6 Nights In Bejing
All along, the Bejing trip was something that I did not look forward to originally.

Perhaps it was because it was a 6-day trip.

Perhaps it was because the responsiblity was great, to look after 41 angels.

Perhaps it was because I heard so many negative things about the people and the toilets.

The trip, however, changed my mind completely. To say that the trip was enjoyable is definitely an understatement. For this trip has made me grow to love Bejing for what it is all about - its 9000+ years of history, its unique culture, its people, its food and obviously the shopping.

In fact, I am beginning to miss Bejing. Somehow, there is a longing within me that tells me that I will be going back to Bejing in time to come.

The 6 days in Bejing were well-spent. We managed to visit many famous places of interest in China, like the Great Wall of China, Gugong, Tiananmen Square, Summer Palace, the Hutongs (the disappearing alleys due to modernisation), Qin Huang Dao and so much more.

Each place had something special and taught me something different. While the teachers had their debrief with the students every night, I, too, thought about what I had learnt from each place of interest.

The Great Wall of China - This is the only place which can be viewed from the space satellites. Built as a wall of defence to protect enemy invasion, the Great Wall stretched across 12 provinces. Like in the Mulan cartoon, each tower was well-guarded and in the case of enemy invasion, the generals would light up wolf dung(as it produced the best smoke), tower to tower. Climbing up the stairs was an challenging task, for the steps were of varying height. Coupled with the fact that everyone was scrambling to get to the towers and with the sun fiercely beating on our backs, it was both a mental and physical challenge. For mid-way through, I felt totally exhausted and was gasping for breath. However, to give up mid-way would mean that my efforts I had put in earlier were wasted. Therefore, we (with 2 groups of angels) persevered and managed to climb to the top. For it is every Chinese's dream to ascend the Great Wall, it had been mine as well. I can now proudly announce to the world that I have conquered the Great Wall.

Tiananmen Square - The place where the national anthem is sung with gusto every morning at 4am. No, I didn't get to witness the grand event but the huge sprawling ground is a reminder of the vast amount of land space China has. Indeed, I felt insignificant at Tiananmen. Like a child, we went running amok trying to get good pictures. I am still waiting for the picture I took with J and L, adopting the communist pose.

Forbidden City - The place where the Sons of God (Emperors) stayed in the past. If Tiananmen Square was vast, Forbidden City was many times bigger. In fact, we only managed to visit 6 palaces before we were totally zonked out. Perhaps it was due to the fact that there are no trees in the palace itself (to prevent assassins), it was rather tedious trying to walk under the sweltering heat. Thankfully, I had my Chairman Mao cap, which helped to block some of the sun's rays. It was at Tiananmen Square and Forbidden City that we met with 2 weirdos. I shall not further elaborate on them. Just the thought of them makes me sick.

Shopping at Hong Bridge Centre - It was great fun, trying to fetch a good bargain there. In fact, I discovered that I actually had a flair for bargaining. I managed to grab several good buys over there, especially the "LeSportSac" pouches and some "Billabong" T-shirts. I didn't buy very much but the angels did. In fact, they seem to be loaded with wads of cash for they bought so many things that they lost track of time. In fact, we were badly reprimanded by the coach-driver the lack of punctuality!

Hutong(Alleys) - The hutong is one of the most fascinating places we have been to. Having absolutely no sense of direction, I can almost picture myself getting lost in a hutong. For the hutongs are alleys which lead to areas of residence within the heart of Bejing. Hutongs were originally built to house the entire household. My sense is that this was more relevant for extended families. However, with China's one-child policy and modernisation, it was rather meaningless for the presence of Hutongs any more. Hence, I call them the 'disappearing hutongs'(though they are under conservation). It was at the hutongs that we had the ride of our lives on trishaws. For these trishawmen can go at incredible speeds, even when the road was winding. Even now, I can feel the wind in my hair as I think of the trishaws rushing down the hutongs. Sadly, our trip was cut short when the trishawmen spotted some "gong-an"(policemen) along the main road (Trishaws are not allowed on the main road). We therefore had to walk the rest of the way. For the ride, we were supposed to tip the trishawman 5 yuan(equivalent to $1). Imagine my surprise when R & A told me that the trishawman threw their money back and shouted angrily at them. It was after they showed me their note that I realised what had happened. These 2 guys gave the trishawman 0.05 yuan(equivalent to $0.01). No wonder the trishawman was appalled by their act!

All in all, the trip was a good break for me.

From this trip, I learnt some things:
1) I have a knack for bargaining. Ask me to bargain the next time we go to China together.
2) I can now speak in a high-pitched heavily accented Mandarin, if I want to.
3) Looks can be deceiving. Day in day out, I see some angels in school. If not for this trip, I will never get a chance to know them better or even change my opinion of them. I have made countless god-children, god-grandchildren and even got to know my colleagues better.
4) I realise that my family's the best. Everyone sent me off at the airport and Bro and Dad came to pick me up the minute I arrived. Somehow, I was glad to come home to Singapore. The only sad thing - Dad gave 4 puppies away in my absence =( Now I am only left with Snowball(renamed as Rocky) and Ginger.
5) I have only a few days left till school reopens. Arrghh... I need a longer holiday!
- posted by NaNa @ 2:16 AM