Hi people, I am back. Finally from the 3 gorges cruise.
Notice that I have not posted anything since Wednesday, 10 September, before we went for the 3 gorges cruise. So yea, everything would be found in this post!
Day 17 - 10 September 2008
I would say, this day was rather eventful (to a certain extent). First and foremost, allow me to wish Steffi a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
Had BPE in the morning (w/o breakfast again). Finished Chapter 6 before going to level 2 canteen for lunch with Shiuan Shiuan. Shared 1 番茄炒蛋锅仔饭with her. Actually we wanted木桶饭as there would have more rice. However, the lady gave us the wrong one. NVM. Anyway, it tastes not bad.
Afternoon was basically resting in the hostel, same as the day before. Seriously, I realised that unlike the first 2 weeks, everyone spent almost every afternoon this week in the hostel resting. Not enough rest? Maybe.
Anyway, the main highlight of the day came in the evening. Preparations for the mini celebration was done after Steffi (tgt with yuting and benji) went to the supermarket for necessities. Yep. That was part of the plan. Sebas went to collect cake while the rest of us went to get something each for the mini-party. As expected, Steffi was shocked went she came back as we celebrated her birthday along the common corridors! =P with all the food duh.
Hope she enjoyed this very unique celebration planned by her very own sister, Sebas.
Once again, HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEFFI!
That's all for day 17. =D
P.S. I realised that we should have more activities or gathering along the common corridors. Somehow, it really feels like home when everyone gather together outside each rooms and chat, sing song or play games. Maybe that's the type of 'hostel life' students should 'enjoy' while studying overseas which Mr Puah always mentioned!
Day 18 - 11 September 2008
All right, after an eventful day on the 1oth, 11th was quite peaceful for me. Rather resembles Monday the 8th.
IS lecture on China Religions by Xiaoling 老师in the morning before continuing BPE Chapter 7 by Mr Puah. The IS lecture kind of reminds me of CSE lessons during the AJ days. Haha.
WAHAHA. the long awaited TEST 1 arrived! I would say, the difficulty of the test is all right la. Just that some questions requires a lot of thinking although it is an open book exam.
By the time my test ended, canteen opening hours for lunch was over. Hence, lunch was at the local market at our favourite fried rice store (i think everyone from MDE only patronise that store for some unknown reasons). Tried Roast meat fried rice plus egg. Rather nice. Ohya, the store owner drinks beer directly from the bottle while having his lunch with his family. Seriously, Chinese people treat beer as if it is plain water. HAHA
As mentioned, afternoon was slacking in the room, doing quiz before going for dinner at the fast food restaurant at the local market. Collected my 2nd toy! =D OHYA, it was so kind of the fast food restaurant manager as she gave 20 of us and Mr Puah a CJ7 soft toy too! =)
That's all for me. BTW, some of the girls went for hair treatment at a salon near MacDonald's, I think. Shall go there one day with the rest of the guys. WAHAHA =D
Day 19 - 12 September 2008
Yep. After spending almost 4 afternoons in the bunk, we are going to Chang Jiang 3 Gorges Cruise! I.e. 3 days 2 nights away from Campus again... LOL.
Reached front gate at 7.30am, hoping to get a front (and comfortable) seat. FYI, the bus we took is the same as the one during the city tours. A 5 hours bus ride to Yichang 宜昌. I hope I did not get the chinese name wrongly.
OHYA, before I forget, Mr Puah did not follow us to 3 Gorges (i bet he was happy) because Adelene was feeling sick. Hence, Mr Teo accompanied us for the whole journey! THANKS MR TEO =D
Upon reaching yichang, we had an outstanding lunch before proceeding to the main attraction of the day - The Three Gorges Project / Dam 三峡大霸
Seriously, I was quite excited about the whole 3 gorges 'expedition' as I have been wanting to go and take a look. Living up to expectations, the dam was HUGE and MAGNIFICENT.
FYI, the motive(s) of building the dam is to 1) Control water flow as to minimise floodings downstream and 2) Generate electricity through the usage of hydro technology.
OHYA. although this area is a tourist attraction, not everyone are able to enter using the 'expressway' built just for this project. Tight security clearance/special permit is required. For those w/o permit, they would have to enter using the mountainous area, which take more time and is more dangerous.
Before I continue, allow me to announce something. WE FOUND A CHINA POST BOOTH and they sell POSTCARDS!! Hooray! =D
Afterwards was dinner at a restaurant which do not have enough spoons and off we go to the cruise! 4 star local cruise named 贵妃号
We were supposed to board the cruise by 7pm. Instead, the ship waited for us until 8pm. Cool right?? HAHA. FYI, The majority of the passengers in the cruise are Ngee Ann students and lecturers. lol. That's why they can afford to do so.
the day ended with us checking into our comfortable bedrooms and spending time either at the KTV (erm...) or at the top deck of the cruise (the temperature WAS cold okay.....). =D
Day 20 - 13 September 2008
All right. We are supposed to wake up at 6am in the morning. =/ Guess how we woke up. The cruise will start playing music at 6am as alarm and start to spam their PA system, asking the passengers to "report" to the restaurant for BREAKFAST. ahh....
After that, we transferred from the main cruise to a small tourist ferry 江景一号 to visit one of the tributaries, Shen Nong Stream (神農溪) . One of the main attraction of Shen Nong Stream is the hanging coffins. Yep. After the dam is fully functional, those coffins will be completely submerged in the waters as water level would rise as high as 175 m about sea level. =(
FYI: the higher the coffins were, the more respected the dead were. interesting leh?
Midway through the cruise, we changed into the 'sampan'. Each boat is maintained by 6 伙计. 17 passengers + 1 tour guide per boat. BTW, the boat brought us to one part of the stream where we tasted the mineral water. Surely, it tastes the same and BETTER than those bottled mineral water!! =D
Yep. The tour guide and one of the 伙计sang their 土家族 songs for us! seriously, it was nice.
After that, we went back to the ferry before boarding the main cruise for lunch.
OHYA people, can consider immigrating here during old age. WAHAHA
Afternoon was more of resting time for all except the some of us. Spent most of my time staying at the top deck chatting, admiring the scenery etc. An announcement would be made, asking passengers to come up to the top deck as the cruise passes through the 2 main gorges, 巫峡 (where we saw the famous 神女峰) and 瞿塘峡, which ends with the City of the White Emperor (白帝城).
Dinner followed before we disembark for City of the White Emperor, an ancient temple complex. Currently, it became an island due to the rise in water level caused by the building of the dam. I would say, rather disappointed with the timing because by the time we reached there, it was very dark. =(
OHYA, I bought a comb made of 黄杨木 for my grandmother from there. =) According to the tour guides, only the royal families or the wealthy in the past can afford.
Afterwards, we returned back to the cruise for dinner and our eventful day ended. =)
Day 21 - 14 September 2008
Breakfast at 7.30am. Again, the cruise personnel just kept spamming the PA system.
Anyway, most of us ton the whole night hoping to see sun rise. However, by 6am, the cruise docked at the place we embark on Friday. Rather disappointed, we saw no sun but only the sky lighting up slowly. HAIZ.
After disembarking, the bus drove us back to WUST. During the journey, it was evident that the bus driver and tour guide wanted to come home early because it was Mid-Autumn Festival. To the Chinese, Mid-Autumn Festival is as important as Chinese New Year as it is a time where families reunite or 团圆. That's why when some of the people were buying tibits at 1 petrol station during toilet break, the bus driver was very frustrated and threaten by pressing the horn continuously and kept moving forward, away from the petrol station.
Anyway, it was understandable as they were away from home for some time.
Upon reaching our hostel, we unpacked our stuffs before some of us going to the fast food restaurant for late lunch/early dinner. HOORAY! my 3rd toy. 2 more to go! =P
In the evening, Mr Wong planned a mini-celebration for Mid-Autumn Festival. An IS lecturer (I not so sure the name) from Singapore just arrived and joined us too. So were the ECE ppl. OHYA, probably the highlight is the Salted Egg Lotus Moon cake brought from Singapore Shangri-la! WAHAHA. sure, it was tasty. A photo taking session followed after that and the day ended off enjoying some beer treated by the ECE guys. WAHAHA. =X
a Mid-Autumn Festival away from Singapore w/o pomelo, candles and lanteen etc.
