Almost Home...

Whew... Its been quite a few weeks of hustle and bustle... Travelling from place to place. In case you are wondering, I'm typing this from a dingy little Internet Bar in Macau, away from the Great Firewall of China.

The trip so far was rather cool. In fact, if not for the Visa issue and costs incurred, I would have considered travelling for a couple days more. Although I did not cover everything I had initially wanted to... or planned to, I did cover abt 60% or so of the places I wanted to go to, which wasn't too bad for a half-baked, unplanned trip like mine. ")

So what did I cover so far?

Beijing, 180809 - 240809, then Shanghai 240809 - 010909, which was interrupted by day trips to Suzhou on 260809, and Hangzhou 310809, and a weekend in Xi'An from the 280809 - 300809. Finally, I flew to Macau on 010909, took the ferry to Hong Kong the next day on 020909, and I'm gonna fly back tmw, 040909.

Some famous sights I saw are the Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Great Wall (a small small section of it :p), the 13 Ming Tombs, Yonghe Temple, Tian Tan Temple and Huaqing Spring. I also visited the Terracotta Warriors, went boating in a small canal town in Suzhou by night, walked by the West Lake in Hangzhou, climbed Hua'Shan and saw the site where the great fictional pugilistic heroes (Dong Xie, Xi Du, Nan Di, Bei Gai, Zhong Shen Tong, as well as Guo Jing) fought their duels. This is punctuated and concluded by the various urban sights I saw in Shanghai, Macau and Hong Kong. Along the way, I was conned, cheated, almost went crazy, and even made some new friends. ")

Anyway, I'll slowly put up a blow by blow of my trip after I return tmw ") Don't hold your breath though... There's like 8 gigabytes worth of photos to sort through and arrange before posting, along with some videos.

Gotta stop here now cos my time is almost up... I'll try my best to put up stuff as soon as I get back... Bye!

An ending, and a new beginning: To Travel China

And here I am, thinking that a 4 months hiatus was bad.





This post was one long year in the making... Though there were 4 drafts in between, I lost a lot of impetus and motivation to write more. Anyway, I think readers *if there are still any* would not be interested in all those dated stuff *posted on facebook or lost in the daily hustle and bustle of life* so lets all just treat this as a new start, shall we?



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For those still n0t in the know, I've quitted from MOE *finally* w.e.f. from 29th June 2009, ending 5 years of service to society.

Though there were many ups and downs, I really appreciated the many people whom I met during this time, particularly my colleagues, friends, buddies, and students. They have all taught me alot, and I felt I've gained much in retrospect.

Therefore, here, I would like to express my thanks to everyone whom I have encountered in my journey through education, be it the students I have scolded, or wrote me letters when I was down, colleagues who lunched, laughed, and bitched with me. Thank you. Thank you, all of you.


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Right, anyway, now lets start with some pictures ")







This was my packing, done at 12.10am, just 8 hours plus more from flight time.

And this was taken at 12.45am, all done but for the last minute stuff. Oh ya, and new locks, which I need to get at the airport cos I forgot the combination to the old one gggrrrrr "p

The problem with a big bag like mine is that you can pack everything, and you are often tempted to do so *just in case*, which sucks cos everything ends up so dang heavy! After some editing and clearing, I am fnally left with something reasonable, which also leaves me some space for goodies and souvenirs *wink*

All these is packed for my month-long travel through China. For those interested, I'll be flying to Beijing first, then I'll be travelling via train to Datong, to visit the Yungang Caves, then pass by Wu Tai Shan and on to Luoyang, followed by the Terracotta Warriors at Xi'An, and maybe Hua Shan, followed by Suzhou, Shanghai, where hopefully, I can sleep over at a friend's. This will be followed by Hangzhou, Putuoshan, then I'll be on the train again to Xiamen via Zhejiang, and maybe a visit to Yongding to see the Hakka tulous, before journeying through Guangzhou to Shenzhen, followed by makan fest in Hong Kong, finally ending at Macau, where, hopefully, I can make a killing at the casinos before I fly back home to Singapore, phew!! Hahahaha, quite a mouthful, isn't it?

From now on, I will try my best to update my blog on a more regular basis so you can track my progress through China. If nothing goes wrong *touch wood touch wood*, should be back sometime mid-late September, so guys and gals, if you have anything you like from China or Hong Kong/ Macau, please place your orders. *P.S. Expensive items have to be paid for by you okay? And nothing too bulky ok? Its a backpacking trip, not mass cargo shopping etc trip "p*

Alright now, thats all folks... Wish me luck! ")

Reflections

Its kind of weird to resurrect my blog after a 4 months hiatus. Guess its procratination at work again. There's so much to update that I'm worried about getting started, and guess what, the more I delay, the worse the problem becomes, hahaha.

Anyway, life goes on... I guess I'll have to quit in December. Apparently, I'm not good enough for NUS Law. Hhhmm... Guess its UOL, and that means I should save more before I go.

My buddy K has been egging me on to quit. I guess he has a point, the longer I delay, the more I may not leave. Its easy to procrastinate when you consider the many unknowns in the world outside. The shool is a safe and secure environment. Its a known factor, which is always better than the unknown, which creates fear and unease in people. I should know, thats basic psychology after all. Still, I guess the final decision is mine, and I would feel more secure about quitting if I have a larger amount of savings for rainy days and stuff.

Played tennis with an old pal of mine 2 weeks back. Haven't seen him or talked to him for almost 2 years. Its kind of cool really, to just chat and talk like we've never lost touch at all in the first place. Its like the conversation was always there... Just waiting for us to pick it up again. I think this is the difference between the guys and the gals. Guys are buddies for life, regardless of frequency of contact, whereas girls (Sorry Ladies!) tend to drop in and out of the select circle based on how often they call or talk to each other.

That's it for now. I'm running a fever even as I typed this... Typical of illnesses to strike the minute I'm on holiday.. First the feet last week, and now this... Grrr....

I know I promised some photos of the first paintball session. I'll put it up soon, by the end of the week if possible (fingers crossed). ")

Escape

I seek escape...

From this soil.

From troubles numbered, and heavy toil

Responsibilities varied, and crushing weights

Of shackles bonds, invisible steel.

I want to fly, high in the sky

Far and away, to start afresh.

A New Year, A New Start

2008 has started and January is almost over.

That was how I started my post and I left i hanging there for over a month.

I can really feel ennui and the lack of motive force in my life these days. I wonder if its a form of mid-life crisis.

It seems that many things are happening at the same time. With my work life, personal life, and family life. I want someone to share my burdens with, but these pillars of support are nowhere to be found. Everyone is busy with their own worries, their own life, their own frowns.

Sigh...

Happy 2008.

Truth

The true reason why I hate to say goodbye,

Is that each time I do so,

I fear

It would be the last time that I do.

Fairytales

Watched 'Enchanted' with my best friend today.

The show left me with mixed feelings. I reflected upon some things that happened in my life recently and I felt the urge to pour it out here on my blog.

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Why do so many believe in fairy tales despite the fact that we all know that there are no happily-ever-afters? Are we stupid? Or foolish?

I think the reason lies in one word, and that word is 'hope'.

I think that everyone of us live our lives in hope of something better. Be it fame and fortune for ourselves, health or well-being for our loved ones, or even world peace and happiness for others who share this earth.

Hope is the fuel that keeps all of us going. Hope is the driving force behind our every endeavour, our every effort and labour. Without hope, there is no joy. Without hope, there is no passion. And without hope, there can be no life.

Yet that brings me to one question. How do we decide when does hope becomes fantasy. How do we draw the line between dreams and realities? Do we give up all hope when a dream seems further and further in the distance, or do we give up our desire, our passion when we have need of bread and butter?

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I realise that I am reaching another crossroad in my life. Do I forge on, in hope of what seems more and more like a folly? Or do I settle for reality? Am I overlooking something that has always been close to me, or am I seeing mirages, and imagining fantasies?

Increasingly, I begin to feel that sight is a curse. I must needs be blind to see with my heart.