Wuhan OIP

Day 41 - Mixed Reactions

2009-04-13T02:06:00.016+08:00

Group shot at Changi Airport

With Mr Wong CC

Waiting to claim luggage

After arrriving in Changi Airport

Finished my dinner

Dinner

Serving refreshments

Sitting next to the emergency exit

Waiting to check-in over at Guangzhou Airport

Guangzhou Airport

Replacing the wheel of the airplane

Last picture with myself at Wuhan Airport

Bus that ferried us to the plane

Boarding the plane

Inside the bus

Flight information

Group shot with the China students

Wuhan Airport

Look at those luggages on the bus

Weighing the luggage

Look at how much rubbish we have thrown

Food street

Food Street

My Sleeping Area for the past 6 weeks

Toilet

It was the last day in Wuhan and woke up at around 7+ in the morning and Weiguang bought xiaolong bao for breakfast, thanks a lot for that :)
After that, decided to have a last walk at the backstreet by looking at how it looks like and purchase buns for breakfast. Went to get ready our luggages where each of us weighed to check whose luggage was overweight. Thereafter we boarded the bus where a few of the local students followed us to send us off at the airport.
After reaching the airport, Mr Wong made some enquiries at the counter and found out that flight we were supposed to take will be delayed and they tried to push up to earlier flight which we managed to do so. It was supposed to depart at 1330 hrs but was delayed to 1540+ hrs.

Before entering the immigration, some of the local students were sad and some of them broke down and the atmosphere was sombre but don't worry we will be seeing some of them on this coming July!!! We board the plane not by aerobridge but by airport bus where it brought us to another area where the plane was situated and it was raining and the staircase leading to the plane has no shelther. haha
When we reached Guangzhou, it was rushing and chaotic for us as we left with only 1 hour to connect the flight to Singapore. Luckily, we managed to reach on time and the plane managed to depart on time. I sat next to the emergency exit and the air stewardess asked me to read through the manual on how to operate in case of an emergency. Sitting beside me was Xinhui from LSCT and beside her was the air stewardess and we managed to have a chat with her to know each other more and also both country's lifestyle and etc... She gave us some snacks when we reached Singapore which was so nice from her :)
When the plane touched down on the runway of the airport, some of them rejoiced. However for me, I did not have any feeling. Perhaps I still miss Wuhan as I told some of my trip mates that I do not mind staying there for 6 months. haha
As I found out that, it will teach me to become more independent as I need to decide on what should I do for my chores, food and etc... But perhaps I may miss home as Singapore is still my homeland and this is where I belong.
Went to the DFS to purchase some stuffs for my dad before collecting the luggage before going out of the arrival gate where took group photos.
Was surprised that my aunt was there besides my parents where I told them not to fetch me.
Want to thank my aunty for driving me back home :)

A big thank to all my trip mates and also our leader, Mr Wong Chun Chong for making this trip a possible one!

Take care everyone :)

Day 40 - Quiet Moments

2009-04-12T00:57:00.017+08:00

With the cake shop's owners

With the restaurant's owner

With the restaurant's owner kid

Stressed for the upcoming semester

Ellen

Group shot

Eating the cake

Ermm???

Putting on the tie

Starbucks, which I rarely visit in Singapore...

Timer for coffee tasting

Comes along with cake

Salad pose

View from Starbucks

Done!

Salad

Freshly baked bread out from the oven

Taekwando

Car-boot carnival sale

Breakfast with Weiguang

Woke up close to 9am where I met up with my group members to discuss on the theme for the movie maker and what will the procedures be like.
Went to pack up my luggage before going over to Xu Dong Jie area (Wal-mart) with Seok Hui and Meiyun for last min shopping and relaxation at Starbucks.
When we reached the place, we saw that there was a carnival going on where owners sold their items by using the car boot.
Spent some time to shop before going to the arcade and play as the price is cheaper than in Singapore before going back to shop again where I went to Wal-mart to purchase stuffs from my friends
Before joining with the girls at Starbucks, I went to meet up with Mr Yan where I had meet him in church to bid him farewell and he is doing on the area of delivery and logistics too.
Thereafter, went to purchase latte and pastry and to enjoy the last few moment I have in Wuhan as I rarely go to Starbucks in Singapore as the price is more expensive than Wuhan as from what I heard from Seok Hui.
As Seok Hui knew the staff, Ellen, very well. Ellen organised a coffee tasting for us which lasted for 30mins and this was my first time experience in Starbucks. She asked to taste the coffee and describe the smell, taste and etc...
It was a good experience for me. haha
After that went to Ni Nan for dinner for the last time and ordered many dishes as they are yummy and delicious and cooked according to our local style which followed by bidding farewell to the owner where we took group shots.
It was followed by last minute shopping over at Jian Er shopping mall and went to purchase pastries and thank plus bidding farewell to the cake shop owner which similarly, we took group shots too.
After that, came back to pack up and it took me around 1 hour to pack up before calling it a night

Day 39 - Good Friday

2009-04-11T00:22:00.010+08:00

Mr Wong giving his final words

Say Cheese

Interaction

Waiting for?

Cakes, happened to be Rocco's birthday too

Preparing the cake

Noodle Stick

Pizza for around S$2

Use this machine to select songs

Singing

Had this for lunch

Food Street

Inside the church

Woke up at around 7:30am in the morning to prepare to head off to the church to attend service to commemorate the death of Jesus where he died upon the cross and forgive our sins. It was during peak hour when I took the bus and it became more and more crowded when it passed through the different bus stops and typical scene happened where passengers asked people at the front to pay for the fare before going over to the back and board.
I think they face the similar situation of what is happening in Singapore as some of the passengers are not willing to move to the rear when there are spaces and they like to crowd around the exit so that it will be easier for them to alight.
The service was a short and was fully seated but not overflow as it is not a Public Holiday in China.
After service, went to purchase a few stuffs for my relatives and friends before heading back to campus and to go with a few of them for lunch at the back street before going to Wal-mart area (Xudong Jie) for KTV session and to purchase stuffs for the farewell session in the evening.
Talking about the KTV session, it was a first time for me which was fun and interesting even though I did not know some of the lyrics when I was singing and if possible by huming to the tune. haha
Went to Wal-mart to purchase stuffs where I purchased Pizza for dinner. It was nice and delicious. Decided to take taxi back to hostel, the meter had problems during the journey and we reached the destination, the taxi driver was honest and charged us 10 yuan for the trip which was cheaper than using meter.

After that went with a few others for dinner before purchasing more stuffs for the farewell event.
Had the event at the classroom block and we had 5 cakes O.O which we did not manage to eat finish and everyone did enjoy themselves even though saw some of them breaking down as we are leaving on Sunday.
Take care everyone!

Day 38 - Shopping Trip

2009-04-10T01:21:00.006+08:00

Night scene

Interior of the shopping mall

Shop

Hanzheng Jie

Zhongsan da dao

Street scene

Interior of the double-deck (price is fixed, not according to distance-based fare)

Had lunch at this eatery

Presentation

Manage to spot the traffic police on the middle of the junction?

Went to Macdonald with a few of them for breakfast in the late morning. I found out that the portion for the burger is quite small as compared to Singapore but it is still value for money as it is still cheaper than Singapore.
After that, went to attend group presentation for those who were not done with assignment 3 which was followed by photo-taking in the classroom as it would be the last time where we will have lesson before flying back to Singapore.
Went for lunch with a few others at the back street before proceeding off to Hanzheng Jie for shopping. Did not see anything that suit my taste or purchase as gifts for others. So we went down the street to other shopping centers where I managed to purchase a shirt, ties for my friends and etc...
Went off to Macdonald for dinner before coming back to hostel where I met up with LSCT people to finalise on the programme and food for tomorrow farewell event.

Take care everyone!

3 more days left in Wuhan!

Day 37 - Assignment 3

2009-04-09T01:08:00.006+08:00

Local Students are performing

My room mates are presenting

Local and Singapore students

Breakdance

Bus Conductor - collect money from those who board the bus and mention on the bus stop's name when the bus reached.

Chang Jiang Er Bridge

Lunch

Seok Hui's group

Presentation

Hello everyone, woke up quite early in the morning to finish up on assignment 3 before presenting along with Stephanie's group.
During our presentation, my group faced a lot of questions from Mr Wong while presenting through the model, powerpoint and etc so that we are able to think through more on what we have created or suggested in the improved model. We also found out that some of the components that we have came up with were overestimated by us.
But overall it was still alright and after that, went with a few of them for lunch before resting then thereafter went to Ni Nan for dinner.
During night time, had interaction session with the China students who are studying at the International School which was organised by them.
The China students showcased their own talents like breakdance, singing of songs and even martial arts.

After that, we have interacted with a few of our students where we have asked them on history, politics: topics that are related to issues like Tibet, Taiwan and even the Tiananmen Incident and discuss with them on that.
It is interesting to hear from their point of view as I am interested to know what they have learned during their school days.

Went back to the bunk after having a meaningful and interesting event with them.

Day 36 - Team Building Games

2009-04-09T00:43:00.008+08:00

Sun set

Entrance of the hotel

Enjoying the scenery

Rock-climbing

Scenery

Fishballs

Grp Leader and flag

Another grp presenting

Group Members discussing on what to do

Tank

School building of zhongnan district

Woke up quite early in the morning as we need to travel to zhongnan district of WUST for team-building games, similar to OBS style where the ECE are housed in there. The ride was longer than usual due to the peak hour jam.

Once we have reached there, we were broken up into four groups where we need to create our group name, logo and signatures on the flag. The first activity we started off was the building the conveyor belt for the tank wheel where we will act as the wheel. The only material that we can used to build is newspaper. Some of them came out with a brilliant idea by connecting the different papers by creating strings from strip of newspaper. Everyone did manage to co-operate well as a group. After that was followed by where the instructor will ask for items we have currently in our pocket.

It was followed by lunch in the restauratn at pposite of the adventure camp where we had dishes like fishball and etc...

It was back to activities again where we did trust fall, jumping across the bridge from a high distance and rock-climbing which I managed to try all of them.

Maybe everyone did manage to enjoy themselves

Took some photo along the lake where the scenery is spectacular before going back to the hostel for dinner and continue to finish Assignment 3

Day 35 - Trekking

2009-04-08T22:55:00.010+08:00

Inside the cave

Inside the cave

Shooting off the arrow from the bow

Tentage

Flags

Climbing up the stairs

Cave

Hit the bell

Local children

Playing er-hu

Playing chess

Chess

Posing for photos

Posing for photos

Well

Sun-Ray

Climbing up

Statue

Breakfast

Mr Bean's cartoon

Woke up at around 7 plus in the morning for breakfast.
Their breakfast usually consists of porridge, man tou, buns, salted vegetables, eggs and etc which is quite different from what I will eat for breakfast in Singapore as I tend to prefer bread.

After breakfast, we went to visit different places around the mountains. The first place we have visited was walking up and down the mountains by seeing the different scenery and some history behind it. Second place was visit to the temple, sight-seeing and etc. The last place was a fort where generals or soldiers pitched their tentage. We also tried on archery where the distance is quite far apart and did not manage to hit the target.

It was followed by lunch before visiting the caves and it was a good experience and spectacular as walking down through the path.

The tour guides were friendly to us and able to interact well with everyone.
The whole trip was relaxing even though the bus ride was long and the driving style by the bus driver was fast and furious.

Reached back the hostel in the evening where we purchased dinner and continue to finish assignment 3 before calling it a day.

Day 34 - Retreat

2009-04-08T00:52:00.014+08:00

Finale

Show

Night scene

Sunset

Chicken

Holes, that let the bees to fly in and out(collect the nectar?)

Playing Mahjong

Mushroom

Bridge

Waterfall

Waterfall

Peacock

Reflection of the sun

Water

Mr Wong doing Pei Jie's pose for camera shots

Raft

Map for the place

Room's toilet

Villa

Lulin

Waiting for the truck to clear the path

Flowers

Topping up diesel

Trying to overtake

Randolph is taking shots

Washing

Our tour guide

Mist

Woke up quite early in the morning as we were heading to Luling Resort for 2 Day 1 Night stay.

As I was walking from the hostel to the main entrance of the university where the bus was located at, the surrounding was misty and cold and the visibility was bad.

The bus driver who drove us throughout the whole journey was one of the best that I have taken throughout my stay in China. His driving skill was quick and fast especially when it comes to mountain roads. But the sad part is that the suspension of the bus is bad as it kept bouncing if it passed through uneven roads or bridges.

After 3+ hours ride of journey, we have reached our destination and had lunch first before booking into our hotel. Can say again that it is one of the best hotel stay throughout the whole trip and the bed was comfortable, condition of the room was clean and pleasant too. Since the hotel is surrounded by forested area, insects can be spotted easily in the room. For e.g. my room's toilet has lots of ladybugs where Randolph and I tried to catch them all.

After staying in the room for a while, we went to visit our first destination which was the streams, waterfalls which was nice and spectacular which one cannot find it in Singapore. It was followed by visit to the local village where we went over the river by the bridge which can be swayed violently. Some of the buildings located in the village were interesting to us and we walked all the way to a stream where the sunset was beautiful before some of us started to throw stones into the river.
It was followed by dinner and thereafter we headed off for campfire night organised by the local tourist board where there were performance by locals, foreigners , interaction with the locals and karaoke session where some of our students sang and everyone did manage to enjoy ourselves before we go back to our hotel to call it a night.

Day 33 - It's raining day...

2009-04-04T22:09:00.007+08:00

Chicken Wings

Pizza sold in Wal-mart

Bridge

Entrance of the gate

Preacher is preaching

Preparing

Something similiar to TV Mobile

Raining...

Hello everyone,

Woke up in the morning, it was raining and the weather condition was as cold as the previous night. Went down to the food street to purchase buns and soya bean for breakfast. After that, went to start doing the simulation for assignment 3. As I am afraid that there would not be enough time to finish it. It is due that we will be going to Luling Resort from tomorrow till Monday evening and there will be another activity on Tuesday (more of leadership training) which will be held at the other branch of WUST where the ECE is at. It will be a day activity which we might be back at around evening time. With that, we are only left with two evenings to finish up on our simulation, report and project. But I am not sure whether I can last during evening time after coming back from the trip and training. haha

Did the simulation till lunch time where I had instant noodle for lunch before going off to church to attend the youth service which was at 2pm. Decided to go there and experience what is the difference between here and Singapore. Was surprised that there were more adults, eldery than youths who have attended the service. The style is around the same as Singapore where they start off with testimony, followed by worship before the preacher preaches and ended off with discussion. During this whole period, I have managed to know new people and have interacted them. After that I went off to Wal-mart to purchase stuffs for my family and friends and for tomorrow's event.

Went back for dinner with the rest before calling it a day!
Perhaps may rush for assignment 3 during the night.

Take care everyone :)

Day 32 - Home cooked food

2009-04-03T23:25:00.009+08:00

Helping themselves with food while the rest are relaxing

Oops...

Relaxing...

Street Scene

Curry chicken which is prepared by Mr Wong

Dishes that we have come up with

Ice-blended coffee

Receipt from Wal-mart

Time Crisis 3, I am bad in it... haha

Playing drum...

Starbucks Toilet

Starbucks Toilet, looks high class

Typical scene of the bus

Route details for the bus service

Good evening everyone,

Woke up quite early in the morning where I went to the wet market to purchase ingredients on what we had cooked in the evening at Mr Loh's apartment. After that went to purchase breakfast before going to the stadium to exercise with a few of them by running around the track for a few laps.

After that, followed a few of them to shopping center which has Wal-mart for lunch. We had our lunch at MacDonald and I ordered Filet-O-Fish Set Meal. As a typical health conscious person, I changed my fries to cup corn and my drink to Orange Juice which I need to pay more... haha
It was followed by walking around the shopping mall where some of them purchase stuffs and we went to arcade to play games and the price that they charge is cheaper than Singapore.
E.g. Car- Racing Game ,
In the end I spend around 6 yuan in the arcade. After that, we went to Wal-mart and purchase groceries and our trolley was nearly filled to the brim. The amount we spend was around 140 yuan O.O It was followed by drinks at Starbucks and thanks to Seok Hui(my AGL) for treating me :)
Decided to go over straight to Mr Loh's apartment by taking taxi as it was drizzling and we carried lots of stuffs. The ride to there cost us 12.20 yuan if I am wrong, a reasonable price as compared to Singapore. This is first time taking taxi in China and talking about taking taxi in Singapore, I rarely take as it is an expensive mode of transportation unless I take it for emergency case.

Once reached, some of us started to prepare the ingredients, clearing up of the place and etc... Even Mr Wong came to help by defrosting the frozen chickens, cutting them into pieces and cooking them with the curry gravy he has brought over from Singapore. It is nice and delicious. For the rest, we managed to whipped up a few dishes like stir-fried noodles, stir-fried bean sprouts and many more.
Want to thank to those who helped out in cooking and preparing: Seok Hui, Stephanie, Mei Yun, Franice and to the rest who came :)
After went back to the bunk where it was cold and drizzling.
After looking/thinking back on my actions, I can become a typical uncle where even some of my trip mates think that I look one. haha

Take care everyone :)

Day 31 - Presentation

2009-04-02T20:11:00.007+08:00

Had dinner at this store (Chongqing speciality)

Taste similar to Muah Chee

Clive's group presenting

Listening to group presenting

Pei Jie's group answering Mr Wong queries

Winson!!!

Weiguang!!!

Hello everyone,

Just came back from dinner. Spend most of my day in the bunk finishing up our group assignment which we just presented in the afternoon.

Woke up quite early in the morning where I started to do my group project with Winson and Weiguang and we managed to finish just a few minutes before the start of our presentation which was at 3pm. Everyone did their best in presenting their assignment even though it was quite late in the afternoon which may mean that our energy level is getting lower. After presentation, I was quite hungry and went a few of them to the back street for dinner before coming back to hostel.
Thinking of it, time past really fast during my stay in Wuhan as I still left with 10 more days in Wuhan before coming back to Singapore where I will be back in my basic routine (attend school for lesson and etc...) The lifestyle over here is different from what I experienced in Singapore as I tend to be more relaxed. Hope I will treasure the remaining days I have in Wuhan and this goes the same for the rest of my trip mates too =)

Situation just come and pass
Will the person grab hold of the opportunity to let the situation be part of his/her life or just leave it alone and forget about it?
Or is it due to Personal Divine Appointment (PDA)?
Just some thoughts... haha

Take care everyone!

Day 30 - Visit to the New Campus

2009-04-01T21:13:00.012+08:00

Dinner at Mac

Checking the CCTV

Photo shoot

Canteen at the new campus

Local Students introducing himself

NP Students presenting

Conference Room

Having Lesson

ICU Room

Showing us the exhibits

Exhibits of preserved body parts

Receive warm welcome from the head

Welcoming us

Be careful, watch out for steps

Does this look like our polyclinic?

Model of the new campus

The place we are in now

Looking at exhibits

Exhibits

Founder of the university

Our guides

Walking into the exhibition hall

Tap student card before entering

Library

Clock Tower

Interesting mode of vehicle

Was greeted by this when I opened the door in the morning

Hello everyone,

We went over to their campus in the morning which was an hour ride away from the old campus. I tried to study during the bus journey as we had a test in the afternoon. However, I did not manage to study in as the suspension of the bus was bad and it kept bouncing frequently during the whole journey as some of the roads are uneven which caused me to have headache. It is also due that the bus uses spring-leaf suspension that explain on the bouncing effect.

After arriving the school, our first destination was the gallery where there were two students explaining to us on the history of WUST which was housed in the library. The condition and building over there look way better than we are currently in. But for access wise, the place we are currently staying in is still the best as we have a food street that is located at the back of the hostel, 10 mins walk away from the nearest shopping center/supermarket and etc...
Next was the visit to the medical faculty where the head came to receive us and the local student joined us later to mingle with us. We were brought around the building where they showed us on the different facilities, room where they practice on CPR, ICU Room, lesson. The highlight of the day was that they brought us to this room where they preserve on the different body parts ranging from the feet, babies, eyes and many more which are all real. It was in perfect shape even though the samples were taken many years back. The person who is in charged of that place told us that the lecturers will cut up the body part, for e.g. head O.O to see a better picture of what causes the diseases that the person has and how to cure on it by conducting studies, if I am not wrong. haha
After that, we were brought to a room where we had interaction session with the local students where they gave a brief introduction on themselves and we presented ours which was the same on what we have presented on last thursday to the local students too.
This was followed by lunch at the canteen which was way better than what we have over here. After lunch, we went for a walk by the lake before bidding goodbye to them.

When we were back, I rested for a while before heading off for BPE Test. I did not manage to finish the paper as I had spend a lot of time on some questions which I wrote a lot too...

After finishing our test, I followed a few of them to Mcdonalds for dinner before coming back to call it a day!

Take care everyone :)
All the best for every group who are presenting on assignment 2 tomorrow!

Day 29 - Guess who's birthday?

2009-03-31T22:36:00.011+08:00

The child was watching the cartoon show in awe while we were having dinner

Both of the filters were very dusty

Fixing the air-con

Mutton Stick

Fried Noodle (Similiar to Ee-fu noodle)

Mr Wong going through the answers with us

Managed to finish the whole cake!

Pose for the cake

Cutting of the cake

Wishes!

Unveiling of the cake box

Securing the box with ribbon

Closing the cover of the cake

Cut the hole in order to accommodate the basketball

Birthday Cake

Hello everyone,

Just came back from my group rehearsal as we may need to present the skit on what we have presented on last thursday to another batch of students who are studying at the new campus. We will be going there tomorrow morning to tour around and is one hour bus ride from where we are in to the new campus.

Woke up as usual in the morning, went to purchase some stuffs before meeting up with Seok Hui to collect the birthday cake for Hui Miang's birthday. The cake was 18 inch which include an 8 inch basketball on top of the cake. It was huge as I did not see such a huge cake in Singapore unless for wedding function. haha. The owner tried to place the cake into an 20 inch box but it cannot fit due to the basketball. He thought of an innovate way but cutting a hole at the top of the cake box and place an 8 inch box on top of the bigger box by using toothpicks to support on it. Guess how much it cost?
120 yuan O.O It is cheaper than Singapore by a few times!

After securing the box with the ribbon, I took the cake to the classroom. Even though it was not heavy but it was obstructing as it was huge. As we were walking back to the classroom, Hui Miang spotted us holding the cake but we just continued walking to the classroom and along the way many of the locals were staring at me. Perhaps they did not see such a big cake before that's why most of them kept staring at me.
Once we were in the class, we started to celebrate her birthday and perhaps everyone did enjoy themselves. After that, Mr Wong gave us back our first test paper where he explained on the answers and the mistakes we have made.
It was followed by lunch before continue to do on assignment 2 until the evening time. While we were doing our assignment, two technicians came to our room to repair the heater of our air-con as it was not working to its optimum. It was as good as the first day we came after fixing the problem. Dinner was at Ni Nan Restaurant where I followed a few of them.

Came back after dinner and it was followed by rehearsal for the group presentation before calling it a day.

Take care everyone :)
All the best for everyone's test tomorrow!

Day 28 - Normal Day

2009-03-30T22:30:00.010+08:00

State of my room

Sell lots of nice pastries

State of the rubbish bin

A common sight

Rabbits and Birds for sale

Lunch

Mr Wong explaining to us on the assignment

Condition of my room when I wake up in the morning

Woke up around the same time for today,

Went to class early at 10am instead of 11am due to some revision and research for the upcoming test and assignment.

During Mr Wong's lesson, he showed us example on how can we do our assignment 2 where it lasted till noon time. Without his explanation, I would be clueless and have no idea on where to start from. After that, went for lunch with the rest before going back to my bunk to start on assignment 2 with my room mates. We start doing from 2:30pm to 6pm with one hour break in between to rest as we were quite tired. Perhaps it was the after-lunch effect. The assignment was halfway done when we stopped and we have decided to finish it by tomorrow.

After that, went for dinner with a few of them at the back street which was followed by purchasing something that I cannot reveal on. It offered many choices and variety and those who were choosing were spoiled for choice which includes me. haha

It was followed by purchasing of paper plates but we found out that it was quite expensive. So we went to Jian Er Supermarket to purchase kitchen towel instead. Went back to hostel after that to bathe before going to Mr Wong's room to ask him questions regarding the assignment 2.
Thinking about Assignment 2, even though it might be quite a difficult task for me as it was foreign to me. However I need to persist on with my group members to complete the assignment and this remind me of the sixth NE Message: "We have confidence in our future."
My group need to be united, determined and well-prepared, we have what it takes to finish our project in order to benefit and learn together as a group even though we may face difficulties along the way be it in differences, lacking in points and etc...

Take care everyone :)

Day 27 - Tiring Day

2009-03-29T22:28:00.010+08:00

Fanciful plates for sale

Scenery of the street

Having conference?

Coffee Bean

Cute puppies for sale

Eating is allowed in the shop. lol

Factory Store...

Selling something similiar to balloons

Who needs a ride?

Hanzheng Jie

Selling Food along the street

Shopping Centre

Dvds for sale, it is cheap!

Washing the escalator

Glory Church

Worship practice

One of the buildings

Bible (in english) for easier reference

Congregation is singing hymn

Used for wedding purposes

Selling fresh vegetables from the truck

Huangshi Road

Packed to the exit door

Cleaning the street early in the morning

Hello everyone,

Woke up quite at around 7am to prepare myself to head off to the Glory Church over at Hankou District for Sunday service. As usual, the bus that I took was packed and people need to board from the exit door after paying the fare at the front which also caused the exit to be packed to the door. But luckily the bus driver was experienced in his driving even though at times the way he drove was fast and furious.

Did not manage to get a sit during the service as I was reached, it was fully seated and moreover there were many elderly among the congregation.

After service, I asked some of my trip mates what were their plan for the later part of the day and they had intention of coming to Hanzheng jie which was near to the place I was at. So I decided to meet them later in the afternoon. So I slowly walked over to Wanda Plaza again where I had my lunch and went over to Wal-mart again to purchase groceries and a pair of cloth shoes for my mum. After that, went to a shopping mall where there is a shop that sells a wide variety of shoes where I was spoiled for choice on what to purchase on. But after much consideration, I have decided on what to purchase on. After that went over to Hanzheng jie to meet them up where we walked for a while before they went to a shop where it has shop like Nike, Adidas and many other famous brand that sells at a cheaper price. I managed to purchase a bag from there at 60 yuan (used for carrying books or going out for outing)

Decided to go over to Computer City/Centre but the main shopping center was closed so we went back to have dinner before coming back to the hostel to call it a day.

Take care everyone :)

Day 26 - Not to take things for granted

2009-03-28T19:58:00.008+08:00

Pictures taken from my HP Camera:

Tourguide giving us a farewell speech

Dinner at the canteen

Seok Hui and Stephanie showing on what they have bought to Winson. haha

Those paper attached on the string are related to Earth Hour

Sewing up after placing the new zip

Hello everybody,

Woke up quite early in the morning and was still tired from yesterday cooking. The weather was as cold as the first day where we reached Wuhan and it was drizzling. After that, went to the laundry shop to get my jacket fixed as my zip dropped off and asked the lady to place a new zip. She managed to finish it within 15 mins and the cost was 3 yuan.

After that, went over to the main entrance where the tour bus was waiting for us. Once everyone has reached, we went over to Hankou where we alighted at Yan Jiang da dao. We are supposed to walk along the Chang Jiang but there is a change in plan as it was cold and raining heavily. So the tour guides changed their decision by going over to bu xing jie for shopping first. Went around to a few shopping centres and had lunch over there with a few of them before going back to Jiang Tan.

Walked around, took some photos then walked back where we saw Han Xuan, the tour guide who leaded for last week tour to Wudang mountain than a few of us went over to a French Coffee Bar where I suddenly realised that my camera is missing! I went to check my pocket of jeans and jacket. But to no avail, I cannot find. So I have decided to go back to the place to check again to see whether I have dropped it on the floor and also asked those people who are there. But to no avail, I cannot find. Then this lead me to realised that I have pickpockted as Stephanie and Seok Hui saw a person staring at us when we are talking to the tour guide and I placed my camera in the shallow part of the jacket where it is easy to be pickpocketed. Haiz... this shows that I am careless and take things for granted. As what Stephanie mentioned, we are here for 4 weeks and as for now, nothing has happened to us so we may take things for granted. Another thing I found from the tour guide and the owner from the French Coffee Bar is that the place we went is famous for pickpockets and most of them are from Xinjiang. This kind of situation is part and parcel of my life and I have to accept it. Sometimes, we people take things for granted until that the thing is missing, friendship is lost then we realised the importance of it by taking extra precaution or effort but this may wane down again after a period of time where may need another incident to wake us up. But I pray that all of my trip mates will take extra precaution while they are outside and hope that this will be the first and last time. Hope not to think back too much on the incident and not to hold any prejudice on the person who had pickpocketed my item. Just let it be a lesson for me to learn from.

Btw I want to thank Seok Hui, Stephanie and Mr Wong for helping out. Appreciated your help :)

Take care everyone :)

Day 25 - Sunrise to Sunset

2009-03-27T23:07:00.011+08:00

Enjoying their dinner

Enjoying their dinner too

Having dinner

Dishes that were whipped up

Look at the way how they dry their vegetables

Value add service - complimentary drinks for trying out

Interior view of Starbucks

Shopping Mall that we went to

Food that we have ordered in Pizza Hut

Pizza Hut

Different colours of fibre optics

Group shot

Fibre optics again

Roll of fibre optics

Tube that will be made into fibre optics ?

Explanation

Our guide

Traffic accident

Similiar to Cisco

Cool pose

Jumping girls

Waiting for the bus to arrive

Hello everyone

Woke up quite early in the morning to purchase ingredients at the market which was walking distance from the hostel for this evening gathering where a few of us whipped a few dishes for trial-run as there will be a gathering where all of my trip mates will attend on next Friday.

Before that, I have reece around the places that I am familiar with to see which places sell the cheapest and etc... The price over at the market was cheap and reasonable. For e.g. I purchased kway teow for 10 people serving, it cost me only 10 yuan and she filled it to the brim of the plastic bag. After that, went back to place the items into Mr Wong's fridge before getting ready to visit the fibre-optics company(Yangtze optical fibre and cable company) which it is the Number 1 in China and Number 2 in the whole world. They produced optical fibre and cable from glass block (the circumference is around 2 times of the sewage pipe and the height is around 2 times of me) where they would process it. One block is able to produce 200km of fibre in length. The personnel mentioned briefly on the procedure and did not tell much as some of them are secret and do not want outsider to know of it.
After the visit, we managed to ask the bus to alight some of us at Xu Dong Jie where Wal-Mart is located. Some of us went over to Pizza Hut for lunch and this was the first time I spend the most for a meal in Wuhan, China where it cost me 48 yuan. After the meal, we went to shop around in the shopping mall, played some arcade games, going to Starbucks to purchase souvenir. For me, I felt that it is purchasing the brand name rather than the item. So that's why it may explain on why the prices of the souvenirs can be higher.

It was followed by a visit to Wal-Mart where we purchase more items for the cooking like mushrooms and vegetables. We went back to our hostel by bus where we met Mr Loh before going over to his apartment for preparation.
It took around 1 and 1/2 hours to prepare and cook the food before we start eating and took us another 30 to 45 mins to clear and wash up.
Want to thank those who are there to help out!

After that went back to the bunk where it was drizzling and cold...
Take care everyone!

Day 24 - Interaction with the locals

2009-03-26T21:27:00.009+08:00

Transport used to transport steel

Clive, Randolph, Benedict and Stephanie are presenting

Weiguang's group presenting

Fine or Fine?

Our group introducing ourselves

Posing for shot!

LSCT Group presenting

Smile, you are on candid camera

Another LSCT group presenting

Preparation

Waiting for the presentation to start

Giving instructions of what to do

This will be the sequence

The bird who is not scared of humans of coming close to it

Lunch Time

What is Fran doing?

Mr Wong's lesson

Hi everyone,

I guessed all of us have enjoyed ourselves during the interactions with the locals where we presented stuffs that are related to Singapore as they might not hear it before and might be interesting to them.

Btw in the morning, attended Mr Wong's lesson where he taught us finish all of the chapters that can be found in the notes except for Chapter 11. This also marks the last time of us doing quiz during lesson time. So from now till the last week of our stay in Wuhan, we will concentrate more of our upcoming tests and assignments to be handed in.

After his lesson, went for lunch at the school canteen with my group and Stephanie which thereafter my group went to rehearse on the skit that we were supposed to present on during the interaction with the locals. After rehearsing, we went to lecture hall one hour earlier before the start of the event for final preparation.

The programme started at 4pm and many of the students managed to come on time even though there was rain. The presentation started off with the LSCT where they presented on stuffs like food and fruits, places of interest and others. After that it was MDE turn where my group started first and presented on local transportation where linked to Weiguang's group where they presented on FINE. This followed by Stephanie, Randolph, Clive and Benedict where they presented on Peranakan and Malay Culture. After that, everyone from MDE did a mass sing along on Rasa Sayang where it was followed by finale where the LSCT and MDE students sang song that is related to Singapore.

After this event, it has reminded me on the first NE Message: "Singapore is our homeland; this is where we belong." We should treasure our heritage and take pride in shaping our own unique way of life. This reminds that no matter where we are be it in China, Russia or other countries for study, attachement or work. We should remember that we are from Singapore and being proud to be one!

After presentation, went for dinner before coming back to call it a day!

Take care everyone :)

Day 23 - Wal-Mart, everyday low price

2009-03-25T20:52:00.010+08:00

Daily Bread

Stadium(opposite of the hostel) during night time

Live Frogs for sale

Stephanie co-ordinating the dance movement

Waiting for further instructions

Discussion on what to do

How does an ant relate to BPE?

Why are you taking photo of us?

Practical Test

Lunch

Selling items to raise funds for charity?

Hello everyone,

Just came back from price-checking and grocery shopping at Wal-mart(hope that they open outlets in Singapore too!)

Had flexsim practical test in the morning. Even though I do not understand fully on some parts of the questions in the question paper, but Mr Wong was there to clarify on our doubts. Overall, it was alright and managed to finish on all of the parts/questions.

It was lunch time after that where I went to Chunhua canteen to eat. I ordered food (Jiao Zi Soup and red bean pau) that were not oily, salty and etc as my stomach was not feeling well.

Went for Mr Wong's lesson where we had lesson in another classroom as Mr Loh was having class in the room we normally used to attend.

Besides going through the topic during the lesson, he mentioned on the radical change that China has experienced throughout the year. Example will be the fall of Qing Dynasty, where monarchy was abolished and democracy was introduced in China(Republic) where many locals did not hear before and how to exercise their rights. And there are many more others...
After lesson, we started to practice on our dance movement for tomorrow interaction with the local students where we will be the host. It was still alright :D haha

After that, decided to go over to Wal-mart to check for pricing and buy some stuffs as the price for most of the stuffs are cheaper where they have this motto? (Everyday low price) Have learnt about this during the previous semester in of my module which is Supply Chain Management. I felt that it is better than hypermarkets that we have in Singapore like Giant and Carrefour.

Went back to nearby supermarket to check on prices again before going back to hostel. Had cup noodle and campbell soup for dinner.

That's all
Take care everyone!

Day 22 - Randomness

2009-03-24T21:47:00.009+08:00

After haircut. Any differences?

My hair is full of shampoo

Mutton Stick (bigger than normal satay by 2 times)

Dessert

Raisins with Red Bean Paste

Dinner

Mr Wong explaining to us

Air-con servicing?

Lunch

No Smoking sign located at the stairway of the hostel

Hello everyone,

Just came back from my haircut (thought of cutting it out of a sudden) and the price here is cheaper than in Singapore.

This morning, woke up later as there is no BPE Lesson in the morning but there is practical in the afternoon to prepare us for tomorrow practical test. I decided to change my sitting position when comes to using the laptop, I decided to exchange the 1m cable wire into 3m cable wire so that I am able to place it on the table and have better sitting posture. After that, spent the whole morning revising through and doing the tutorials provided by flexsim and surfing the Internet.

After that went for lunch with a few of them at the local canteen before going for practical lesson in the afternoon where he revised with us on the applications used in some of the components like the queue, processor, source and many more.

Lesson ended at 3pm where thereafter my group started preparing for thursday's preparation where we have decided to do on our local public transportation and will link it with Weiguang's group presentation where they are focusing on "FINE" City.

After went for dinner at a local restaurant (higher class) with Mr Wong and a few of my trip mates. We ordered around 6-7 dishes and the total cost was 145 yuan where each of us paid 18 yuan.

After that, some of us had dessert at the local shop which is located in the food street (at the back of the hostel) where I ordered Red Bean Paste with raisins. The red bean paste is solid and nice.

After that decided to go to the hairdresser shop for haircut. Firstly they washed my hair by putting lots of shampoo before showering it. After that, they started to cut my hair and followed by blowing my hair to end off. The procedure is quite unique from Singapore as they will first cut, wash then blow the hair. The cost is 10 yuan.

Went back to bunk after that.

Take care everyone :)
All the best for everyone's practical test!

Day 21 - Typical Day

2009-03-23T20:43:00.012+08:00

India Trip (2006):

Back to topic:

Quarreling in the street

The van that will come almost every night to root out illegal stalls

Fruit Stall

Dinner

Mr Wong's Lesson

Learning how to use the chopsticks in a proper way

Hello everyone,

Just came back from Mr Loh's house to check out on some stuffs for a special event on this coming Friday.

This morning woke up at a later time as we had no BPE Lesson in the morning. It was due that we came back to our hostel at around 9+pm after 4+hrs of bus ride and Mr Wong wanted us to have a good rest.
I went to sent Weiguang and my shirt for laundry and went to the street to purchase commodities (bread, yogurt drink, fruits and etc...) It was colder than the previous week and was raining too.
After purchasing the items, I went to collect my laundry to dry them in the room and went for lunch with a few of my trip mates in the canteen.

Attended Mr Wong's lesson after lunch where he shared with us on our experience in Wudang Mountain and the history behind and the building of temples. From there, he told us history of other civilisation(e.g. Roman Empire, Ottoman Empire and etc...) He wanted us to know more besides what Xiaolin lao shi has taught us regarding Chinese History so that we will get a better understanding on the world (past and present) He also showed us photos on his trip to Egypt and Himalayas. Talking about that, I will share some photos on the trip I went to India for camel safari in 2006 for NCC Overseas Exchange Programme. During his lesson, he mentioned on teamwork where everyone need to work together even though it may turn out not to be rosy most of the time. It will be better than working alone as one cannot depend on all his strength to complete as it might drained out easily.
This remind me of the sixth NE Message: "We have confidence in our future" United, determined and well-prepared, we have what it takes to build a bright future for ourselves, and to progress together as one nation.
By looking at this message, one will see the word "we" rather than "I or you". This shows that all Singaporeans need to unite together in order for our country to progress so that any problems will be minimised in the future. Even though there is one, we need to deal together as one.
Does this sound so PAP? haha
Disclaimer: I am not a party member

After Mr Wong's lesson, went for dinner with Peijie and Zeemin at the Muslim stall where we ordered tzi char (2 dishes and one soup) which cost us 22 yuan. Rice was free-of-charge and free flow O.O

After that, our dinner we saw some locals quarreling with each other along the street and went to the wet market to check on prices before going over to Mr Loh's apartment.

After that, came back to hostel to call it a day.

Take care everyone! :)

Day 20 - Climb and Walk and Climb

2009-03-23T00:34:00.015+08:00

Emotional Farewell

Tour guides hard at work

3/4 group shot

Starting point for the ride on the cable car

My cable car partner: Mr Ng

Ride

Boarding the cable car (Need to get the momentum to board the cable car as it does not stop for people to get in

People ordering lunch (2 dishes and rice: RMB15)

Instant noodle for sale (Provide value add service too)

Chain

Coins

Touching for good luck

Can you spot any coins?

Temple on the golden peak

Pei Jie bought a lock and she was locking up

Ren San Ren Hai

Steps

Lock

Resting

Wudang mountain

The person in red shirt was singing while walking

Sedan

Come on Weiguang, you are reaching!

Faint

Resting

Local shops

Mountains

Bus Ride

Taxi in Wudang City

Woke up quite early in the morning and went to same restaurant for breakfast

After that we went to the visitor centre where we took the bus from there to the place that we started to climb up to the summit of Wudang Mountain. It took me around 2hrs to walk up to the summit and along the way I saw many interesting stuffs like temples where I heard the monks are chanting, small shops selling from food to souvenir, nice scenery, sedan where two locals will carry on each end and transport those who cannot continue to climb to the summit or along the way. Price varies as it depends where they are transported to and from.

When I have reached the summit, went to the golden peak where a temple is located at the top and the walk to there is quite squeezy as the staircase is narrow and many of them are walking up and also some of them are walking down. Once up there, the wind was strong and the scenery was nice and saw devotees praying, throwing coins on the roof(but I saw many coins on the floor and that no one picked them up and just left them on the floor), touching the bamboo bar for good luck and etc...

After that, took the cable car down where Mr Ng was my partner and both of us talked quite a lot during the whole ride. This is my first time taking the cable car and the experience was good even though it was scary due to the height and I am one who is afraid of height. But I managed to calm myself down. haha The whole ride lasted around 25 mins

Once reached at the lower part of the mountain, we had lunch in one of the local restaurant and there were many vegetable dishes :)
After that we went to a place to purchase souvenir before going to the base of the mountain and headed back to Wuhan.

After this trip, it was an emotional farewell for the tour guide as she said it was faith or coincidence that let her to lead our group again(and this is the last time) and we had left a deep impression on her. She also said sorry for rushing us as we were in a tour group and need to adhere to the schedule.

We also thanked the bus driver who drove us to and fro which can be tiring for him due to the long journey and in return, he sounded his horn to thank us...

Take care everyone!

Cable Car Ride

Day 19 - Wudang Mountain

2009-03-22T23:04:00.014+08:00

Room 3213

Interior of the hotel room

Nice and comfortable beds

Waiting to receive keys for the room

Dinner

Charm?

Rubbing for good luck

One of the temples

Wudang mountain

Sun

Street Scene

Kungfu group shot

Kungfu

Dragon

Curvy Road

Squares

For good luck (Red string)

Incense

Group shot

Street Stall

One of our tour guide

Another of our tour guide

Street

Lunch

Tunnel

Playing PSP to kill time

Interesting way of delivering

Foggy

Our bus

Trailers

Entertainment onboard the bus

Ooo...

Our tour guide - Han Xuan

Hello everybody,

I just came back from Wudang Mountain and now feeling tired after a long journey back to hostel as the bus ride was roughly 4 hrs plus.

Woke up quite early in the morning, our tour guide was Han Xuan who also toured us when we went for the three gorges dam tour during last week.
We boarded the bus and the ride was around 5 hours to Wudang City. During the earlier part of the journey especially when the bus entered the main highway, the visibility was poor as there was fog.

We had our lunch in a local restaurant in Wudang City before heading off to Wudang mountain. We were supposed to climb the mountain however it rained and there was lightning. Instead we went to visit the local attraction around the mountain (which are mainly different temples that were built in the Ming Dynasty. At one of the temple, we saw a group of teenagers learning Kungfu and was interesting to see them how do they practice.

The ride up and down the mountain was long as it took us close to one hour and the road condition is something similar to the one I have been Cameroon Highlands when I was young. As there were many winding roads but the bus drivers are still able to drive normally.

We had our dinner at the same place before going off to the hotel that we were staying for a night. It was the best place that we have lived in since we came to China due to the facilities that they provide in the room.

After that, I went out with some our trip mates to the street to purchase food for supper before calling it a day.

Day 18 - Excursion

2009-03-20T21:24:00.021+08:00

God's Bar

Another Bar

Opposite is Wuhan Port

Interior of the Nave

Random Shot

Virgin Mary

Roman Catholic Church Building

Forget what is name of the building

Mr Lim CB favourite phrase: Anything is possible

Playing chess

Street scene of Yan jiang road

Zhongsan da dao

Yan jiang road (Many Nike and other famous brand shops can be found at here)

Look at how special the bridge is

Rice

Durians (from Thailand)

Shopping District

Wuchang fish sold in packets (ready for eating)

Governor's Room if I am not wrong

Who is the speaker?

Who are the audience?

Assembly Hall

Victory

Sun Yat Sen and his friends

The Red Mansion

Revolutionary Flag

Sun Yat Sen statue

Some street scene

Chang Jiang Main Bridge

Shooting

Old Man relaxing

Old people playing card games

Car brokedown along the middle of the road

What happened to the other half of the bridge?

Street Scene

This is the place where I alighted at the wrong stop

Dinner (5 RMB)

Washing the street

Crossing over the Chang Jiang First Bridge by bus

Heavy Rain

Drizzle

Hello everyone

My legs are aching now after walking quite a distance for today's outing which lasted the whole afternoon.

During morning, I decided to purchase breakfast from the breadshop. As I went down, I found out that it was drizzling and I decided to bring my umbrella along. As I walked towards the street, out of a sudden it rained heavily(Singapore style) plus lightning and thunder. So I quickly went to the breadshop to purchase egg tart and red bean bread. I asked the owner whether lightning strike is common in Wuhan and he said yes, especially during the spring and summer seasons. Supposedly there is no BPE Lesson on Friday. But for today, we had one as we took our first test (Chapter 1 to 5) and it was quite tedious as I need to write a lot even though it was open book.

After test, went for lunch in the school canteen before heading off to Hong lou (Red building)
I took the correct bus but however I alighted at the wrong stop so I asked around how to get there and it roughly take me around 20mins walk to reach there. But along the way, I found quite a number of interesting stuffs which the photos will do the talking.
Went inside Hong lou and viewed the exhibits and they are quite interesting. Managed to snap a few pictures and purchased a few souvenirs(keychains that consist of Sun Yat Sen, revolutionary flag and etc) to give to my brother and friends. Talking about Sun Yat Sen, he is the founder of Modern China by creating the first republic and toppled the Qing Dynasty even though he was not directly part of the Xinhai Revolution as he was in America at that time to garner support from overseas Chineses.
More information can be found from here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuchang_Uprising

After that, I decided to go over to Hankou to see the colonial building by taking a bus over. However along the way, a shopping district with many shopping centres has caught my attention and I have decided to alight at there to explore around. I have spotted Wal-Mart at one of the shopping centre, so I went in and purchase some items. After that I walked down along yan jiang road where there are many Nike and other famous brand names. Walked till yan jiang da dao where I spotted a number of colonial building. As I walked down the street, I spotted Shanghai Road and this remind me that there is Roman Catholic Church located at here. I decided to go there and explore around and one word to describe the place: Grand (Especially inside the Nave). After that I continued to walk down along yan jiang da dao where I passed by the Wuhan guan(port) till che zhan lu where I go and search for the Russian Orthodox Church which was located along the street. It was converted into a bar which named as God's bar.

After that, I have decided to go back to hostel as there is direct bus(Sv 588) from there. However I waited quite long for the bus, the first bus came after around 15 mins but the entrance was packed to the door. Waited for the second bus for around 10 mins. Knowing that I cannot board from the front, I asked someone to help me to pay for my fare and with a few others, we board from the exit of the buses. This was one of the things that I have learnt after spending a few weeks of stay over here as I have learnt from my mistake(The other time after church service, Peijie and I boarded from the exit without paying at the front, which caused the bus not to move off until a fellow passenger asked me to pay the fare, just as Peijie and I went to the entrance and I was about to board the bus, the driver closed the entrance and I was almost "crushed" by the door, lol). As the bus continue its journey, more people boarded the bus through the exit. This caused not only the entrance to be packed to the brim but for the exit too! Luckily, the bus was not stuffy.

Once reached back the hostel, went to the food street for dinner and here I am back again blogging for the day! We will be going to Wudang mountain from tomorrow till Sunday night

Take care everyone!
God Bless!

Day 17 - Last IS lesson

2009-03-19T18:46:00.015+08:00

Xiaolin lao shi in action!

LSCT Group

MDE Group

The two handsome teachers with Xiaolin lao shi

Singapore Icon: Merlion

Lunch

Man pulling a cart with a few of big and heavy stuffs on it

Toilet paper to be thrown in the waste paper basket rather than in the bowl(as it might get choked)

Library

Newspaper Board

Hello everyone,

Just finished my dinner again.

This morning, there was no BPE Lesson as Mr Wong wants us to rest more as some of my trip mates are not feeling well and also to give us some time to revise on our upcoming test which will be tomorrow. With that, I woke up a bit later where I had my breakfast in my bunk. My breakfast will usually consists of Milo/Strawberry Yogurt Drink, Granola Bar/Bread

After breakfast, I headed off to the library to revise on the chapters that will be tested. When I first started, it was still alright. But as it went along, I started to get tired and did not absorb much from what I have learn or read through and that is where my MP3 and green tea are there to help me struggle through. haha

When I finished off, it was already lunch time and went to the canteen and eat.

After lunch, it was time for Xiaolin lao shi lesson and it was the last lesson. She taught on etiquette and how to do business in China which I found it interesting. Talking about doing business in China, I have an uncle who is doing business in Guangzhou, China and doing in the area of chemicals and he will share his own personal stories and encouters with the locals and how's the environment with my family members. After Xiaolin lao shi has taught finish us, our group and LSCT group gave her a memorandum each (ours is a Singapore Icon: Statue of Merlion) to thank her for the past three weeks that she has taught us by teaching us many interesting information. She is also helpful by telling us how to get to the destination that we wanted to go. She is also a person who will keep to her promise whenever we ask for it. For e.g. giving chocolates as prizes for those who answer her quiz correctly. Want to say a big thank you and hope to see you in Singapore!

After lesson, went back to bunk to rest for a while before heading out for dinner...

All the best to everyone for their tests tomorrow!
Take care everyone and God Bless!
:)

Day 16 - Diversity

2009-03-18T20:37:00.011+08:00

Back alley

Tug-of-war competition

China

Randolph!

Hmm..

Xiaolin lao shi

Interesting?

Lunch

Room 222

Room 116

Room 117

Room 222

Room 123

Room 220

Room 121, where is Zee Min?

Repairing the classroom

Hello everybody,

Just came back from my dinner.

This morning, we had another round of Mr Wong's lesson but he was not the one teaching us as we need to present our assignment 1 to the class. My group consists of Weiguang, Winson and me as Mr Wong grouped us using our room allocation.

In order to determine which groups to go and present first, he drawn lots to determine on the procedure and my group was the last to present where I felt nervous but managed to calm myself down when it is my team's turn to present. Overall, everyone did their best during their presentation. Went for lunch at the Chun Hua Canteen (2nd level) with a few of my trip mates.

Supposed to go for Xiaolin lao shi's lesson after lunch but went back to my bunk to get some stuffs. When I returned, I found that my handwash basin is choked as we did not expect it to get choked after pouring the residue of the cup noodle into the handwash basin. Since being late for lesson, Weiguang and I decided to report to the information counter about the matter. When I approached the lady, her accent was too strong for me to understand but I managed to catch that the person will be ready at 2pm.... ..... We decided to come back at 2pm and they tried to call the repair department, however they mentioned that the man will only come to fix a few problems that happened in different room but not only on one particular problem. So Weiguang and I decided to try ways to use hot water, soap to solve the choke, but it didn't. So no choice, I have to use my hand to use a pump to force down the water into the drainage and luckily it was successful... After that washed up the room and went back for Xiaolin lao shi's lesson.

Xiaolin lao shi shared with us on the three major religions in China that are Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism where I and a few others have some discussion on the topics she has covered on. Some of them also ask me on my belief as a Christian which I also answered them and had some discussions with them which were interesting. This make me to remind me of the 2nd NE Message: We must preserve racial and religious harmony. We value our diversity and are determined to stay a united people of we have experienced in Singapore, if not it may cause chaos and unstability in our small country where Singaporeans may suffer from it. After that, she went through on the politics and legisation of China which was quite interesting.

After that, went for dinner with a few of them and came back to sweep and mop the floor as the floor is dusty...

Take care everyone!

Day 15 - Wuhan Steel Mill Factory

2009-03-17T18:54:00.015+08:00

Everyone is concentrating on their study in the library

Interesting sign found in the library

Library

Mr Wong's lesson

Yogurt that I have purchased

Yogurt Roadshow that is located next to the hostel (outside of the provision shop)

Lunch time

Outside of the manufacturing plant

Train tracks

Group shot, do we look like construction workers?

Personnel

The train(background) that we have to wait around 10-15 mins before the bus can pass through

Yutong bus- There are many of them in Singapore besides King Long, Zonda and other MIC buses...

Some building in Wugang

Waiting to board the bus

Guards on duty

Hello everyone,

Went to Wuhan Steel Mill Factory or known as Wugang in short. It is the 3rd largest steel mill factory in China. The bus ride to there was around 20 mins from our school. When we reached there, we went to their HQ and waited for quite a while for the personnel to board the bus before going over to the manufacturing plant. However along the way, our bus came to a standstill as there is a train(serve within the industrial park) crossing the junction of the road and it took around 10-15mins before the train cleared. After that, we have reached the manufacturing plant of the steel where we need to put on our helmet before going in for safety purposes. However photo taking is not allowed as it may be a sensitive place where terrorists could use the photos to disrupt the production or even competitors can also see what's their secret to their success?

After we went in, it was noisy where we went along the path of the whole production line. The whole process of the production was explained by Mr Wong during our afternoon lesson class. Would mention on the process of what I have saw and what he has explained
First stop, the mixture was pour into a mould(rectangular block) before it was sent for heating at 2000+ degrees which the heat was unbearable even though I was standing a distance away from the oven. Next it was where the steel can be adjusted according to the customer's requirement. After that, the steel is sent for washing to make it clean as there are lubricants on the roller where the steel travel on. After that, it will be checked for its quality through X-ray before rolling it up into big rolls and become ready for use. The gap between the process of the steel is around 1 minute.
After his explanation, Mr Wong told us something important that what's the purpose of coming up with these industries. Just like what Singapore is doing some areas like Newater, manufacturing of weapons and many more... So that, if there are any problems with any countries and they have stopped us selling the particular product, it will still be business as usual for us as we produce the particular product and still be able to use it. This can be related to the 4th NE Message: "No one owes Singapore a living" We as Singaporeans need to find our own way to survive and prosper, turning challenge into opportunity. One good example will be the current financial crisis.

After his lesson, went to purchase bread for tomorrow breakfast and after that went to explore their library. I also brought my notes along to see whether I can concentrate studying in the library as Test 1 is on this Friday and I have not started on any revision. Their library has many levels and when I went into one of the section, the librarian told me to swipe the card. But I do not have the card as I am exchange student from Singapore. When he asked me to write down into the book as record, I forget how to write "jiao huan xue shen" the "huan". I was embarrased when I asked the librarian how to write. haha It has been since 1 year plus that I last learn or write Chinese. Everyone in the library was quiet and they were serious in their studying. For me, I managed to only cover one topic as I was tired and did not have the motivation to continue. haha

After that went to purchase dinner at the food street where I purchased fried noodle with corn and beef with less oil, no salt/MSG. For the former, she still put a lot of oil but for the latter she did not put anymore, lucky! Even though it was oily, but the taste was still alright

Take care everyone :)

Day 14

2009-03-16T20:52:00.013+08:00

Remember this?

Shoes that I have purchased

Stationery shop that is located near the hostel

I am hungry...

Weiguang trying to open the door

Who's laptop is that?

Roadshow

Hello everybody, it is now the 2nd week of my stay in Wuhan and still able to cope for now but not so for studies. haha

While Weiguang and I were going for our lesson in the morning, we saw tentage was set up next to the newspaper reading corner where they were promoting movies for students who are interested to watch. I am not sure what kind of movies will be played as I just had a glanced before moving off and the average price is around 10+ yuan. When we reached class, saw Mr Wong just came out of his room and saw Siti and Masita were already waiting outside of the classroom. They were there earlier than us. haha
When we reached outside of the classroom, Mr Wong asked us to open the door of the classroom as it was difficult to do so and he gave us a challenge. Weiguang was the first to try but failed, I was the next and it was not easy as the lock is hard to turn and the key can easily hurt or scratch my hand if I used too much force and I failed too. Siti and Masita tried too but were unable to do so. I tried for the second time and finally managed to unlock and open the door. haha
This remind me of the 6th NE Message: We have confidence in our future.
It is related to opening of the door. Even though it may be difficult to unlock (bleak for now) but if we have confidence in unlocking the door and by working together (perserve through the difficult journey and not to give up by helping those who are in need) and once managed to do so, we are able to enter the classroom and able to warmth inside of the classroom (may enjoy in the future as one whole team)
Had lecture in the morning, after that was lunch and had practical in the afternoon besides our quiz where we tried out one of the tutorial in flexsim. It was interesting to see the sitmulation once done with the model.

After lesson, went back to rest for a while before going out to buy some stationery and went to purchase a pair of shoes for my brother along Jianshe er road which I promised him. Buying stuffs for others or even for myself may prove difficult as I am a flickered-minded person and sometimes not sure on what to choose from. But finally, I managed to purchase Nike Air shoe(not sure whether is it imitation or real, lol, for 90 yuan). After went back to my hostel and called my mum to clarify on the price on a few items in Singapore that I desired to purchase to see whether is it worth to purchase a not. As there is slogan by Shop N Save: "Save, Save, Save, Mum is the best!"

Take care everyone :)

Day 13

2009-03-15T22:37:00.004+08:00

Drying my clothes after washing

Toilet Stop

Similar to cable car

Children playing with sand

Group of children playing and bonding with each other

Flying kite

Woke up quite early in the morning and had our breakfast before disembarking from our ship to be transported back to Wuhan by bus as the ship was behind schedule for many hours. If it went back to Yichang, it may reached there in the afternoon. Before reaching Wuhan, we reached Yichang once again and went shopping in a local store where it is famous for its rice chips and etc... Bought a few before continuing on our journey back to Wuhan which took us around 4-5 hours.

Once back, I started to do housework by unpacking the clothes and sent part of them for washing and also hand wash by myself. I also went to purchase necessities too and manged to went for an exercise at the stadium which is opposite of the hostel. While I was running, it is kind of interesting to see how the locals spend their time or doing their activities. After that, went back to continue my housework and bathe where the whole process took me around 1-2 hours.
Finally I managed to blog finish for the past few days post and I am tired now after a long day.

Good night everyone!

Day 12

2009-03-15T21:45:00.018+08:00

Food Street

Coffin that is made of the tree trunk

Remains that are found in the coffin

Forgotten what is this all about... hhaa

Need to climb many steps to reach our destination

Bridge

Bridge

Walls

Scenery

Pagoda located at the middle of nowhere

Hmm...

Transferring coal to the ship for transporting

Potato

Tour guide singing

Using their strength to pull the boat (look similar to tug-of-war)

Boat is moving against the stream

1...2...3... Pull

What are you looking at?

Preparation for the pulling process

The person who control the direction of the boat

Crane

Let's get ready to paddle the boat

Stalls

Small boats waiting for us

Ooo...

Hmm...

Reflection

Buildings along the bank of the river

Dayong Sampan...

Group shot

Bridge

Hmm...

China Flag

The boat that brought us to take the small boat

Dock next to another ship

After "unlocking" Vivian and Zee Min's room

Related to my course that I am studying in

Mountains

Breakfast

Woke up quite early in the morning and there was no hot water provided. I asked the staff why there was no hot water and she told me that the boat stopped quite a several time. The situation is like this, there will only be water if the boat travelled continously for 30 mins. Had breakfast after that... After that had a short commotion where I was resting in my bed. Suddenly I heard someone banging and shouted "Hello" where I thought someone was outside of my room. When I opened the door, I did not see anyone outside and still heard the banging sound and the "Hello". And if I am not wrong, I saw Vivian standing outside of her room and asked her what happened? She said that Zee Min was trapped in the toilet as the lock of the door was outside of the toilet instead of inside and the key for the room is inside. So I went to tell the staff about it. I think there was some miscommunication, instead of the staff taking the master key, a man had came along with a screwdriver. But luckily the lady was behind him and we told her again what happened and she used the master key to open the room. The reason for the toilet door to be locked? Zee Min closed the the door to hard that cause the lock to be locked. lol

We reached the Sheng nong shi area(if I am not wrong) at around 10+ am where we were transferred to another boat where it sailed along the valley which was nice, gorgeous and beautiful. After an hour ride, we reached another place where we were transferred to a sampan where it can sit 17 people and there was 5-6 locals paddling the boat which was not quite an easy task. The most difficult part came when the locals pulled the boat with string that is attached around the body where they pulled the boat against the stream of the water (it was rocky, and impossible for it to be paddled). Kudos to them for that! Where they need to work hard enough in order to make a living. Bought a CD to support them and boost their income before we left.

We went back to our boat after that for lunch and managed to get a shower as there was hot water. We reached the city of Chongqing(far away from the City Centre) at around evening time where we visited a local attraction and after that we went back again to our ship for dinner and call it a night

Day 11

2009-03-15T20:27:00.016+08:00

Tower of the dam

Gate is opening after elevated to the same level

Water level is rising...

At the bottom of the gate, boat is in position to be raised up the water level that is pumped in

Narrow Path

Docking, waiting for the green light to be elevated up

The Dam

Lobby of the ship

Group photo

Toilet, had some problems in flushing. Interesting thing was that toilet paper cannot be thrown into the bowl as it might cause blockage to the sewage and instead the used toilet paper can be thrown in the waste paper basket that was provided.

Interior of the room

Beds and TV...

Dinner Time

Food Street in the three gorges dam site (restricted area)

Nice Trees

Introducing my Assistant Group Leader: Seok Hui

Water sprouting out

Fit comfortably

Bridge

Soldiers Marching

Nice scenery

Three gorges dam

Group shot

Group shot again

Three gorges dam

Beautiful flowers

Where's Vivian?

Water flowing

Model of the surrouding area of three gorges dam

Forgotten what's that... haha

Ship elevator(pump water to be elevated)

Hills

Our tour guide

Lunch time

Restaurant

Street scene of Yichang

Left turn

Hmm...

Chairman Mao

Lonely Bear

Buses

Say cheese

Bag that I brought along for this trip

Hello everyone,

Came back from the tour of three gorges dam today. I will dedicate each post to each particular day (Day 11 to 13)

Woke up quite early in the morning as the journey to our destination was around four hour plus... The bus that we took had poor suspension which resulted some parts of the journey being bumpy where one can see some of us sitting down on our seats and bouncing up and down.

We reached Yichang at around noon time and went to a local restaurant for lunch. Had lunch with the guys from ECE (in a table) and they had a huge appetite and the food was nice and delicious even though some are salty and oily. After that, we headed off to the three gorges dam where the tour guide explained to us some of the scenery that we passed along the way (e.g. some mountain related to Mao Zedong) where some were beautiful and awesome, the covered tunnel which was part of the expressway to the three gorges dam and it can long and can be compared to KPE.
After a hour ride ride, we have reached the three gorges dam area where we transferred to a bus where it took us to several area. The dam was huge and will let the pictures at the top to do more of the talking.

We took a lot of time at our visit in three gorges dam, due to the photo-taking and purchasing of stuffs and was late as the ship we supposed to board at Yichang at 6pm. But we left there at around 5+ plus min and had our dinner at the same place for lunch at around 6+ pm. Ended up we boarded the ship where our group delayed the depature for 1 hour. So sometimes joining a tour group has its pros and cons.
Pros: Bring us to places that can be interesting, don't know how to go and etc...
Cons: Limited Time, sometimes places that they bring us can be not to our liking and taste
So... it is up to one individual's taste but it is also difficult to fulfill everyone's liking or taste...

After we boarded our ship, we went to our room (shared with Randolph) which was interesting. But it was cold as there was no heating system provided in the whole ship and we had difficulties in walking or doing our stuffs. After the ship left for a while, it stopped before a dam where Mr Wong had mentioned to us that the ship will be lifted up by pumping the water up and we waited the whole process for around 1 hour plus and it was interesting due to my first time experiencing this kind of situation. After that, went back to the room to sleep where it was still cold...

Mr Wong never fails to brighten up our day! Listen to his singing skills

Day 10

2009-03-12T21:46:00.015+08:00

Food Street that is located near the hostel

Something similar to Naan... There is sweet and salty version

Group Exercise in the cold... oooo...

Stall owner

Traffic Light Sensor, no need to press just touch will do

How's their responses?

The Last Dynasty - Qing Dynasty

Quiet Reading

Xiao Lin Lao Shi giving us out the handouts

Mr Wong explaining to us on the three gorges dam

Hello everyone,

Attended Mr Wong's lesson in the morning and it was cold due to the rain. Before teaching us on the topic, he told us more about the three gorges dam that we are going to from tomorrow till Sunday. What he mentioned was similar to what I saw in documentary but can treat it as more of a refresher course as it is quite interesting also. He mentioned how wide, tall the dam is, and in a balanced view on what are the advantages and the environmental impact with the building of the dam.

Attended Xiaolin lao shi lesson after lunch and she continued to teach us history of the different dynasties (Yuan - Qing to Republic of China to People's Republic of China). She also gave us handouts where there are descriptions on emperors that have created an impact on important throughout the history or within the dynasty where she told us to read it by thinking through as some of the part we read might be different from the source that she has given to us. I felt that this will be good as it will let us to think more but the disadvantage is that it may create into a huge debate with no ending. She also mentioned on the leaders that ruled PRC over the years. When she came to Deng Xiaoping, I asked her what does she think of the Tiananmen Incident on how the government handled the protestors which happened 20 years before. She asked me to comment on what I think as the info I get might be different from what she get. So I was honest to tell her that it was not right to use force to disperse the crowd by using tanks or live bullets which caused injuries and even death and perhaps the Central government can deploy riot police to disperse the crowd by using rubber bullets and tear gas to minimise the amount of casualties or even have talks with the students and accede to some of the request where one example is that Zhao Ziyang went to spoke to the protestors which ended up of having him under house arrest. Her reply was that, it is better to progress at a slow rate and not suddenly change the rule into democratic rule as it may caused chaos within the country and leaders are unsure of how the system works. If I am not wrong, some need to sacrifice in order to quell the problems (perhaps this was referring to Zhao Ziyang). She also mentioned that it is better to be united as one so that the Central government are able to help out those who are in need in terms of economic, health and etc... It was an interesting talk with her as I was interested to hear from the Chinese side of view besides knowing it from the Internet and etc... Can say that she is proud and patriotic of her country even though there might be mistakes made by the current government.

After her lesson, went to the supermarket to purchase items to get ready for the Three Gorges Dam trip and dinner after that.

That's all... Will blog when I am back from the trip, which will be on Sunday

Take care everyone :)

Group Exercise out in the open which is quite cold. Salute them for that

Day 9

2009-03-11T22:20:00.021+08:00

Cleaning the fish for cooking

Strawberries

Beer promoter

Ordering of food

Good

Fresh Mushroom, my favourite

Dried stuffs

Condom Vending Machine

Nice and comfortable living condition... Thumbs up for that

Mr Loh's bedroom

Kitchen, would try to cook if I have the time

Exterior of the apartment. Does it look communist or similar to those in Hong Kong?

Gathering

Tiring

Discussing

Lonely Bear...

What is Mr Wong looking at?

A satisfied Mr Wong as he managed to win a pen by answering questions posted by Xiaolin lao shi correctly

My favourite part... Am I being biased? haha

Pei Jie won a prize too, A Pen

Three handsome guys ;)

History Lesson

The chair that can be turned more than 90 degrees

Walnut cake... Yummy

The same owner where I purchased their walnut cake the day before

Assignment 1

Hello everyone,

There is no BPE Lesson in the morning as someone had borrowed the projector and it might be difficult for Mr Wong to teach without the projector and difficult for us to understand and if I am not wrong there is no whiteboard in our classroom. So I ended up waking up at a later time which was around 9+am. After having my breakfast, I spent my whole morning by doing assignment 1 which was supposed to be due by next Tuesday but may be extended due to the industrial visit to the steel mill factory in the morning. I am still left with the report...

Had cup noodle as my lunch and knew that purchasing kettle is a good choice as I can eat instant food and/or drink green tea in the room if I am scared(eat until scared, haha) of the outside food or lazy to go out and buy. My other trip mates may take advantage of us having the kettle by coming over at any point of time to get hot water ranging from their food to drink.

Just as I was about to leave, I saw the same two people selling the walnut cake that I had purchased from them on the day before just opposite of the hostel that we are leaving in. I decided to go down and purchase some more from them as it is nice even though sweet. I wonder whether did they get any rest after travelling over from Hankou to Wuchang(where our hostel is based at)? It might be difficult them to make a living by travelling all the way to here from Xinjiang??

Went for Xiaolin lao shi lesson after that where she taught us the history of some of the earlier dynasties and also things on the four great inventions and many more... However I felt that it did not really suit my taste where it varies for others too. I am a person who is more interested in the modern history as it can relate better to me and perhaps the decision making and changes in the past few years may cause the current situation now?? But Xiaolin lao shi is a helpful person as she will help out those who have difficulties or questions and the content that she prepared was detailed so that we are able to understand better :)

After lesson, went for dinner with Mr Wong and some of us to a local restaurant where the food they sold are less oily and salty and the price is reasonable too. Before that we went to visit Mr Loh's apartment which was nice and comfortable even though the exterior of the building look communist =X and after that we also went to the wet market which was airy and spacious.

Day 8

2009-03-10T23:08:00.016+08:00

Me with the stall owners

The girls with the stall owner

Had difficulty in cutting the cake

Walnut cake

Cutting the cake with a special knife

Selling of pets along the road

Night scene

Dinner at KFC

Begging for money outside of the entrance of the shopping mall

Electronic Shop

Shopping Mall

Mobile Ice-cream van

Street scene

Wal-mart!

Inside Wal-mart

Drinho - Malaysian Brand

Lesson

What is Winson doing? haha

Whose hands are that?

After eating...

5 Dishes

Stir-fried cabbage

One-man show... He cooked all the 5 dishes within 10 mins...

Flask

Hello everyone,

In the morning, it was the same as yesterday where I woke up and attended Mr Wong's lesson. But before that, Weiguang and I went to find Xiaolin lao shi to find good deal to purchase memory card for Weiguang's camera as his memory card cannot be read by the camera. We decided to go the shopping centre that Wal-mart is located at. During lunch time, went for lunch with Weiguang, Xinhui, Nadiyah and Hashanah to the muslim canteen where each of us ordered different dishes and shared with each other. All of us were quite hungry and we almost finished all of the dishes even though some of them are salty, oily and etc...

Went back for Mr Wong's lesson after lunch where he taught how to use flexsim as part of our assignment. Lesson ended early at around 3pm where Weiguang and I went back to put back our stuffs before going over. Instead of the two of us going, ended up 5 girls: Masita, Siti, Pei Jie, Vivian and Zee Min joined us where we met them while we were going down. We took Sv 702 over and we went to Wal Mart to purchase some stuffs and Weiguang and I also went to check the price for the memory card which was expensive. After that, we decided to go over to the main building of the shopping mall where we enquired the place where it specialised in this area and Weiguang managed to get a cheap and reasonable rate for his memory card(8GB). After that, we went to KFC for dinner where I ordered New Orleans Burger Set Meal which the chicken meat was roasted and coated with some BBQ sauce. While we were talking and eating, a guy who was sitting with his group that was next to our tables interrupted us. He asked whether are we Singaporeans as he heard us using Singlish. haha He told us that he came to NUS for attachment programme and even offered his help to help us in anyway if we want to travel around. After eating, we decided to go back to our hostel. Along the way, we spotted one stall that caught our attention and was sold by Muslim. I asked him what is the food product that he was selling. He told me that it was walnut cake and we decided to buy some to have a try. When he was cutting out a portion, he used a special type of knife and it was difficult to cut it as it was hard. But it was nice and alright for us when we ate it. When I was back, I went to find those who are playing badminton and Mr Wong was at there too. Played with them for a while and followed them to food street after the game to purchase their food. When we were back, I decided to do spring-cleaning for the room where I swept and mop the floor which all of the equipments were borrowed from Mr Wong. haha

That's all.

Day 7

2009-03-09T19:46:00.007+08:00

This is our bunk

Deputy Principal

Flexsim

Guess who is the one in the foreground???

Blood Donation

Lesson Time

Green Tea keeps me warm and awake

Ten...

Sunset

What are you doing?

Hello everybody,

Woke up at around 7:30am and went to send in some shirts and jeans by filling up the pail to the brim for washing which I shared with Weiguang and it will be ready in 1-2 hours time. The cost is 3.5 yuan. The reason I send for washing is that I have difficulties when it comes to washing jeans and lazy too so I would just send in for washing before drying them by myself.

After that went for Mr Wong's lesson where he teached finished Chapter 2 but I still need some time to absorb on what he has taught. Went for lunch with the Muslim girls at the canteen which is catered to them and Xinhui, Weiguang and I bought food from the normal canteen.

When we were on our way back to our class, saw a bus that was stopped near to the canteen. We saw quite a number of students over there and I went there to have a look and knew that there was blood donation going on. Can see that the students over there are willing to donate blood to those who really need it. During the second part of the lesson, Mr Wong taught us how to use the flexsim which was quite interesting as we can see it in 3D model when we are done assembling the whole model and play it. During the lesson, the deputy principal from Ngee Ann Poly came to our class for a visit where he talked to us. He asked whether we are doing well at here and the reasons for us coming here and many more. We had quiz after that.

Went to exercise after lesson where I played badminton for a short while before going for a run. During that our run, Clive, Nadiyah saw two dogs playing or biting with each other?!?!? haha
After run, went to food street to purchase food for dinner before coming back to hostel to blog...

Day 6

2009-03-08T23:07:00.021+08:00

Candy Floss

Hand-drawn face portrait

tryong out some shots

Meng Niu

Swinggg...

Aaahhh....

does anyone have money to spare?

AAAAHHHH....!!!

Bull, made up of cans

similar to hamster exercise wheel

What shot is this?

Say Cheese

Who are they?

Bridge

Blossom Flowers

Dumpling

Crowded Bus

Bus Driver

Left-over of Dou-pi

Bible

Hymns

Praying

Church building

Dog Meat

Hello everyone again,

Instead on spending more time to sleep and rest, I woke up at around 7 plus in the morning to meet up with Pei Jie to attend church service at a local church (Glory Christian Church) which was at Hankou. We took a bus where it took us 30-45 mins ride. When we reached there, we did not know where the place is located so it took us quite a while to ask around before managing to reach the area. When we were inside there was an overflow room at the first level which was fully seated, so we went to the second level where the main hall was located and it was fully seated also with a quite a number standing at the back so we ended up standing at the back also. This shows that they are passionate to attend church service and listen to God's word every week. Another interesting I have found out is that, sometimes they will take turn to give up seats to those who really need as the congregation consists mostly elderly. The service was conducted in Chinese and I had difficulties in understanding some of the words due to the accent and partly on the speed also as I need to hear properly in a slow manner when it comes to Chinese words. But I also translated to Pei Jie on some of the important message that the person has mentioned so she may get a better idea of what is it all about. haha

After church service, went to a local eatery nearby to have lunch which I had tou-pi(beancurd skin with glutonous rice) and jiao zi(dumplings). After that, we went back to campus by bus to meet up with the rest where the local students bring us to the amusement park which was located at Zhongshan park(Hankou district) and followed by some shopping. We took a bus over there and it get crowded after we have boarded the bus which we need to maintain a steady balance and grip. Luckily, the break was not as bad from what I have experienced with Singapore public buses. When we reached there, we spend some time in cam-whoring before moving over to the amusement park. I tried out the rollercoaster ride as it has the part on the turn 360 degrees which I did not try out before and it cost me 25 yuan per ride which was roughly around 1 min. It was still alright as I screamed/shouted out to feel better which caused me to do that until I have no voice. haha

After that, followed the rest where they played on other rides like viking ship and many more...

When we started to leave the park, a few of us are interested in the sketching of faces done by the artists and they started to ask them to draw out their portrait of their faces while they were seated down. During that period, I accidentally stepped on the chewing gum that was spitted on the floor and I have hard time in clearing the mess up, haha. Once everyone was done, we went off to have dinner and went to find a Muslim stall around the area with the help from the local students. I had fried noodles with meat and mushroom for dinner and after that we went back to the hostel by bus. Along the way, I asked Journey what made her to choose this diploma course?
Her reply was that she want to grab the opportunity to go to Singapore. This remind me of what Mr Ng Thiam Chye had mentioned about us not to fall back with those foreigners who are seeking working or studying opportunity. I need to know the importance that the people I will be meeting is only locals but foreigners too and also need to compete with them on areas that are competitive in order to survive.

Day 5

2009-03-07T21:35:00.012+08:00

Umbrella, ella, a a... that's my umbrella

Mao Zedong

From left: Karl Marx, not sure is who, Lenin, Stalin

What is that? Fountain or pee?

Coins...

Hit the bell for prosperity and many more..

hmm...

from left: Mao Zedong(Tiananmen Square, proclaim the founding of PRC), Mao Zedong, Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai

Chang Jiang di yi qiao

Shots

Bell

Similar to satay

Food Street

Trained monkey

Outside of the museum

One of the exhibits in the museum

Revoluntionary Flag, 1911 Uprising

Warriors

Model

Outside of the museum

Group Shot

Bicycle or Tai-ji?

Lai~Lai~Lai

Qu Yuan

Boats

Buggy Ride

Lake

Dong Hu (Group shot)

Dong Hu

Mr Wong and tour guide

Hello everyone again,

I had difficulty in waking up early even though I slept quite early as for last night. The whole morning and afternoon was spent by visiting places of interest in Wuhan. They are the museum, yellow crane tower, food street and east lake.

Our first destination was the east lake, it is quite big and was not possible for us to explore the place within one hour. Firstly when I went into the park and after walking around for a while, something caught my attention! Guess what? Heard a pair of old ladies where one of them is playing the er-hu and the other singing songs. I went over to listen them singing and playing and it has been since a long time that I last played er-hu which was back during my primary school days as I joined Chinese Orchestra as my CCA. After that, went to take some photos with the rest and also visited the memorial of Qu Yuan which we commemorate during the Dumpling Festival due to the sacrifice that he has acted out.

Next stop was the museum, it does not attract me much as I am not really interested with ancient history but saw some relic that are quite unique, like the big bells and etc... But the last level was quite unique as it suited more to my taste where one gallery was dedicated to 1911 Revolution which happened right here in Wuchang where Qing dynasty fell and new republic was created in China, the district where the university is also located at.

After that went for lunch at a food street which was near to the red house(1911 Xinhai Revolution) and the Yellow Crane tower and it sell lots of delicious food which we need to purchase them using either coupons or pre-paid card. Some of the food that I ate was the dou pi which had egg, glutinous rice, cai poh, meat which taste quite similar to carrot cake and many more....

After that, we went to yellow crane tower and went to the tower where almost the whole Wuhan City can be seen and has a nice scenery. Before going off, went to a shop where it sells mainly on Mao Zedong's stuffs ranging from his little red book to collar pins, books, dvd/vcd and even can take a photo with him(wax figure) for 5 yuan. Bought a comb which was made from some special wood and bull's/cow's horn for 30 yuan where Mr Ng helped to slash the price.

After that went back to our hostel and went with the Muslim girls to another Muslim Stall that we found which was near from our hostel too and had fried dao xiao mian with vegetables at 5 yaun and after that went to shop for cup noodles and drinks for storage.

Tomorrow will be another early day for me...

The elderly in China seems to be care-free, they either spend their time in singing, doing tai-ji, dancing and many others. I hope that next time when all of us get old, we will be active as them and being care-free. Maybe the government can build more facilities that cater more to the elderly besides the usual fitness corner, karaoke course at RC, senior citizen corner and etc...

Day 4

2009-03-06T20:49:00.017+08:00

Different variety of fruits

Preparing similar to pancake??

Backalley

"gou gou", dog

Playing poker card game

Construction work

Throwing dart

Fresh fishes sold at a local store

Cooking

Decorations at the front of a local shop

Lonely Dog

Value-added service

Beef Fried-Rice

Dao Jiao Mian

Forget what is this about

Tea leaves and many more...

Lesson

Mr Wong's handphone with TV function

Notes

Salesman?

Lesson

Meng Niu Yogurt Drink (Strawberry) Remember the case on the infant milk powder?

Hello everyone,

Started our first BPE Lesson for today and Mr Wong managed to teach us finish Chapter 1 and had our first quiz which was difficult for me. Even though it was opened book, I flipped every pages of the notes but cannot find the answer or maybe I was not observant or too tired. haha
But what Mr Wong teached I managed to understand and he tried to make the class interesting and not boring by sharing us some of his own personal experience or what is happening outside of this world which are quite relevant to our course also.

After that, we went for lunch over at the food street which was located near to our hostel. We decided to follow the Muslim girls and ate with them at the local Muslim Stall and I ordered beef fried rice. It was a huge portion and I did not manage to eat finish. After that, we went walking around the street and purchased some fruits, accessories and even played dart in a shop selling shoes and shirts which the shopowner was flexible even though we did not purchase any stuffs from here. Maybe our local shops can have the same practise and add-value to their services that they provide which may caused more people to win their trust and purchase their items. As service provided by the staffs are one of the main consideration besides the price when it comes to purchase an item. Nowadays, people like me want to purchase things that provide good service, low-valued price and good quality...

After that went back to the hostel and went to have a run around the school. After that went with a few others to play badmintion along the street. After that, went to the food street to purchase food and managed to purchase the hot thermal flask at 20 yuan

I may do a reflection for this whole week by the end of this week, which is Sunday. Sometimes what I write may not be correct all of the time as I might be forgotten on some details and etc...

Day 3

2009-03-05T21:56:00.011+08:00

INTERIOR OF THE BUS

SHOPPING MALL NEAR JIANSHE QI DAO

ROAD JUNCTION

ROAD JUNCTION

FOUR WAY OVERHEAD BRIDGE

DINNER

SINGAPORE FOOD STREET

SIMILIAR TO TUTU KUEH

MAKING SOMETHING SIMILIAR TO TUTU KUEH

FRIED RICE BALL

STREET

ROASTED SWEET POTATO

CARS BLOCKING THEIR PATH

PRIDE, PASSION, PROFESSIONALISM

WAS BORED DURING THE LESSON

SIR WONG STATUE

XIAO LIN LAO SHI

MR WONG CAPTURING SHOTS

BORED DURING LESSON

LOCKERS FOR STORAGE OF BAGS IN SUPERMARKET

HAIRCUT

GIVING ADVICES TO THE PEOPLE

ROADSHOW

LEAVING THE LECTURE HALL

Hello everyone,

Woke up early in the morning due to the sounding of the horns again...
Decided to eat cup noodle that I have brought over to Singapore as I was not sure what to eat and did not have much appetite since I came over to Wuhan, maybe it was due to the cold weather and also the cooking style of the food which might not suit me as I prefer food that are less salty and oily.

Supposed to have IS lesson which focused on Wuhan and Hubei culture/history/geography lesson at 9am. But there was miscommunication and ended up the lesson start at 1pm.

During the free time, I went to purchase more stuffs from the nearby supermarket and went for lunch at the canteen before attending the lesson at 1pm. Along the way, I saw that the local government has provided free healthcare check-up, advice, cutting of hair and etc... for the people(something similar to a roadshow)

The IS lecturer's name is Sally (Xiao Lin) and even though I admit the lesson was boring, but she was kind, approachable and helpful. She will do her best in answering any questions we have. From what I see, she is trying her best to help us as we are new to the area so that we are able to have a better impression of their people and country. This made me to think on our case if we receive foreign guest. I hope that we will not be so dead in response but to be as cheerful as what Sally did.

After that, decided to go to Jian She qi dao for dinner with a few others. As Sally told us that there is a Singapore Food Street located in a shopping Mall over there and a few Muslim stalls too. Before going there, we have this strange encounter where we saw three students dressed in Chinese paramilitary uniform marching in a row of three where the middle person was holding the China flag and they were marching on the road in a straight manner. While they were marching, few cars approached towards their direction and they went on the top of the kerb. But the three students found out that they could not march as the car was still blocking their way. When the driver told me to adjust their position, they told him cannot and the driver reversed back to allow them to continue marching. This lead me to think how they treat their country flag with respect, pride and honour.

We went to Jian She qi dao by taking bus which we took "mosquito bus" It is shorter than a 12m bus where they would stop after the junction of the road and at the bus stop to let passengers to alight and board and it cost 1.5 yuan.
When we reached there, we found out a few street hawkers selling unique kind of food like fried rice ball, something similar to tutu kueh and etc... It was delicious!
The Singapore food street was nothing special as I thought it will specialised in selling Singapore's food like Chicken Rice and etc... But it turned out to be more of local food to cater to the local taste buds but they sell Japanese and Korean Food too...

After that, we walked around and went back to campus by bus

Day 2

2009-03-04T22:30:00.006+08:00

INTERACTION WITH CHINESE STUDENTS

MUSLIM STALL

SPRING ONION PANCAKE

MAKING LA-MIAN AT THE MUSLIM STALL

KETTLE THAT WE PURCHASED

STREET SCENE

BUSES!!!

CLASSROOM

PARADE GROUND

LUNCH

COMPOUND USED FOR PLAYING SPORTS

PROVISION STORE

STREET SCENE

FOOD STREET JUST OUTSIDE OF THE HOSTEL

Hello everyone, the weather for Day 2 is around the same as for yesterday and it rained just now in the late afternoon and evening period and was as usual, freezing cold.

Even though I slept late but woke up early in the morning as my room was next to the road and sounding of the horns can be heard regularly which disturbed my sleeping process. haha

Before I met with the rest for lunch, Weiguang and I went for a walk around the campus where we visited the provision shop, place where clothes can be washed for us(1 full bucket of clothings = 3.5 yuan) and visited the canteen to see what kind of food were offered.

After that, we went for lunch with the rest to purchase food using pre-paid card. It took me not long to select what kind of food to purchase on. I decided to purchase on bowl of rice and two dishes of vegetables which caused 4.6 yuan and other items like drinks and snacks.

After that, we went for a tour around in the school and purchase the local SIM card and other items we needed which my roomates and I bought a kettle at 68 yuan in the local supermarket.

Went for dinner with the Muslims girls and a few others to a local Muslim store where I ordered beef noodles and the soup has a layer of oil =X but it was still nice. With that, I felt that we are fortunate in Singapore as we are able to find food easily for each other preference and requirements.

After that, went for interaction with the China students where we were supposed to watch a movie. But in the end, we did not manage to watch as the audio system spoiled. Ended up we had introductions from both sides and interactions before calling it a night.

Before going back to my bunk, I went to purchase pail from the provision shop in the campus and the staffs interacted with me by finding out more me, where do I come from and etc. Had a fruitful discussion with them. even though I had difficulties in understanding their slang.

Day 1

2009-03-03T23:49:00.014+08:00

Meal provided by the airline

Mr Wong briefing the group

Having dinner with our Chinese counterparts

Guangzhou International Airport Departure Area

Outside of Wuhan International Airport

Wuhan International Airport

Fruit Store at the Boarding Gate Area of Guangzhou(Baiyun) International Airport

Guangzhou International Airport Depature Area

Immigration Counter of Guangzhou International Airport

Check-in at Changi Airport

I am currently now in Wuhan, the weather for now is quite cold, 6 degrees and I am facing difficulty in typing out.

Woke up today at around 4:45pm then took a taxi down to the airport with my parents who are sending me off. After that we did group check-in and took group photo before having breakfast for the last time before flying off to Wuhan.

Even though, I have quarrels with my mum during the packing process. In the end, I still find her advice to be useful even though it can be draggy or I did not feel a need to bring. I will mention more of this at the later part. We took a flight to Guangzhou which was smooth and spend some time in the airport exploring around before boarding the flight to Wuhan. The flight to Wuhan was not smooth as most of time it met turbulence during the flight and I have difficulties in eating my stuffs and sitting well. But looking at the way that air crew giving out drinks to others, can say that they are quite stable. They might have experienced this kind of situation countless of times and they are used to it. When we reached Wuhan, it was quite cold and was not really prepared for it even though I have experienced this kind of weather when I was in India. But we were greeted by a group of students who are studying LMGT over here and also Mr Wong Soon Fatt where he briefed us on the conditions regarding to Wuhan which might be beneficial for us. After the airport, we headed off to the hostel in the campus and dinner and then back to here again to call it a day. It was tiring for me even though I cannot sleep. lol Then I felt my mum's advice to be useful, as I managed to put them easily to action.

Can say that I am a person who is stubborn and need for me to realise the situation before knowing the consequences.

I just pray that this cold spell will not last for long :)

Pre - Trip 3

2009-03-02T10:54:00.001+08:00

Hello everyone, I am left with one more day in Singapore before flying off to Wuhan.

Yesterday, I went to try out some shots with the camera that I am bringing over to Wuhan.
Can say that it will take some time before I can master on the components of the camera as I have just bought it recently.

Here are some of the photos that I have taken:

Will blog again when I am in Wuhan

Pre-Trip Briefing 2

2009-02-26T23:14:00.000+08:00

Hello everyone, just finished my exams today. But I am still not settled down yet as I need to prepare for the trip like packing, buying of stuffs and etc...

Today, Mr Wong conducted a final briefing to the team before we leave for Wuhan on Tuesday.
He wanted us to check on our passport particulars and other particulars to make sure that there are no mistakes. We also installed a software called Flexsim where we are able to build a model and see it operate for our project with our groups. We collected our group T-shirt for the trip. It was orange colour, I liked the front. However, the back reminds me of those people working in Chinese company. lol

We also collected a file which comprises the note that we are taking for the module and other stuffs like contact information, detailed item list and many more...

Left with five more days before going off to Wuhan. Besides packing up for my stuffs, perhaps I would go around Singapore to take some shots if time permits and spend more my time with my friends and family members. Thus I hope that it may remind me that truly, Singapore is my homeland and this is where I belong.
Uniquely Singaporean.

Mr Wong briefing us

Distributing group t-shirts

Group shot

Pre-trip Briefing

2009-02-07T22:48:00.000+08:00

Hi everyone,

This is my first post for this blog. Besides having a briefing on 31/12/2008 which is mostly briefed by Mr Lim Choon Boo, there is another one on 07/02/2009 which is a combined meeting from the different divisions who are going to Wuhan for the overseas immersion programme. The one who started first was the SOE director, where he gave us a welcoming speech like hoping for us to learn something out from this trip and many more. The talk given by Mr Lim was roughly the same as what he has presented on the previous briefing but it serves as a reminder to me on what to look out for when I am in China (e.g. counterfeit notes, social differences and many more). After that Mr Ho told us on the criteria regarding the part for IS modules. What I think, the stuffs that we need to fulfill are making sure that we learn and reflect something out from our trip so that it will benefit us in the future even though it is not visible for now. After the meeting by Mr Lim and broke up into our different schools, where Mr Wong briefed us on admin matters and there would be another meeting before our group fly off to Wuhan.

All the best to everyone for their upcoming examinations! =)

Combined meeting with other divisions

Mr Wong briefing us on admin matters

Mr Lim briefing the group