives.

Clive bought 6 bags!!

We cleaned up the shop!

Next up was lunch.

Had unagi fried rice.

YES RICE!

I noticed ive been eating a lot of rice now.
And of course, the not to be missed, GREEN TEA ice cream.

Ahhhhh... Heavenly...

Continued our shopping trip...

Its such a waste that it was raining.

There's 6 of us but only 1 umbrella!

We knew it was going to rain but we were lazy to bring an umbrella!

So moral of the story: Bring an umbrella!

After that we squeezed into a bus as all of us have no money left for cab.

Went to Mr Loh's apartment for dinner.

Chicken curry... Yummy!

Day Thirty One: Presentation.

2009-04-06T06:01:00.000-07:00

Had our presentation for assignment 2 today.
I must say, this is a super difficult project.
Had a few conflicts while doing it.
But we managed! Mr Wong was being difficult.
The first few groups had it bad!
He kept shooting questions that leave many speechless.
And soon it was our turn! At the end of it, we were nervously waiting for his question,
But alas, he had none for us!
Phew!
After that decided to camwhore using ZeeMin's webcam.
And these are the outcomes:

After that it was time to pamper ourself with hair treatment! Clive, the photographer for the day felt lonely,

And decided to treat his hair too!

In total 6 of us conquer the place.

Day Thirty: Oh my,

2009-04-04T08:38:00.000-07:00

We visited the new campus today.
Meet at the gate at about 8 am.
And the whole bus was waiting for 1 person to come...
Our roomie Zee Min.
Gosh.. I woke her up 3 times already!
Finally headed to our destination.
Managed to catch some sleep in the bus.
When we reached there i just went "WOW"
What a difference between the new campus and the campus we are staying in!
ITS HUGE.
And beautiful!
They even have their own lake!
We first went to the library.
The students have to scan their student card before entering.

We then went to their museum.

The even have their own museum!

Everything in China have some kind of history!

This is a troohy! It looks so vintage!

The layout of the campus.

Next we went to their medical block.
We were greeted by this.
I dont really know the exact words but its a welcome sign for us!

Then we went to a place that i really dont like.
They have so many human body parts.

I heard they said that these body parts are real.

Hearing that makes me sick!

I really felt like vomitting.

Now i know why Im not cut out to be a doctor.

Noticed the boring pictures that i took?

I didnt take all the parts which have the faces.

Scary!

We continued our tour around the school.

Sechretary?

And next up was the presentation.

This guy is freaking tall!

About 190 i pressumed.

And according to him, its normal in his hometown!

Imagine if i go there, i'll feel like a dwarf!

After the prestentation we lunched at the canteen.

Actually i just had an egg and soya bean drink.

The, the friendly students showed us around the campus.

its HUGE HUGE HUGE.

And beautiful.

Especially the lake view.

If only our school was like that...

One of the students, Yuanfeng who explained some things to me along the way.

This is inside the school!

Yuanfeng and Shaun.

Thanks for the warm welcome!

We went back at about 3 and guess what...

As soon as we reach oiur dorm, i have only one hour to quickly revise for the test!

Im doomed!

Day Twenty Nine: The birthday girl.

2009-04-04T08:29:00.000-07:00

It was Huimiang's birthday today.
It was meant to be a surprise celebration but then..
She saw the cake on the way to class cause the cake box was super huge.
I must say.. the cakes here are gigantic.
It looks like a wedding cake.

The birthday girl opening the cake box.

Tadaa! The fruit cake is reveal. Spot the basketball?

How do you even start cutting the cake?

Finishing up the whole cake!

After the mini celebration, we got back our test paper.

So how did i score?

Hmm. Not that bad.

Day Twenty Eight: The art of bargaining.

2009-03-30T08:38:00.000-07:00

Had class in the morning.

Boring~~~

Only one hour though.

The headed off to computer town again with the Ja and the boys: Clive, Ben and Randolph,

Took a cab this time.

Costs 45 yuan.

All of us are cramped into a small cab for about an hour.

My back ached after that.

The boys wanted computer mouse and headphones.

And so the battle begin.

Clive really likes to bargain and we spent like half an hour at one shop.

And of course he got his way and bought an audio techinca headphones for only 420yuan.

Thats like less than $100.

This is what i call the art of bargaining.

Day Twenty Seven: tireeeed.

2009-03-30T05:17:00.000-07:00

Due to some unexplicable reason, i cant sleep yesterday.

At bout 11pm, somebody came knocking on the door.

Dang its Clive again!

They wanted to go karaoke-ing, so since i cant sleep anyway i followed them.

The them include CiMin, Mengzhen,Huimiang,Clive and Randolph.

Hajar was too sleepy so she stayed in the room alone since ZeeMin is away.

Took an illegal cab to Shopping Mall for 12 yuan.

As soon as i stepped out of the cab, god! its cold.

Although it was quite late, the place was packed since its the weekend.

We must wait for a while but then since that somebody dont wanna wait.

We had to settled for the party room which is more pricey.

Sang till 5am and headed to McDonalds for breakfast.

Pancakes! Yum!

A taste of home.

The pancakes here are WAY cheaper than Spore and i think it taste nicer too.

Went back and i headed straight to bed.

Suddenly somebody knocked on the door.

Time check: 3PM!

Wow! I thought it was still morning.

Guess who was at the door?

Mr Clive Poh again.

They were going to the computer town and ask us to hurry up.

I was still half asleep, and went out without bathing!

Goodness gracious me.

Turns out, everybody just woke up too and didnt have the time to bathe.

Took bus no.702.

The journey was quite long i must say.

Finally reached there at bout 4 plus and went to eat as everyone was hungry.

Ate at the fake 'KFC' yet again.

It doesnt taste as great as the one near our campus though.

The food was cold and the drink 1/4 empty.

Walked around the place.

I must say, the shop closes at around 6.

Its pretty early!

Overall the place is filled with electronic stuff which im not really interested in.

And it somehow feels like Sim Lim Square.

Since all the shops are closed, we headed back to our dorm.

Day Twenty Six: Hurry up, im freezing

2009-03-30T04:44:00.000-07:00

Had our city tour today.
Was supposed to go to some street i think but there was a change of plan as the weather was terrible.
I was wearing a thin layer of clothes and i was shivering the whole time.
It didnt help that it was raining plus super strong wind.
See the foot statue.
It means no vechicle allowed in this area.
Its only meant for walking.

Since it was so cold we went into a store called Metersbowne.
Bad idea.
We ended up spending quite a lot.
After that had lunch at Dico's.
Ahhhh rice...
I feel that eversince i reached China, rice is like gold.
Everytime i see rice, its like heaven.
Back at home i dont even want to eat rice.

Look at Clive's pose!

It doesnt look that cold but believe me, you wouldnt want to be standing there.

Saw some nice decoration outside some bar,

Its time to take more pictures!

While we were walking we always find Fran missing.

And so we start searching for her.

And look where she is.....

Under the umbrella!!

Day Twenty-Five: Having Fun

2009-03-28T02:38:00.000-07:00

Had our industrial visit to Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable Company today.
A little background information bout the company:
Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable Company Ltd. (YOFC) was established in May, 1988. It's being operated by China Telecommunications Corporation, Wuhan Yangtze Communications Industry Group Co., Ltd. and Draka Comteq of the Netherlands.It is the only specialized company in China which masters preform making, fibre drawing and cabling techniques for mass production.YOFC is a high-tech company dedicated to the manufacturing, research and development of optical fibre and cable products, which is the largest one in China at present...

So what are optical fibres?
An optical fiber (or fibre) is a glass or plastic fiber that carries light along its length. Fiber optics is the overlap of applied science and engineering concerned with the design and application of optical fibers. Optical fibers are widely used in fiber-optic communications, which permits transmission over longer distances and at higher bandwidths (data rates) than other forms of communications. Fibers are used instead of metal wires because signals travel along them with less loss, and they are also immune to electromagnetic interference. Fibers are also used for illumination, and are wrapped in bundles so they can be used to carry images, thus allowing viewing in tight spaces. Specially designed fibers are used for a variety of other applications, including sensors and fiber lasers.
Light is kept in the core of the optical fiber by total internal reflection. This causes the fiber to act as a waveguide. Fibers which support many propagation paths or transverse modes are called multi-mode fibers (MMF), while those which can only support a single mode are called single-mode fibers (SMF). Multi-mode fibers generally have a larger core diameter, and are used for short-distance communication links and for applications where high power must be transmitted. Single-mode fibers are used for most communication links longer than 550 meters (600 yards).
Joining lengths of optical fiber is more complex than joining electrical wire or cable. The ends of the fibers must be carefully cleaved, and then spliced together either mechanically or by fusing them together with an electric arc. Special connectors are used to make removable connections.

After the visit, most of us dropped off at the SHOPPING MALL.
Me,Ja and Clive headed off to Starbucks first.
At last my Raspberry Frappucino!
They dont have java chip though.
What a pity. :(

The people who enjoyed their frappucinos.

After that we met the rest and went to the KTV.

Karaoke!!

Woots.

Introducing the people who dunno how to sing Korean songs but want to sing Korean songs.

Dance included.

Randolph with Mirotic by dbsk.

Me with Tell me by Wondergirls.

The people who sang the most.

Lovely voices.

MengZhen.

Clive.

Me,Ja,Clive and Randolph headed off first they wanna have dinner at the street near school.

Cabbed there.

My first cab ride since arriving in China!

Noob!

It cost about 12 yuan.

Taking a bus would have cost us 8 yuan.

Not much difference.

Had dinner at the fake 'KFC' yet again.

They headed off to Mr Loh's apartment.

OMG at last TV!!

Watch so many different sports.

And homecooked food.

It feels like home~

Day Twenty-Four: I miss Singapore

2009-03-28T02:21:00.000-07:00

Had our presentation/interaction with the China students today.
We mostly talked about Singapore's food which i dearly miss.
When the LSCT students were showing pictures of food,
I swear i was salivating.
I want chicken rice!
I want Laksa!
My group presented about the Fines in Singapore that makes Singapore a fine city.
We even wore our Singapore shirts which we brought.
Xinhui and me.

Group D without Zee Min.

Overall, it went according to plan.

We wanted the audience to laugh when they see the video, with us as the actors,

And they laughed!

After that, Ja wanted to play pool with Clive.

So we went to the street near our hostel.

1 hour is only 4 yuan which is about a dollar.

Thats super cheap compared to Singapore.

Pei Jie who never play pool before.

Ja, the worthy opponent.

Clive,the master.

Me, with little knowledge.

The passionate Clive with the beginner me.

Day Twenty Three: Smile more :)

2009-03-28T01:34:00.000-07:00

Had our stimulation test today.
No comment about it.
Actually no, i have something to say.
I hate stimulation please!
The questions annoy me cause i dont understand a thing.
Enough bout that.
In the evening Me, Ja, Pei Jie, Clive and Randolph went to the hair saloon again.
Clive die-die wanna dye his hair and and Ja have our free hair treatment.
Randolph bought the 10 treatment package for 180yuan.
Its cheaper than one treatment which costs 50yuan.
You do the maths.
Moreover it can be share among other people.
I absolutely LOVE the service there.
They are so nice to us.
I found its because we are friendly and plus we smile a lot.
Eventhough we have a language barrier, a smile is enough to express what we are trying to say.
The girl,Lee Hui(dunno the spelling) who did my hair is super nice.
She even massage my shoulders eventhough they are not required to do so.
Actually, the hair treatment is only 10 minute, but then because they wanted to talk to us more, it took more that an hour!

After that we had dinner at the fake 'KFC' again.
The food is too nice to resist.

Day Twenty Two: Money not enough.

2009-03-24T22:18:00.000-07:00

Had lunch at the fake 'KFC'.
Okay i shall not call it fake 'KFC'.
Its on a league on its own.
Its way way way better than KFC!
This cost 15 yuan.
Only about $4!
Consist of a burger.
2 small chicken drumlet.
1 cup of corn.
1 drink.
It is so worth the money!
The chicken is so juicy,

The marinate is delicious.
You guys should really try it!!

After that, Pei Ji,Ja and me withdrew money as our supply of cash is running out.
DAD!!!
Transfer money to me please!
Right after withdrawing money, we went shopping!
Money gone right after i get it.
When back to the same shop we went to last week.
Got myself a flowery shirt and a cute yellow dress.

I LOVE THAT SHOP!

They even have clothes from bread and butter, diesel and shoes from ZARA.

And its all cheap!

Day Twenty One: Finally, good food.

2009-03-24T21:49:00.000-07:00

We went for our super late lunch/early dinner at pizza hut today.
So whats the reason?
Oh well, Randolph had a craving for pizza hut all thanks to Mr Wong's Everest pictures.
Me and Ja tagged along with Randolph,Clive,Benedict and Hui Miang.
After BPE lesson, we headed off to the Shopping Mall.
I must say, the service here is impeccable.
Oh did i mention, THERE'S NO SERVICE CHARGE!!!
In Singapore the service is lousy and yet we have to pay for it.
The total bill amounted to 514yuan for the six of us!
My portion was 73yuan=bout $20
So here's whati had:

Herbal Shrimps. Super succulent shrimps!

Baked grilled chicken rice. Generous amount of cheese.

Mango smoothies. At last! Some mangoes!

Super cute Garlic Bread.

Lastly, mango ice cream cake. Its to die for.

An almost empty ketchup bottle,

3 Bottles of parmesan cheese because...

LOOK!! The cheese looks like snow. The pizza is covered with cheese!

Its the best meal i've had here in China.

Im so satisfied!

And the toilet is so clean and nice smelling.

Like finally, no stench After stuffing ourself with delicious food,

We went to Walmart to check out the chicken price for Fridays' event.

They got halal chicken!!

But it more pricey though.

Next was shopping time.

They bought shirts and some daily necessities.

Went back to the dorm, and my groupmates was waiting.

We were supposed to finish up our project for Thursday's presentation.

Opppps!

Sorry guys.

Day Twenty: Are we there yet?

2009-03-23T20:45:00.001-07:00

Woke up at 6am!
Had breakfast at 6.30am!
Pretty early right?
Back at home, i'll only wake up when the sun is above my head!
The agenda today is to climb the mountain!
2 choices: walk up or take the cable car.
walk-Free + a sense of achievement
cable car- 50 yuan + only 10 minutes
At first i wanted to take the cable car BECAUSE Pei Jie and Ja was too lazy to walk.
But after thinking for quite some time, i decided...
Im going to walk up!
And the rest decided to change their mind too.
At last only 3 people took the cable car.
Nice view isnt it?

Still can smile.This is where i thought....What was i thinking?

OH MY GOD! Thats a whole lot of stairs!

Oh no! More stairs!

A nice view to keep myself from the fatigue.

I can see the top already!

See more stairs.

Im practically crawling up!

The signboards are really.....

Reaching....

Oh well maybe not.

The locks that people put. its for good luck i think.

Pei Jie bought one and inscribed her family name.

Was really hungry after all that climbing and remembered i had a few cookies in my bag!

This guy was busy taking my picture.

A lot of it.

And so i took out my camera and took his picture too.

See the guy behind him,

His camera lens is HUGE!

View from the top.

The view + Ja

We were actually shivering here. It was really cold at the top!

All the mountains are below us. We climbed that high!

See the part that is shiny,

Its because thats the average height of the people who go round the thing and touching the poles.

I heard its for luck again.

So this mountain is for people who wants to be lucky.

I decided to follow suit and threw coins in it just like them.

It was then time to go back down.

This time round i took the cable car.

45 yuan gone.

There's no way i would climb back down the mountain.

My legs have turned wobbly.

I must admit, i was a little scared cuz the mountain was so steep.

I guess the angle was about 80 degrees.

And the cable line followed the shape of the mountain.

The whole time, i was holding tight to my seat.

The reason im holding the handle so tightly:

The cable car was swaying cuz of the strong winds.

I wanted to stablise it.

Dumb i know.

That was the end of our trip to Wudang Mountain.

There's no many pictures as i was too tired climbing.

And im glad i walked up.

I feel like i achieved something great although at times i thought of giving up as it was so difficult to climb all that stair.

It almost seemed impossible but...

I DID IT!

Day Nineteen: Lets go to Wudang Mountain.

2009-03-23T20:12:00.001-07:00

We had to meet up at the school gate at 7am!
Early right!
The bus ride took a very long long long time
About 6 hours i think.
Of course, i slept most of the time.
The visiblity was very low.
Look at how foggy the roads are.
I cant even see the car in front if the headlights wasnt on.
We reached the Wudang Mountain area.
Had our lunch and start our tour.

So since the place is a holy mountain for taoism, there's really a lot of temples.
Turn left, turn right,

The place looks the same to me.People was throwing coins at this pillar.

For luck i pressume. The thing i dont like about that place is that,

THERE'S SO MANY STAIRS.

And not those stairs with a few steps.

Im talking about 100 steps here.

See!! By the end of the whole tour, my leg will be toned from all that stair climbing!

As i stepped into one of the temples, i saw all these kids doing martial arts stuff.
Wushu??Gongfu?
Oh well i dont know since i dont understand a thing.
When somebody makes a mistake, the teacher will actually punch the kids in the stomach.
Ouch!

So after all that climbing, we finally reached our lodging for the night.

Wudang Mountain Hotel.

Its the best hotel around that area.

Its only three star though.

But at last!!

A nice place!! Does that looks comfy to you?

I jumped on the bed and my back almost broke.

Cuz the bed was very hard!!!

Day Eighteen: Hair be gone

2009-03-23T20:06:00.000-07:00

We had a BPE test in the morning.
Mr Wong!!!! Give us more time please.
There's so much things to write yet so little time given.
After the test quickly rush to the room to check my results.
Although people may think its not that good.
Im contented cuz i improved by 0.7 points.
After that we went to shop.
I have no idea where we went to.
I feel so lost in China.
I cant understand anything!!
Wherever i go, i dont know where that place is.
Initially, we went there in search of my Doc Martens boots.
But alas, its nowhere to be found.
Yes i was a little dissapointed.
But its okay.

After the super havoc bus ride,

Reached school and waited for our China friends, Joey and Charlotte to finish their class.

They brought us to the hair saloon to cut our hair.

I wanted a short hairstyle.

But the hairstylist somehow refuse to let me have the hairstyle that i wanted!

He said that its a waste to chop off my super long hair.
I was a little pissed off with him and said i dont care if its a waste or its not nice.

At last he reluctantly gave in.

See my whole bunch of hair that was cut off.

I paintakingly grew that for one whole year.

Taa Daa!!

Short hair!

Day Seventeen:The last lesson.

2009-03-23T20:01:00.000-07:00

Since spring is here and the trees will all be filled with leaves,
Me and Ja decided to take lotsa picture as the trees are still bare.
I like the trees bare, cuz you dont see that in Singapore. Shall not post too many pictures or you people will get bored of my face!
So after that we had our last IS lesson.
Overall, i found the lesson to be interesting especially the history section.
Xiao Ling lao shi talked about business in China.
As im not particularly interested in business, I didnt really take note of everything.
But since China's economy is propering, I thought its good to learn something of this lesson,
Who knows, maybe someday all that little knowledge that i gained may come in handy.

Day Sixteen: Buy and buy.

2009-03-23T09:03:00.000-07:00

We had our presentation today.
It was on the Basic Quality Tool.
Our group room 121 had to go first and Zee Min had not reached yet!
Thank god, just as i was about to start she came.
First up was me with Ishikawa Diagram.
Next was Ja with the PDCA cycle and lastly was Zee Min with Brainstorming.
Our group had the shortest presentation ever.
Only about 10 slides i think.
See Mr Wong!!! Your fault!!! You say each person do 2 slides enough already!
After that, Ja, Pei Jie and me walked around the McDonalds area in search of shoes.
Surprise, surprise!
Their biggest shoe size is 38 on average.
And Pei Jie's size is 39!!!
Walked pass a bakery shop and i had to buy their colourful pastry.
Its super duper nice i must say.

In the end we walked in a shop selling all those knitted cardigans.

And i bought one for just 50 yuan.

You cant find something with that price in Singapore. As we were walking back,we pass by a shoe shop.

We just asked for the biggest size for the sake of asking.

And guess what... they have up to size 41!!

Plus its pretty cheap too.

Only 18 yuan!

This is the basic plain black shoe that i got.
We went back VERY happy with our purchase!

Day Fifteen: Warm, warmer, hot

2009-03-17T03:55:00.000-07:00

This morning we visited the Wugang Steel Mill.
It is the 3rd biggest steel mill in China.
Meet up at the school gate at 8am.
Earlier on, Mr Wong came knocking on our door while playing the song "Chan malichan"!!
Goodness gracious me.
I was still sleeping so soundly, and neither me nor Zee Min wanted to get up to open the door.
Ja was showering and at last Zee Min gave in and opened the door.
Ahaha. I still want my 5 minutes of extra sleep!!
The journey only took about 3o minutes i pressumed.
The Wugang Steel Mill is like a town with its own internal transportation.
It even have it own schools and housing for the workers and their family.
Imagine how huge it is!
Mr Wong told us that there about 300 000 residents there.
There's no picture as we cant take any.
We went in and first thing i saw was the blast furnace.
The temperature in the furnace was about 1100degrees celcius.
HOT!!
The whole process was fully automated and very quick.
Firstly, it started off with the molten steel from the furnance.
The impurities is then washed away.
Although we were standing quite a distance away, i can feel the heat.
I felt like i was in a sauna.
The block of molten steel is then shaped according to the specifications.
There's even an Xray to check the quality of the steel.
It is then flatten out to the desired thickness and cooled down.
The flat sheet of steel is then rolled and labeled.
That is the final product ready to be shipped out.
And that was the end of our industrial visit.
I must say that it was too short.
I want too see more!!
It was so exciting!!

We went back to school and had our class at one.
Quiz yet again.
I dont like MCQs.
Hate it!!
After finishing the quiz, me and Ja went to eat at our usual place.
I like watching the TV at the stall while eating.
Since im so deprived of TV, any show will do even if i dont understand.
The good thing is, although its all in Chinese, the show are all funny.
After that we walked around the area.
Saw a fire engine parked at the pavement.
The firemens was opening a locked window.
It is really a funny sight.
The firemens wore army uniforms(those green camouflaged ones).
And the ladder was wooden and they had to manually extend the ladder!!
Continued walking around, bought junk food from the supermarket.
Clothes from the shop.
And a cake from the bakery.
Guess how much this cake cost:

ONLY 10 yuan(bout $2.50).
So cheap.
However, the cake is like 2/3 cream and only 1/3 actual cake.
Nevertheless its delicious.

I think im already used to the life here.

We can walk around buying stuff without any Chinese friends.

But I still hate the fact that there's so many dogs.

They just appear out of nowhere, making me jump around like an idiot.

The weather have been good too.

Its not cold nor hot.

Its just perfect.

Day Fourteen: Getting Restless.

2009-03-16T08:04:00.000-07:00

Reached class pretty early today, was even earlier than Mr Wong.
We even had time to buy breakfast from the street.
Mr Wong came and ask us to try to open the door.
At first i was confident.
I mean, its just a door how hard can it be.
Weiguang tried first followed by Xiang Yu, me and lastly Ja.
Surprise surprise. all of us failed!
It was no ordinary door.
At last Xiang Yu tried again and succeed.
Yay for that.
The whole process of opening the door took at least 10 mins!

After class i decided to buy some fruits.
I've been deprieved form fruits for at least 2 weeks!
Bananas costs 2.5 yuan bout 60cents?.
Cheap right, and oranges was 10 for 2 yuan.
The fruit seller gave us discounts cuz we told him we're from Singapore.

Then i decided to send all my dirty clothes to the laundry.
Yeah yeah im too lazy to wash it and i have no more clean clothes!
Plus jeans takes a very long time to dry.
Guess im just to used to having my clothes already ironed and folded nicely back at home.
Gotta thank my maid for the hard work when i come back.

When i bought the bucket full of dirty clothes, the laundress thought that it was clothes for a few people.

I told her its all mine and she laughed!

Is it really a lot??

She asked me how long have i not wash my clothes.

I told her, only a week.

And she laughed again!!

Oh my god, is it really that bad.

I think i should wash my clothes everyday.

She may think im super lazy.

The whole pile of clothes was already washed and dried by 8.30pm.

And it cost me 23yuan(bout $6).

I should not do this often, should not waste money!!

Day Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen : The 3 Gorges, Gorgeous

2009-03-15T02:15:00.000-07:00

For the past 3 days, i've been away on a cruise to the 3 gorges.
On Friday morning, we started our journey from school.
The bus ride took 5 hours!!
Of course we were all sleeping throughout the whole journey.
We stopped for a toilet break and GASP!!!
THE TOILET GOT NO DOOR!!
and the smell.....
UNBEARABLE!!!
I had to wrap my scarf around my face to avoid the stench.
This is how it looks like ->>

Luckily the view outside was beautiful that I forgot about the toilet smell.

Next up was lunch.

OMG finally.....RICE!!! HURRAY!!

I think this is my first real meal in China.

Of course I had to eat a lot.

Who knows when else i can eat rice.

The tasteless vegetable soup.

Another vegetable dish.

DUCK!!

FISH!

Tasteless tea. I like SWEET TEA.

We continued our journey and Mr Wong entertained us.

He sang an "INDIAN" song

>>> 3 Little Indians!!! nice one....

Finally after the long ride, we arrived at the 3 gorges project.

The tour guide bought us to a few scenic area.

There's a bus ferry-ing us around the few stops.

The first stop:

THE LARGEST HYDROELECTRICAL DAM IN THE WORLD!

The second stop, nearer to the dam :

The third stop>>>

The tour guide who had to constantly rush us cuz we were behind time. The view, beautiful isnt it? The flowers have bloomed! Spring is here!

And that was the end of the 3 gorges project tour.

Next was dinner and finally cruise time!!

We were late and the cruise had wait for us.

It was not bad but the room was a little cramped and the toilet is TINY!
The inside of the cruise. its 4 star bythe way.

The lobby packed with Ngee Ann students.

Part of the journey was this ship 'elevator'.

Its the coolest thing i've ever seen.

Firstly the gate will open and the ship will enter.

Then the gate closes and the ship will be confined to the small area.

Water will then start to gush in.

The ship will then slowly rise up. When the ship reached the designated height, the gate will then open.

It was really cold outside.!! The next day, we were woken up by the cruise announcement.

The first thing i did was to look at the view outside.

Magnifique!

Had breakfast and headed off to our first destination.

We transferred to a smaller boat as the river was narrower.

Everyone was busy taking pictures along the way.

I really enjoyed the view along the way.

Here's some of the beautiful scenes.

Next up was the 'sampan' ride.

When we reached the shallow waters, the boat rowers had to pull the boat!

Only 4 people pulling the boat with about 17 people in it!!!

At that moment I felt so bad that I wanted to get out and walk over myself instead of being pulled.

See how shallow the waters are.

The people dragging the boat.

It was then downstream from then on.

I pity the people dragging the boat.

They did all that hard work to earn that little bit of money.

The tour guide singing some folk song.

It fits the surroundings we were in.

The whole experience was definately one of a kind! Then it was back to the cruise.

We enjoyed the view from the room.

THE FOREVER SLEEPING CLIVE!! >>

Suddenly we heard someone banging on the wall.

Turns out, Zee Min was stuck in the toilet and the room was lock!

We had to call for the cruise crew who came with a screwdriver!!
After the short rest, it was time for lunch!

We had to queue for it! Shortly after that, we reached one of the gorge.

I didnt know what to look out for since the tour guide was talking in Chinese.

Nevertheless, it was breathtaking.
We then alighted for another sightseeing.
This somehow looks like Singapore.I suddenly miss home a little.
Here, we visited the temple.

It may look small but dont be deceived by its exterior!

The long walk....

AND lots of stairs.

I lost count cause i was too tired.

I thought my asthma was going to act up again!

That was how tiring it was!

Finally reached the top.

The place is like a museum with lots of artifacts.

Tombstones! Its huge!

And that was the end of the visit.

It was all downhill on the way back.

I was so exhausted!!!!

While walking out, i looked up to the sky and saw a lot of stars!

This is not possible in Singapore because of all the high rise buildings.

Theres only 1 word to describe it: WOW!

Rushed back to the cruise as we were behind schedule.

Quickly headed to bed as we had to leave in the morning.

The journey back to Wuhan took about 8 hours!!

YEAH ITS THAT LONG.

And that marks the end of the whole trip.

Its definately a memory that wont be erased.

Day Ten: Its cold today...BbbRrrr~

2009-03-12T06:04:00.000-07:00

Woke up, looked outside the window.
OH NO! Its raining.
It was really cold today.
The temperature was about 8 degrees.
And yesterday's temperature was about 20 degrees.
What a huge difference!
The moment i stepped out of the room, i could feel the coldness.
When the wind blows, god... its cold!
It doesnt help that it was really windy.
My teeth chattered all the way to class.
So during lunch, i had a hot bowl of JI DAN LA MIAN.
yes people.its noodles.
It really warms up the body.

Before heading off to IS lesson, me and Ja bought mineral waters to replenish our stock.
We bought a dozen bottles.
AHAH.
People was staring at us as we made our way back. Our lastest supply of food ->
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WHAT I LEARNT IN IS LESSON TODAY:

Today, Xiao Ling lao shi gave us a handout of some of the emperors of China.
I quickly read it through and found it really interesting.
It really amaze me that people would really do anything to attain power.
Maybe back in those days, killing people was something normal.
I wonder, dont they feel a sense of remorse at all?

The Yuan Dynasty.

This dynasty is interesting as the emperor is a Mongolian instead of a Chinese(Han).

I found it interesting as i thought all the emperors are Chinese.

Guess who is the Mongolian emperor??

Its....

..............

.................

GENGHIS KHAN and KUBLAI KHAN!!

Wow!

I really didnt know he was once China's emperor.

They are like the only Mongolians i've ever heard of.

Ahahahha.

More about the Yuan Dynasty>>>

The Yuan Dynasty (Chinese: 元朝; pinyin: Yuáncháo; Mongolian: Dai Ön Ulus/Дай Юан Улс), or Great Yuan Empire (simplified Chinese: 大元国; traditional Chinese: 大元國; pinyin: Dà Yuán Diguó was both the continuation of the Mongol Empire and the Mongol founded historical state in Mongolia and China, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368.

The Yuan Dynasty was established in China by Mongol nomads.

Genghis Khan occupied northern China in 1215, but not until 1279 did Kublai Khan take control of southern China.

The Mongols established their capital at Beijing (then called Dadu).

They rebuilt the Grand Canal and put the roads and postal stations in good order.

Paper money, which had had limited circulation under the Song Dynasty, came to be used throughout the empire.

Advances were made in astronomy, medicine, and mathematics, and trade was carried out throughout the Mongol empire from the plains of eastern Europe across the steppes to Mongolia and China.

Many foreigners came to China (notably Marco Polo), and many Chinese traveled to Iran, Russia, and even western Europe.

The Chinese resented the Mongol conquerors, whose governmental system discriminated against them.

Chinese artists demonstrated passive resistance by withdrawing and turning to personal expression.

Literati painting became popular; the novel developed, and new dramatic forms also appeared. Disputes over succession weakened the central government from 1300 on, and rebellions were frequent, many connected with secret societies such as the Red Turbans.

The dynasty was overthrown in 1368 by the future Hongwu emperor.

Next is Emperor Xuantong or known as Henry Pu Yi.

After reading a little about him, i want to know more.

Its because he was the last emperor of China and i found his story to be a bit pityful.

The Dowager Empress Cixi named Puyi to succeed her on her deathbed.

He was only about 3 years old then.

In the 1911 rebellion against foreigner and the Manchu government, he was forced to renounced his throne.

He then lived in the forbidden city.

In 1917, when Puyi was 9, a warlord named Zhang Xun decided to restore him to the throne.

Six days after the restoration, a plane dropped 3 bombs on the forbidden city.

It was the first air raid in Chinese history.

All his supporters abandoned him and he lost throne again.

He continued living his live in the forbidden city.

Then, the Manchus helped him restore his throne.

When he was 16, he married a very beautiful girl named Wan Rong.

In 1924 the army of another warlord,Feng Yuxiang, surrounded the forbidden city and he was forced to leave the place.

He set up a court at Tianjin where the japanese had a lot of power.

Eventhough he and his wife had busy social life, their relationship was very cold.

She had and affair with a guard and became an opium addict.

She gradually died in 1950.

The Japanese set up a new country called Manchuko in Manchuria and made PuYi the cheif executive.

Then in 1934, he bacame the emperor of Manchuko.

However, he was just a puppet with little say even over his personal life.

The Japanese pressured him to marry a Japanese women but resisted by taking in a new Manchu consort,Tan Yuling.

Six year later she died and PuYi believed that the Japanese had poisoned her.

He then remarry a Manchurian girl,Li Yuqin from a Japanese-run school.

At the end of the war Soviet forces took Manchuria.

So PuYi fled his palace and abdicated the throne leaving behind his wife.

In 1958, she divorced him and remarried.

PuYi and his attendants were taken to the USSR and kept under house arrest.

And in 1950, PuYi returned to China and was sent to a prison camp for nine years.

He was released in december 1959 at the age of 50s and worked in the gardens of the Academy of Science Institue of Botany.

He remarried again to Li Shuxian,a nurse who treated him during his imprisonment.

He then died in 1967 leaving behind his autobiography: FROM EMPEROR TO CITIZEN.

Sad isnt it.

I really find his life pityful.

It feels like he was being thrown around.

Being an emperor is not a glorious job at all.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Packing for tomorrow's trip.

Tomorrow we are going to the 3 gorges.

Wohoo!

Have to do some packing because the trip will take 3 days.

Me and ja decided to make some sandwich to eat during the long journey.

The bread doesnt look nice because we dont have a knife to cut the bread!! So we just tore it off!

WANT TO KNOW WHAT I HAD FOR DINNER????

NOODLES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Day Nine: Fascinating History.

2009-03-11T04:04:00.000-07:00

Section 1: Making Breakfast.

1.1: "Cook" the macaroni and cheese that i bought from walmart yesterday.
1.2: Inside the Package

1.3: Had to wait very long for the macaroni to cook fully, then added the cheese.

1.4: Tadaa! Breakfast done.

Yeap it looks so gross and the taste is gross too.

After a few mouthful, i had enough.

It wasnt to my liking.

Too sweet for me although i love sweet stuff.

Section 2: The emperors of China.

I love today's IS lesson because its about history.

My favourite subject!

The topic today was on the emperors of China.

Before the lesson started, Xiao Ling lao shi asked some question and the person who answered it will get a prize- a pen.

The way she presented it is like how people give out medals.

Peijie got one question right.

Her crowning moment->

Mr Wong also wanted one and he excitedly answered a question correctly.

Look at how excited he is!
Xiao Ling lao shi started teaching us all the different dynasty(tang,zhou,qin..etc) and their respective emperor..

WOW! They really have alot of emperors.!

I wonder how those historian manage to remember all that.

The part that attract my attention the most is Empress Wu Zetian.

Empress Wu Zetian is the only female empress in China's long history.

With her intellegence and beauty, she enter the palace as one of Emperor Taizong's concubine at the mere age of 13!

Even the Emperor's son, Prince Li Zhi was attracted to her.

Imagine liking your "stepmother".

Urghh~

And the emperor's death she was sent off to a temple to be a nun like the other childless concubine.

Then Prince Li Zhi was crowned the emperor known as Emperor Gaozong.

He then recalled Wu Zetian to the palace as his concubine.

Hungry for power, she killed her own daughter and accused Emporess Wang and consort Xiao instead.

Empress Wang was then deposed from the palace and so Wu Zetian became the empress.

She helped with the emperor's state affair as he was weak-minded and when he passed away, Wu Zetian put her two sons, Li Xian and Li Dan, onto the throne as Emperor Zhongzong and Emperor Ruizong.

Actually, the real power always remained in Wu's hands.

In 690, Wu deposed Emperor Ruizong and proclaimed herself Emperor Zetian.

By changing the state title into Zhou, she realized her long-cherished imperial dream.

However, she also had many faults.

She appointed many cruel officials whose behavior disturbed the normal order of the court and brought much hardship to the common people.

What's more, Wu's personally killing her sons (Li Hong and Li Xian) and her baby daughter only to achieve her political aims incurred much historical condemnation.

Although she may seem to be really cunning and heartless, she did well during her reign as the empress.

She was a bold reformer of the educational and personnel selection systems. She developed and improved the Keju Educational System, which originated in the Sui Dynasty (581 - 618).

She also appointed many talented people, regardless of their family status.

She also attached great importance to agricultural production.

By rewarding those local officials who developed agriculture well in their administrative areas and punishing those who imposed too much tax on peasants, Wu's measures greatly improved agriculture production.

Additionally, she paid close attention to military defense and foreign relations, including setting up a military administration in the northwest area where the Silk Road was reopened after a period of interruption.

Overall, in Wu Zetian's reign, a powerful centralized regime was formed, with a prosperous national economy and stable social order.

So do you think she is a good or bad ruler?

Its really depends on individual opinion.

Section 3: Dinner.

Pei jie bought vegetable dumpling from the street stall.

Only 1yuan for 5 pieces.

That is really cheap.

And it taste great too.

Value for money!

As usual, i had noodles from the Muslim stall.

This time its beef soup noodles.

And i bought takeaway so that we can eat it in the room.

Plus the portion is smaller too.

Only 4yuan=$1 !! The street food in China is really cheap.

When in China, its a must to try all these food instead of those fastfood like McDonalds and KFC which is more expensive and moreover we can find it back at home in Singapore.

Day Eight: Finally, Starbucks!!

2009-03-10T03:22:00.000-07:00

After lessons today, me, ja, pei jie, vivian, zee min, weiguang and xiang yu went to the shopping mall.
The shopping mall is literally named SHOPPING MALL.
We took the bus no.702 from the bustop in front of the school gate.
The journey took us at least 20 minutes
As soon as I alighted the bus i saw a familiar sight.
STARBUCKS!!!

I didnt buy anything though cuz they dont have my favourite drink> raspberry frappucino.

Moreover, the price is about the same as Singapore, so there's no point buying unless im REALLY craving for it.
We then went to Walmart.

Its like Giant hypermarket.

We were all curious as there's no Walmart in Singapore.

Look what we saw.....

DURIANS!!!

It cost 8.80yuan per 500gram!!

Ja and Peijie wanted to buy it at first but then,they weigh the durian and it cost about 50yuan!

Come to think of it its not really expensive for a huge durian but for China standard its a little pricey.
The fruits here are really expensive.

One orange cost like 1.50yuan.

We then had dinner at KFC.

The price is quite similar.

However the menu is a little different.

The dont have coleslaw!

HMPHH!

Since the queue was long, the worker told us to have a seat and she took our order like a waitress.

When we were ordering, a guy next to us recognised us a Singaporean because of our SINGLISH!

Oh my god.

I was really embarassed.

Is our English that bad?

His name is Dragon(China people have weird english names) and he came to Spore before as an exchange student at NUS!

Must be really smart.

Anyway he is really friendly and offered to show us around Wuhan.

He gave us his number without us asking.

Thats really nice of him.

We plan to ask him to show us around on our free day.

Since i wasnt really hungry, i just had some mash potato.

Its so different from Singapore's mash potato.

Its watery and doesnt taste that great.

It only cost 2.50yuan though.

After eating, we headed back.

Oh i saw this kind of "garage sale" on the street.

The put their items on the car and many people come to buy their item.

We also saw a stall selling some sort of 'walnut cake'

Its some sort of snack made of nuts and fruit such as raisins.

It was so difficult to cut it as it is very hard.

It cost 2yuan for 500gram.

We bought 20yuan worth of it and he gave us extra.

Lots of extra!

So nice of him.
Us with the vendor>>

Day Seven: Happy Birthday Joey

2009-03-09T06:41:00.001-07:00

Today was one of the China student's, Joey, birthday.
They invited us to their room for a birthday celebration.
The first thing i saw when i stepped into the room was this humongous styrofoam box.
SEE>>>
ITS HUGE!!!

Look whats inside the box....
Tadaaa!!
Freaking huge cake!!

Everyone then gather around the cake and put in the candles and start singing the birthday song.

Look at the portion of cake each of us got.
Even after giving out the huge portion of cake to everyone, there was still lots of leftovers.

Then somebody started to smear the cream onto people's faces.

No one was spared!

So in the end everybody in the room ended up with cream on their faces.

It looks like they were using facial mask!

Guess who is under the box....

..................

...........

......

ITS BEN!!!

Next up is truth or dare.

My least favourite game ever!!

I have the worse luck ever and had to do a dare.

Thank god it was just dancing with the bear.

If it was anything like what the others got, i would have just drop dead there.

At the end of it all, we had some snacks and drinks.

Delicious cake, food and lots of fun.

They really know how to throw a party :)

Day Six: The deceiving weather.

2009-03-08T07:55:00.000-07:00

Today the China students brought us to the amusement park.
WeeEEEeeee~~~~.
We first gathered at the dorm entrance at 1pm.
Took the bus to the amusement park.
The journey took more or less 1 hour.
Since it was Sunday, there was so many people.
While waiting for the others to arrive, we took picture as always.

There was a "train" that bring people around the park.

At the water area, they was also a lot of activities to be done, like rowing the boat and there was this kind of floating ball with kids running inside.

Reminds me of the hamster cage wheel.

We walked to the rides area and finally i saw the roller-coaster!

My favourite!!

It cost 25 Yuan per ride.about $6.

Its so fun although its a short ride.

I didnt take the other ride as i think it is a waste of money and i dont really like the other rides such as the VIKING.

Some of the students went on the other rides and i got sick of waiting.

It was really a lllooooonngg~~~ wait.

As we headed back, there was some artiste on the stress sketching people's potrait.

Decided to get mine done for 30 Yuan.

Although it dont really look like me, i dont really care cuz its cheap.

I cant expect a perfect potrait for that kind of price.

At least mine dont look that bad cuz from what i heard Randolph picture was really badly drawn and even six yr old kids can draw bettter.

Went to the shopping mall to get dinner but then, its so difficult to get halal food.

Settled for some fries at mcdonalds.

Some kids was playing at the play area and one of them approached Ja to ask for some fries.

So cute.

CHINA KIDS ARE FREAKING CUTE.

They have super chubby and red cheeks.

Walked around the shopping mall, but we didnt buy anything because its so expensive.

Might as well get the stuff from Singapore.

At last we went home instead.

On the way back we saw some Shaolin Monks i think performing at the streets.

Coolio~~

Day Five: Day out,picture spasm.

2009-03-07T04:02:00.000-08:00

So today we had our day tour.
Woke up at around 7am and grabed our breakfast from the stall across the road.
We were the first one to arrive. YAYness!
The first stop was the East Lake,
Oh my, it was cold.

In this super duper cold weather, we saw this guy all decked out in his swimming attire.

My first was,"oh my god,is he really gonna swim?".

And yes people, he swam in that freezing water!!!

Since, the lake is so beautiful,its a must to take lots of photos.

So caution, theres alot of my random pictures here>>

And so i saw the plum blossom trees and wanted to take a nice picture.

There was once i saw on TV where the person shook the trees so that the flowers will fall down like snow, and making a nice effect.

Therefore i tried to do the same thing, and it wasnt easy at all!

After so many failed attempt, we decided to give up and it was the end of our time at the East Lake.

Next, we went to the Hubei Provincial Museum.
We had to go through security checks before we could enter.

Before heading to our last destination, we had a quick lunch.

I had Chicken noodles.

Finally some chicken!

I miss eating chicken!!

After finishing the noodles, we saw a stall selling cotton candy.

And of course i had to buy it cause i have a sweet tooth and cant resist all these sugary stuff!

The cotton candy is huge and difficult to eat cuz it keep sticking to my hair.

Yucks! I know,

And finally, we headed to the yellow crane.

Saw the bus that is attached to the wires above.

So it can never go astray.

The journey to the top of the yellow crane was all stairs.

So tiring, its good exercise though.

The interior of the yellow crane:

The balcony:

Outside:

To ring the bell 3 times, we have to pay 30 yuan.

What a waste of money.

I'd rather buy food with that money.

The reason why there's not much photos here is because my camera battery died!

So i had to use the others camera.

Thanks guys for helping me take more pictures. aha.

Shall get the pictures from them soon.

Arrived at our dorm and had instant noodles again.

Im getting sick and tired of noodles already!

Oh I heard we are going to an AMUSEMENT PARK tommorrow!! WEeeeEEeeee!

Day Four: It feels like home, almost.

2009-03-06T02:55:00.001-08:00

Had Business Process Engineering(BPE) lesson at 10am today.
Woke up pretty early and had bread and jam for breakfast.
The lesson is quite similar to what we had learn before, business processing and stuff.
Mr Wong made the lesson more interesting i must say.
At the end of the class, we had a quiz.
30 MCQs. and I HATE MCQs.!!!
I rather do short structured questions.
During the quiz he blasted some songs, including gasp*some national day song and a song that im super familiar with, a korean song!
After that, me and ja go search for our food.
We decided to see the food thats available at the street across our dorm.
We bought some pancake-ish food,consist of egg, spring onions, some kind of biscuit and "secret sauce".
Its very delicious and only cost 2 yuan.

After that we had a proper meal at the nearby stall.

Thank god its halal!

And its nearer than our usual eating place.
Had noodles as usual.

I swear, after this trip i wont even touch noodles anymore.

Its nice though but the portion is too big.

Me being a person that HATE to waste food, i painstaking finished it off.

After stuffing ourself with food, we walked back to our dorm with a full stomach.

Then I decided to used my new energy intake to wash the dirty clothes.

Ja also decided to follow suit.

And that was how we spent our day.

Im looking forward to our outing tommorrow!

Day Three: Street food, yummylicious

2009-03-05T05:13:00.001-08:00

Finally the room is warm enough for us to sleep soundly.
Since we had class at 9am, i set my alarm at 7am so that we dont have to rush.
Alas, when the alarm rang, i off the alarm and just go back to sleep.
Therefore, we were kinda late as the 3 of us woke up at around 8+.
Had our quick breakfast of tuna that we brought from home and bread from the supermarket

We were late as expected but then the Chinese lecturer havent arrive yet.

We then found out that there was some miscommunication and the lesson was actually at 1pm.

So, we went back to our room and finish off our blog and do some cleanup.

At 12.30pm we headed to class and this time round, we were the first one to arrive.

To me, the lesson was interesting as i've always liked history.

I did learn something from this lecture such as the three kingdom.

Back at home me and my cousins used to play a computer game with the character that is related to the three kingdom.

I didnt know that these chracters such as Cao Cao, Liu Bei existed in real life.

Now that i've know something about it, it may be helpful when playing the game.

We also found out the place to go in Wuhan and ways to get there.

It is very useful for us as we dont really know our way around.

After that we decided to go for dinner at the place the lecturer suggested.
As we walked around, i noticed that flowers have start to bloom.

Spring is coming which means, its getting warmer. YAY!

We took the bus from the campus bustop.

The ride only cost 1.5 yuan which is about 40cents.

As soon as i got off the bus, there are so many shops around.

Shops selling clothes, shop, accessories and there were also street hawkers..

Decided to try the sweet potato.

Its nice to eat it during this weather.

The warm sweet potato will warm you up.

Next up was a fried glutinous rice snack.

It only cost 1 yuan and its very delicious.

I will probably come back again and buy more.

Then we went off to find our dinner at the shopping center.

They said there is a foodcourt selling Singapore food.

The shopping center looks like Singapore.

After walking around, we finally found it!

There was so much variety of food but most of them contain pork.

So, i had to settle for food with seafood.

After that, we headed back to the hostel instead of walking around because it was so cold!

The overhead bridge there is nice.

The stairs is spiral and there is so much walking space.
We quickly got on the bus.

This time, the ride was cheaper.

Only 1 yuan!

Now we finally reached back to our dorm and enjoy the warmth of our room.

Need to sleep early cause we have class at 10am tomorrow.

Looking forward to tommorrow to explore more places.

Day Two: Cold, please be warm

2009-03-04T06:23:00.000-08:00

Woke up super duper early today.

Oh well, it was to cold to sleep.

The Chinese students actually bought us breakfast and delivered it to our room.

They are super nice :)

Thanks a lot.

Had a shower, thank god for the water heater.

As soon as i stepped out of the bathroom,

it was freezing cold!

At about 11, we walked around the campus and see where the canteens are.

There is just one stall which is halal.

At least there's something for me to eat.

After that we walked around for a while and took lots of pictures.
>>>

We then went for our campus tour.

We see the place where we'll be studying in.

After that, it is time to walk around the area.

I bet after 6 weeks here, we can already know all the place.

AHAH, anything is possible. It reminds me of Mr Lim Choon Boo.!!Then it was time to shop for some groceries.

Got some basic necessities such as mineral waters and some snacks for breakfast.

Since we had time to kill, we decided to explore around.

I noticed that the motorcycles here are very silent.

They will suddenly appear beside you.

Cars can be parked at the pavement and the driver just drove their cars at the pavement with no care for the people walking.

Then it was time for dinner.

Ate at the same place we went last night.

I think the food there is nice.

I see me eating there everyday and eating different item each day.

At the end of the day, we headed off to the programme organised by the WUST student union.

They were supposed to show a movie but the sound system didnt work,

so they had a change of plans.

It started with introducing each and everyone of us which is fun in a way.

It was better than showing some movie that we would probably have watched.

At last the day was reaching to an end.

Headed off to our dorm quickly as it was raining.

The cold was so unbearable.
Lets hope its not so cold tomorrow.

Day One: Ready, set, go!

2009-03-04T05:13:00.000-08:00

At last the day i 've looking forward to have arrived.

Woke up at 4 am after only about 2 hours of sleep.

Got ready and left the house at 4.30 am.

Wont be back for another 43 more days.

For the first time, i saw an empty road.

Reached the airport at about 5 am which was about 30 minutes early.

Had to wait for the others to arrive.

Finally we checked in at 7 am,

and the flight took off at 8 am.

Goodbye Singapore.

After approximately 4 hours later we arrived at Guangzhou for transit.

I didnt expect it to be that cold.

Walked around the airport during the 3 hours wait.

At about 4pm we finally headed of to Wuhan.

The view from the plane was so breathtaking.As soon as i stepped off the plane, i can feel the cool breeze.

The cold weather made my teeth chatter.

As the bus we were on, drove through Wuhan, i was awed at how beautiful it was

Though it was only 6pm, the sky looked like it was already 8pm.

After an hour journey in the bus , we finally reached our destination: WUST.

Had our very first meal in Wuhan.

Then, it was time to move into our room.

Did some unpacking and make it more cosier.

Changed into some comfortable clothes and got ready to sleep.

Cant wait to explore Wuhan tomorrow!

Goodnight people :)

please snow tomorrow too.

2009-03-02T00:46:00.000-08:00

Received an email just now.
OMG, Wuhan is snowing.
It looks so picturesque, doesnt it?
Please let it snow tomorrow too.
pretty please :)

packing mayhem.

2009-03-01T07:45:00.000-08:00

I did some packing today.
Oh my god.
2 more days till i leave for Wuhan.
Excited.?
Of course!

MY CHECKLIST

THE MOST IMPORTANT: MONEY!!

MY CAPS AND BEANIES

TANK TOPS FOR LAYERING

THESE ARE THE ONLY LONG SLEEVED SHIRTS I HAVE.

A FEW T-SHIRTS

JACKETS OF COURSE. ITS GONNA BE COLD. brrr~~

LONG PANTS.

FORMAL CLOTHING.

SCARFS and SOCKS.

TOILETERIES.

MEDICINES. most importantly my asthma inhaler.

my asthma may act up again cause of the air.

MY LUGGAGE IS SUPER PACKED!!!

DONE AT LAST!

it feels so surreal.

2009-02-26T08:09:00.000-08:00

just a few months ago, i was sulking.
me and ja wasnt choosen for the first batch OIP.
see, patience is virtue.
now we get to go in spring, which is so much better than summer,
cause from what i gathered, Wuhan have the hotteset summer.
had the last meeting before departure.
im so so so excited.

wuhan, i'll meet you soon.

2009-02-02T05:34:00.000-08:00

Its already February.
Admist all the excitement, im aware that exams are coming.
Im counting the days till im in Wuhan.