Tuesday, August 21st, 2200
Blog
I blog now at Blogger. About mundane things though, really.
Friday, August 3rd, 1330
完结篇
Sichuan was my last travelling stop in China, and I toured the place with the family. The itinery included mainly Chengdu and Jiuzhaigou, and we stayed at a freaking 5-star hotel at the latter. It was a lovely surprise, after the tiring journey-ing in Tibet and Sichuan. But the highlights of the place are still the natural sights, which I think only photos can describe.
We had developed some of the photos, and were left wondering if we'd really been there. As I'd learnt from the sole photography talk I'd been brought to at Tsinghua, photos are a sort of interpretation of a place, and seldom really what the eyes will see in real life anyway.
Chengdu is home to a huge (relatively) population of giant pandas, a species so fussy over their diet they're endangered. Btw, they're irresistably cute.
And so, I think this will be last blogging entry about my stint in China. This blog will hopefully stay here forever, maybe more for myself to come back to and relive the memories as a travelling student. I may continue blogging, but not here - Geocities is not exactly designed for blogging anyway.
Thanks for being interested, I hope you had as much fun reading as I was writing.
Tuesday, July 31st, 1430
Tibet
Since I came back, I'd been nursing a bad stomach, and an infected laptop. The latter was taking extremely long to start up and shut down, besides the occasional blue screen of death. I decided in a moment of enlightenment, that I should just reformat the whole thing - I shouldn't be so averse to starting afresh.
Anw since there're still some visitors to the site - I just dunno who you are - lemme just share some photos from Tibet.
It's really easy to take breath-taking photos in Tibet. Maybe it's the very back-packer-ish mood in Lhasa, or the glaring sun which I guess provides perfect lighting conditions all the time. Or maybe Tibet is a place so unique, there's no other place on Earth vaguely like her.
Lhasa is an extremely religious place, and it somewhat brought to mind the Vatican City. The locals walk in a clockwise manner within their pilgrim circuits spread throughout the city. Throughout the day, I saw Tibetans walking and turning their little 转经 in front of our hotel - that road must be part of a pilgrim circuit. On 八角街, there was the occasional pilgrim doing the 三步一拜, oblivious to the inquisitive stares from tourists. I'm not exactly sure if it's 3 steps, but it's a similar process. Meant to practice mindfulness, according to a cousin.
Cultural assimilation seemed like a real problem, and beyond the old portions of old Lhasa, the city looked dangerously like any other Chinese city. Like how I thought of Inner Mongolia. Two main groups of tourists throng the streets of Lhasa - the wealthy Chinese, and the wondering angmoh backpackers. The former will gawk at how successful the authorities have brought economic progress to the region, and the latter determined to explore this exotic land.
We spent most of our time in Tibet following a Han-Chinese guide from Sichuan. Couldn't help but feel out guide somewhat refer to the local Tibetans too condescendingly. We also thankfully had a free day to roam Lhasa on foot, Lonely Planet in hand. As someone who had only superficially spent 6 days in the place, I couldn't help also but feel the political history and struggles of Tibet is overtly sensationalised in LP (it's still my favourite guide, though, haha).
I felt I was seeing Tibet through the eyes of the Han-Chinese, or the 'liberal West', and never through that of a Tibetan. As I once wrote for a geography paper, I probably, as a soujourner, never will anyway.
Tibet is exotic for so many reasons. The political history so intriguing. The religious rites shrouded in mystery. The people so religious and gentle who make you question the meaning of contentment. The thin air. The fact that it's lying so high up near the sky. The roof of the world.
Was meeting the cousins the other weekend, and realised everyone's either just back from somewhere, or planning to. HongKong, Taiwan, Tibet, Japan, Korea. Met OCM too, who shared his insights on his trip to Thailand and Laos. I think travelling is like an addiction. No matter where the destination is, because every place has surprises, as long as the traveller is curious enough to be excited.
Thursday, July 26th, 2245
home
I'm home.
Since I left Beijing 3 weeks ago, it was non-stop travelling and sight-seeing. Tibet was stunningly photogenic, and Sichuan simply beautiful. I went back to Beijing before coming back to Singapore.
When I finally got back to Beijing from Chengdu a couple of days ago, I felt strangely at home. 20 odd days of hotel-hopping was getting on me, and going back to Beijing did feel like some sort of relief, some sort of home-coming.
I look back and realise there's alot to be thankful for. For one, I was much less alone than I had expected. I'm grateful for the crazy friends without whom life would have been less exciting. There were too many things I wouldn't have done if I were alone - overnight karaokae, waking up at 3am for flag-raising, visiting a chinese gay bar, or simply laughing till it hurts because of really stupid reasons.
This must look like some sort of summary, but I'm not making any dramatic sum-up of what I've learnt or what should have been. It doesn't feel like anything was dramatically, or sadly, ended anyway.
Thursday, July 5th, 1630
hais
I'm leaving for Tibet in another few hours. It's a confusing mix of frustration (from travel hiccups), anticipation (of OH TIBET), and 不舍得. Right. Don't even know what to write.
I'm just moving on. Till I get back to Singapore then.
Monday, July 2nd, 0200
flag-raising
Woke up at 3am yesterday morning to see the flag-raising ceremony on Tiananmen Square (Special live band performance on the first day of every month!). The rain had been non-stop since the day before, and the air was wet and cold. The hoardes of people and relentless umbrellas there meant we couldn't really see the action happening below the flagpole.
But it's not everyday you get to see the sky brighten within a matter of minutes into an awkward gray with thousands of other people on the world's largest public square.
Friday, June 29th, 00:12
Restless Ping-Pong and Beautiful Nights
Was feeling pretty restless for the last couple of days. Ended up playing quite abit of table tennis in the afternoons. Which is really quite good, considering it is a form of exercise.
The 美院 grad-show happened since 2 days ago. Popped down to see the exhibition, which was a very extensive sprawl across 3 halls, spilling out onto the grass-patches outside. From pottery to interior design, the works were bursting with inspiration. It felt like so many ideas were forcefully squeezed into a single building.
I was keeping my washed clothes from the clothes-line the other night when I decided to walk out onto the common balcony. It was a strangely clear night, and a quiet one too. The roads were empty except for a couple of taxis ferrying party-goers back to their hostel rooms. The moment struck me. The slope which I must climb every morning with hordes of other school-going students is suddenly quiet and empty. For that moment, the streets looked calming and nostalgic, almost like a distant memory.
I finally picked up the books to read up about Tibet this afternoon, and immediately look forward to the trip next week. This time next week, I will leave Beijing for Tibet. This time next week, my stint as a design exchange student in Tsinghua will end.
Tuesday, June 19th, 端午节
窗外的天气
I'm lately hooked onto Ono Lisa and 苏打绿. Will admit I'm listening to the latter only after watching 金曲奖. The lead sounds almost feminine, but there's also this twang to the voice that makes it.. earnest? Not unlike the guy from five for fighting.
Ah, but above all, their music somewhat makes me happy.
I started the day with a 肉粽 and 红枣粽子 for breakfast. Purposely went to buy them yesterday - something I probably will never do back at home. But the 粽子 was erm, not exactly gratifying. I so miss Nonya 棕!
Friday, June 15th
书香
Because cheap, I have been buying quite some books here. But the cheap ones -the ones worth kio-ing- will be in Chinese.
In March I decided to buy myself a text translated from Japanese, and recommended by the lecturer. Today, almost 4 months later, I'm barely into Chapter 2. Sigh.
And I suspect I barely understand what the author is trying to say.
So much for trying to pick up reading again, and trying to finish a Chinese book:p
Tuesday, June 12th, 2330
leg pain
上周末到北京的一环内走走了。差一点就错过了徐悲鸿纪念馆。要不是有大海报，可能就找不到了。
然后沿着前海和后海闲走。看到有几个人悠闲地垂钓着，听到在湖边练习笛子的小男孩，也感受到夏天的炎热。
之后本想穿过胡同直达北海公园。可是我错了。在胡同里转来转去，始终是迷失了路。走出胡同后才发现自己早已错过了北海公园的入口。真不想再走冤枉路，所以索性选择更加靠近的景山公园。
爬上景山的风景是出乎意料地美丽。可能是意外的收获都比较可贵的。
之后就随着紫禁城的城墙外走向天安门。天安门广场上聚集了很多人等着降旗礼。本来以为so heng 刚好碰上。等着等着却觉得不对劲。卖报纸的说降旗礼会在7.20pm。那还有一个多钟头啊！最后是放弃不等了。
经过前门就返回了。回宿舍是累得整个人瘫在地上久久不起。可是还蛮爽的。
上礼拜的调研后，这个礼拜是突然间的空闲。跟其他exchange students刚好恰恰相反，因为考试要到了。室友还在为选修课苦读四书。什么大学和中庸之道，我还真听不懂。
Friday, June 6th, past midnight
the clock is ticking
I came to Beijing 3 months ago. The first month was day-after-day of fresh new people and events. Strange new sights bore exciting oppurtunities and inspirations. Familiar ones bred comfort. To the eager soujourner that was me, every little thing, strange or familiar, excited the heightened senses.
New things will eventually cease to be new. Passing sights become mere passing sights, and the random bursts of 突发奇想 become clouded by thoughts of work and other mundane things.
Then once in a while I suddenly realise the strangeness of a certain familiarity. Like when I forgot what 调研 means in English. Or when 土豆 sounds more correct than 马铃薯.
And once in a while too while sitting on the 出租车 and stuck in a jam, I stare out at the confusing mix of LED-lights-clad-building-facades and old men trawling junk on their power tricycles, and somewhat realise that this IS beijing - an ancient city desperate to modernise itself. And there's something quite lovely about that.
But I probably will never understand the nuances of the culture and landscape here. I'm but a soujourner. And given only 4 months.
I'm already starting to plan for my post-semester travels. If all goes well, I will trot Tibet, and Chengdu (with the family!). Tibet alone will cost like more than a months' living expenses in Beijing. Ouch.
Friday, June 1st, almost midnight
fruit, erm, design
Once in a while I will become health-conscious enough to buy some fruits. I will end up buying Fuji apples, no matter how long I spend browsing through the fruit aisles. Until the other day at the local 益初莲花 supermarket, where I spotted these really cute peaches. They weren't cheap, but were so kitchsy I thought I should just give them a chance. So much for local cultures influencing fruit-design! Haha.
The cousin says peaches can be eaten with their skin. I haven't decided if I should try:p
Monday, May 28th
北京这城市
有一晚到首都剧院看了老舍的<骆驼祥子>.感觉是sets做得很漂亮，制作也相当的严谨.戏后有稍稍的感触,心里面也很肤浅地觉得自己很artsy.
有一晚到靠近北大的一间日本餐厅吃了奢侈的自助晚餐。骑着自行车回宿舍的时候又看到奥运倒数的时间牌。我穿梭在越来越熟悉的街道上。有时候需要刻意从收悉中寻找曾经感动过自己的画面，有时候我想也可以在淡淡的nostalgia 中放纵。
那天上课的人不多。老师对我们的方案进行评价和建议。记忆中那天很早就下课了。
花开花谢，气候也越来越热。那天自己走了走五道口，仔细看看北京街道，还很巧地拍到那么罕见的北京的蓝天白云。
朋友从上学期留下来的锁突然坏了。走了一天的路后才领悟到自行车的重要性。最后柜台服务员用了洗洁剂让锁匙润滑，才打开了那陈年老锁。
北京突然下了两天的雨。好像是很稀奇的。没有看到之前很变态般期待的沙尘暴，只看到下雨。可是以Singapore 的 standard, 好像只是长命的毛雨。
上超市的时候听到一群谈吐十分收悉的一群陌生人。不用两句话，就可以知道对方是新加坡人。
"Scuse, Are you all Singaporeans?"
"Ya！How you know leh?"
"Can 听出来 what."
Why lose something Singaporeans identify with each other with in foreign places?
Oh yes, shaqima.
第一张图片是拥挤到爆的居庸关。第二张是爬到kar sng 的司马台。攀司马台的当天刚好有公益活动，多了一些攀长城的老奶奶老伯伯。
礼拜六游了颐和园。天气暴热，高37度。八个穷学生想坐坐船游游湖，竟然筹不足400元的押金。又热又饿的那一刻，是因为自觉好像很落破而啼笑皆非。
周末终于做完了模型。It looks much better on the photo than the actual thing by the time I transferred it to school.
潘家园旧货市场。是眼花缭乱的东西， 很是精彩。
这一次无意中重游天坛，感觉挺深刻。是即陌生，又收悉的建筑。是回想四年前第一次看到天坛的蠢蠢欲动。回来后重看了当时的照片。那时候是刚当完兵的第一次旅行，也是第一次用 digital camera 拍照。How much we've all changed since then.
Tuesday, May 22nd
sunset
Been busy with a submission lately. Design was starting to feel extremely like work. Was trying to churn out 12 panels in 48hrs. Very harried and almost impassionate.
Thank goodness for little niceties on Sunday. Had a one-way video-call with the good cousins at home. Everybody sounded happy - must be the holidays and the pay-rise, haha. And the wix decided to pop by in the middle of the night, and helped in my desperate attempt to finish my model.
Anw I'm going to be cheapskate and use a photo someone else took on my blog. wix took it while at we were at inner mongolia. to be fair, when i first saw it, the first thing that struck me was the pretty colours. then the fact that i'm in the photo. haha.
one of the perks of travelling with a photographer. hahaa.
Friday, May 11th
inner mongolia
I left Beijing on Sunday night for Hohhot. The train was, as usual, filled with people. Reached Hohhot in the morning the next day, and was bombarded with touting tour agents at the station exit. 4 youngsters carrying backpacks must look too much like tourists. We scrambled around in search for our accomodation. Lonely Planet recommanded 2 places - one was closed for renovation, the other turned into a beauty parlour. We found another hotel further down the road, but were stopped by an uncle before we could enter it. 10 yuan per person he says, while waving his tag that yells 招待所.
The room's not the cleanest, nor the most comfortable. But it must be the cheapest - S$2 per night (and another S$1 for taking a hot water bath). Not bad for a large bed, helpful uncles and aunties, and a TV in the room.
We started the day with 羊肉烧卖, the first of many many 羊肉 dishes that we were to eat in the coming days. It was then 大召寺 and 内蒙古博物馆.
Dinosaur fossils, unceremoniously plonked into one of the four old exhibition halls. The entire sets of dinosaur fossils inspired awe on its own, but maybe they deserved a better designed and maintained abode.
呼和浩特 is 中国乳都, being home to many of the local big names in the milk industry. Culturally, the city itself felt confused. Besides the restaurants serving halal food and the street signs bearing Mongolian words, it could well be any other Chinese city.
We started the next day with another round of 羊肉烧卖. Cheap and good:) We left Hohhot noon-time, for 响沙湾. We were dropped halfway on the bus to 东胜.
We entered the 'Scenic' areas in the evening, and I didn't quite expect the scenary that was awaiting me at the top of the sand dunes.
响沙湾 is a gourge filled with sand, somewhat an extension of the Kobqi desert. At the time we entered, it was already around dinner time. As the visiting crowds started to thin, I sat in awe of the strange and inspiring landscape that stretched beyond.
We scaled a certain dune to be greeted with quite a sunset. By then, there was no one in sight. All was quiet 'cept the howling of the chilling winds. While wx was happily snapping away and the female travel mates so far that they became black specks in the brown sea of sand, I was allowed some time to myself. Almost like on cue, the moon started to brighten behind our backs opposite the sunset. Then I realise it's the full moon again.
Sometimes the best things happen, when you least expect it.
We stayed there for another night. Because our ticket has long expired the second time we tried to enter, we trekked some way down along the boundary of the park marked by barbed wire. We eventually reached the end, and scaled the dunes there. The sand dunes become disorientating very soon, and it was easy to understand how anybody can get lost in the desert. The surest way to find our way back, became our very own footsteps in the sand.
Somehow, as I was penning down my thoughts in the middle of the giant sand dunes in Inner Mongolia, 11 hours away from my hostel room in Beijing and 3 months away from Singapore, I started to think of home.
We stayed in this 蒙古包 for the 2 nights we were there. It was 相当地冷 at night.
We left for Baotou the morning on the 4th day. We visited 五当召 that afternoon.
The visit there was fraught with misadventures. Wudang Zhao, the lamasery, was in the middle of nowhere. We stayed at the lamasery too long too late, and by the time we wanted to leave, all the touristy-buses and vans that were to bring us back to civilisation had mysteriously vanished. We managed to somewhat hitch a ride on someone's van to 石拐, from where our driver managed to find someone else to bring us back to Baotou. 出外靠朋友嘛, he said, while horning at every other moving thing along the dirt roads. And then he asked for another 20 yuan at the destination. Ok lah. Brudder leh.
The last day we spent in Baotou walking the town. We saw how people fish in some huge lake. How the city-scape changed dramatically from high-rise hotels to small brick houses with just a turn of a corner. And how the locals celebrate Labour Day in the local Gengkis Khan 草原生态园.
It'd been like a week since I came back from Inner Mongolia, and it's probably good that I'm revisiting my memories of the trip now, before they get lost in the daily 繁琐事.
Sunday, April 29th, 0150am
labour day
It'd been quite a crazy week. The pursuit for bunk-tickets to Gansu was desperate. The system of ticket-release-4-days-before-departure- but-agents-can-take-orders-10-days-before- but-then-again-maybe-not was confusing and exasperating. We made the final decision of going to Inner Mongolia 20 seconds b4 our turn at the ticket-queue on Wednesday.
Lij the id friend popped by beijing on monday, and we visited the 798 art space. It's more inspiring than I thought it would be, and Lij likes it so much she visited it again while I was trudging through Saturday's lessons.
I'm feeling relaxed enough tonight to do the silly 桌面 thing. Maybe it's holiday mood, haha. So i'd be off to 内蒙 for a week from tmr. Woot!
Thursday, April 19th, b4 lunch
加油
Just gave a bad presentation. Only halfway through the presentation did I realise I don't know the chinese term for 'mouthpiece'. So it became 那个东西. Like the many other 东西s throughout the presentation:P
The cousin upstairs, travel partner downstairs, roomie, and even project mate are all falling sick. Having fallen sick the second week I was here, I know how not fun it can be. So everyone do take care.
Those having their exams back at home. 好好加油了!
Monday, April 16th, 2007, midnight
胡同
Somehow I really like this photo. It was pretty much a random shot I was taking while sauntering through this old beijing 胡同 near 王府井 yesterday. The orange junky piece of furniture doesn't seem that out of place huh:)
Wednesday, April 11th, 2007
in the mood for food
My first set of modules have come to an end with the design submission. A new set of modules started yesterday, and I am mildly excited by the new project, which is somewhat related to the Olympics. Some of the local classmates could only afford a sigh of resignation. I guess it's one thing for a foreigner to see Beijing gearing up for the Games, and another for locals who are bombarded with nationalistic ideals since their successful bid.
Work aside, life here revolves alot around food. Here's a peek into my not-so-healthy, but often oh-so-satisfying diet.
It'd be crime if I leave this place without eating 北京烤鸭. We travelled more than an hour to this 香满楼 for their reputedly good duck. It was pretty delightful.
We then proceeded to this really expat place along 三里屯 for dessert. The crowd was clearly expat, and the prices felt so too. But still, a restaurant meal here rarely goes beyond S$20. And that's too good an excuse to leave out any chance to pig out.
We celebrated jd's birthdy at 沸腾鱼乡 , which we went to for their 水煮鱼. I don't think the dish originated from Beijing - it just so happens it can be found everywhere here. It's fish, which in itself is very rare in land-locked Beijing, soaked in a tub of oil. Strange strong spices make the fish very tasteful, and which also numbs the tongue after a while. The one we had was really good, and I can imagine the satisfaction out of this dish during the colder months. But I doubt I will be having another 水煮鱼 anytime soon.
(erm, water-cook-fish photo credit: wx and yj)
Some sesame balls which deflate upon poking.
Rice! and 蟹黄蛋 in the background.
Of course it's not all atas restaurants that serve the good food. 羊肉串 and 鸡翅 make for perfect supper food. Sometimes oily and always gratifying.
At Luoyang's 少林寺 we ate, what else, 少林斋菜. The entire temple is more a tourist attraction/wushi school than a worshipping temple, and it reflected in the dishes' touristy prices. The second photo shows the 炒饭锅 of the 武僧 eons ago. Erm, yeap.
洛阳水席 was this 18-course dinner - all the main dishes were soaked in soup. 'Cept the fruits.
So this is more telling of what I eat everyday. It's usually a vege and a meat, and 二两米饭. A meal like that in school will cost no more than S$2. Sometimes less than S$1. For some strange reason, I didn't like all the local noodles (not including the ramen and pasta:p) I'd tried. Either it's bad luck, or the noodles are just.. too different.
And then there's the 外卖.
I drink milk every morning for breakfast in bed. They come in these cute tetrapaks, which makes it easy for it to be dumped into a jug of hot water. I'm into my second carton now, and don't think I will stop till I leave this place, haha.
And then of course, the best meal in the world when working late into the night is still this - a piping hot bowl of 方便面.
Hungry yet?
Tuesday, April 3rd, 2007
so many things, so little time
昨天在回宿舍的路上看到了满月。是十五- 原来元宵已经是一个月前的事了。
刚过的周末应该是在北京过的第四个周末。原先要爬司马台长城的计划� 为天气的恶化而取消了。室友精心策划了老半天，最后好像人算不如天算。近日莫名刮起的强风让人走路还是踏车时都不由地哆嗦。逆风而行时更是得考脚力，拼耐力。
去不了长城，便到了还在兴建的奥运村走走- 主要目的还是看看鸟巢和水力方。奥运村大得惊人，跟同伴走上好� 个小时的路，多半是在沙尘滚滚的工地和马路。蛮喜欢水力方简单的方� �线条和营� 泡沫的 façade。鸟巢则有种说不出来的‘中国韵味’，也很contemporary。但正� 为现代而壮观，所以在整个地点上是显得� �� �不入。可是就如扛着相机的同伴说了, � 个月后这边应该什么都会变。奥运所带来的期待和发展，北京到处可见踪迹。对于会恰恰赶不上北京2008，我只能是淡淡的可惜。
近日少睡，一半� 为吃喝玩乐，另一半� 为 submission 就要到了。� 为设计是一种生活方式，所以只要一开始画草图，设计就会一直在脑子里转。不像数学题，设计方案没有绝对- 能突发奇想，便是精彩好玩，想不通，就是拖拖拉拉。这次的设计过程仅仅5周，好像还没暖身就要结束了。
昨天搭了一个半钟头的车吃北京烤鸭去了。之后还到了感觉很expat 的餐厅吃甜品。是这个月内第三次到三里屯。三次来，三种不同的活动，三种不同的感觉。
爬长城的计划现在是悬着。反正都是在北京里面，长城也不会跑掉。应该是还有时间的。
只是昨天在回宿舍的路上看到了满月。是十五- 原来到北京已经是一个月前的事了。
23rd mar 07
昨天
At midnight, I was toasting to jd, yj, wx, and jd's friends from Shanghai, at a pub along 三里屯. Jd's senior nicely treated us to a round of drinks.
At 3.30am, I was eating dumplings at 五道口， that being the only thing left available to eat. The 24hrs Mcs was so coincidentally closed for the night.
At 7.55am, I groggily made my way to 美院. It was to be a session to discuss initial sketches and concepts. My sketches looked terribly juvenile when alongside the locals' ones. I somewhat expected that, considering they had spent an entire year learning how to draw. The lecturer nearly preferred my backup concept, but thankfully revisited the concept I personally preferred to develop before ending the session.
At 12+, I ate at Qingqing pizza. Like this classmate said, 北京吃喝玩乐便宜. My pizza meal costed me less than S$5.
At 5pm, 10 odd plus nice sgreans and m'sians here held this mini-dinner thing. There was a cake from Breadtalk (which I chose 2 days ago), and curry cooked by jm. The company was good, and it felt kinda nice and 温馨.
At 9ish, the family skyped me, and there was a sweet, albeit quirky, surprise:)
At 11ish, I was msn-ing good people from home, while trying to find an alternate place to blog. I wish I had read up more on Luoyang, where I will be train-ing to tonight. I konked out ard 1ish, happily knowing there'd be no lessons today.
Thanks to everyone, for all the niceties and well wishes:)
On another note, I have made a weak attempt to shift my blog over to this server. I don't think I will be trying to figure out the html to do archiving or linking to previous posts. I'm doing this because I cannot access blogspot - yes, I cannot read your blogs either. I dunno when it will come back, but till then, I will prob just stick to this address.
13th mar 07
� �外热闹的元宵
The weather's been so cold I have resorted to wearing 4 layers of clothes most of the time now. Long johns, shirt, sweater, and then sweater again. Cycling at night must be the worst, esp when there's strong winds, which somehow is quite the norm. And then the locals will tell me '现在的天气比较好，不需要穿那么多'. Right.
Been visiting a few places during the weekdays after school, like 雍和宫.
圆明园. This place is like right beside the university, but apparently it's not that popular among the tsinghua people. Like how I have nv gone to Haw Par Villa despite 2 years at nus. haha.
The Swedish giant have invaded Beijing, and opened the second largest Ikea in the world right here after their one in Sweden. People talk alot about Ikea in class, and the lecturer uses an Ikea cup.
Anw a few days after arrival was 元宵. I was having dinner at 五道口 when I was hearing all these booming sounds in the background. On the taxi back to school, I finally realised they were fireworks released by the locals. Apparently, it was only legal to release fireworks within the 15 days of CNY, and everyone in Beijing seems eager to end the CNY with a bang. The 师傅 happily obliged to bring us to buy some fireworks from some street-side fireworks stalls, which I had only realised had popped up everywhere. And so I released my first, and probably the last, firework in hostel carpark. It was very loud, but not that spectacular. Some Malaysians in the block bought this humongous firework, which when released, exploded into beautiful flowers, one after another. The video below shows just that. The camera's shaking not because the explosions were that powerful, but that my hands were shivering from the biting cold.
3rd mar 07
一切安好
经过另一番机票风波后，我终于很意外地乘搭了新航的班机飞往北京。旅途还算舒服，还有机会看了本想在出国前看的Dreamgirls。也算是为机票风波所带来的恐慌和惊愕作了小补偿。
一踏进� �门，便是一连两天的奔波，满脑子想的只是怎么在礼拜六之前搞好一切上课和生活的手续和琐碎事。� 为美术学院离宿舍是大概15分钟的路程，而自己又还没搞懂自行车的情况，所以前前后后走了好� 个小时的路。
庆幸的是前两天天气还算ok。只是今天下起了毛雨，所以到处都是灰灰湿湿的。
� 为得到热心友人们的帮助，所以很快就把电话卡，网络户头，手机号� �等给搞定了。� 为琐碎事所以还没有真正地享受一下北京面貌。相信将来一定能。在那之前，这里一切安好，所以家人� 需担心:)
25th feb 07
visa's applied, guidebook's bought
After 3 steamboats and 4 yu-sangs, the CNY celebrations are pretty much almost over. And CNY had been a convenient distraction from the fact that I am going to fly very soon.
Only a couple more things need to be settled, and a couple of last-minute meet-ups with friends. I'm flying in a couple of days, and that has sunken in well.
It struck me the other day I will be going back to studio life, well, in a way, once the semester starts at Tsinghua. I'm not sure how comfortable I will get at the foreign studio, and how confident I will be with the designs I will need to churn out. Despite having promised myself to improve my sketching since Year 1, I am still uncomfortably unable to sketch in coherence to my thought process. Dunch know how reactive I will be to the design process taught over there. Feels really unprepared.
A thousand things are now swirling in my head, and I don't even know what to feel.
The visa's applied, and the guidebook's bought. I only know it's kinda time to go.