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I have switched to jihenn.blogspot.com

C you there!

What I do at work..

Frankly speaking..I don't know..

I always comfort myself by telling my mind that 'Oh its just one year..the experience is good' but I can't help but feel the financial strains and the ill feeling that I get when someone asks me 'So what are you doing now?' or 'Have you finished?'

But..I guess working here isn't that bad after all..it's good experience..the guys here are good..my only complaint is the amount of money they give me but oh well..like I always tell myself it's just a year..maybe a few more months.. heheh..at least I have a lot of time to think about what I wanna do..

Day 4 - From Xi An to Ling Bao

Left Xi An for Ling Bao.  Stopped by this place where this famous concubine called Lady Yang took her bath.. it's one of the royal baths.  The rich Tang Emperor probably spent a lot on concubine.  Don't really know the full story behind Lady Yang (one of the supposed 4 most beautiful women in ancient China)..so oh well..

Me and the two tour guides! HEHE

One of the ancient baths excavated

The structure behind my bro is where the Emperor and Lady Yang stood while drying her hair..they dont have hair dryers those days.

Can't read those Chinese words..sigh..gotta read up on my mandarin.

Highlight of the entire trip...the Terracotta Warriors and Horses

Me and the terracotta warriors

Day 3 - Xi An

China is perpetually blanketed with smog.  Went to see the Big Wild Goose Pagoda which was apparently built in 652AD  during the Tang Dynasty.  It was used to store sutras and figurines of Buddha brought to China by a Buddhist translator..a guy called Xuanzang.

I think this guy is Xuanzang..I don't know..hehe..my mandarin failed me.

Having ice-cream at 0 degrees weather..great way to stay warm.

Had dumplings for lunch.  Quite cute some of the dumplings they shape it into animal shapes..gold fish..rabbits..

Rabbit shaped dumplings

Some hotpot stuff..supposed to use the ladel and scoop up some lotus seeds i think or something like that.  If u grab one there's some meaning..2 there's another meaning and so forth. haha..again, my mandarin failed me.

After lunch, we visited this Tang Dynasty Park..huge place with palaces, shows, huge lakes.

China..the Motherland..

So I went to China last month.  It was a pretty interesting trip that changed a lot in terms of the perception that I had of China.  Of course I did see the stereotypical spitting and talkng loudly..but overall it was a very good experience.  Saw a lot of things..learnt a lot of things..Xi An was exceptionally clean though the combination of thick smog (I swear..your nose-shit turns black) and fog covered pretty much a lot of the scenery..

Day 1 - 17th December 2006 - Hong Kong

Arrived in Hong Kong...went to the hotel which was in Sha Tin.  Was very far from Hong Kong Island itself and Kowloon but was alright.  They had a pretty big shopping complex called New Town Plaza or something like that.  Me and my bro bought some winter stuff to prepare for China.  Didn't know what to have for dinner so we went down to Wan Chai in HK to have dinner before my parents met up with my grand-uncle.  Called Clara to arrange for lunch after I come back from China.  Sorry guys didn't get a lot of food pics..but here goes..

My bro..and the chopsticks grabbing some donkey meat which was...tough. 

Day 2 - 18th December 2006 - Xi An

So we flew from HK to Xi An.  First time I got to experience minus zero degrees weather but it wasn't that bad.. still better than Canada or Harbin..had lunch in Xi An which wasn't very fantastic as with tour food but oh well..ate anyway.  We then went to see the city wall which was built dont konw how many years ago.  The tour guide probably said something about it but my mandarin was like half full so couldn't really catch it.

The North Gate if I'm not mistaken.

My bro again..

Part of the city wall

My bro in one of the general's armour.

Me and my bro posing with my dad's friend Mr. Lee..damn funny fella.

Before we actually checked into the hotel, we visited this Islamic Street.  Apparently, a large portion of Xi An residents are Muslims because Xi An at one time was the start of the Silk Road on the east.  There were plenty of ppl wearing something similar to songkoks and some of the ladies wear headscarves all that.  There was also a lot of those BBQ stuff..lamb..mutton..beef..no pork ehhe

The Bei Yuan Islamic Street

The people crowding around the BBQ

Dinner..quite normal but some dishes were quite interesting

this one's not bad..stuffed chicken wings with deep fried garlic..made ur mouth stink but who cares..tasted great