DAY TWO - BEIJING (26 DEC 2008)

Spent the morning finalising the hotels in Xian and Chengdu with my confirmed flight dates. The hotel in Xian - City Hotel, which I had a tentative reservations done apparently did not log my booking in their system and I had a hard time sorting out with the front desk staff over the phone. The hotel was undergoing partial refurbishment and single rooms were fully booked and my prior reservations was not registered in the system. Finally settled with the front desk staff after some haggling - that I will come in as planned on 28th Dec, hopefully at the time of check-in that single room would be available, if not then a double room or whatever is available. The combination of the hotel's location and room rates are hard to find even though there are hotels aplenty in Xian.

For Chengdu, the reservations was easily done online at the 7 Days Inn website. An almost immediate confirmation SMS was sent to my mobile line upon booking.

The big event in Beijing for this trip was the Great Wall trek on 27th Dec (Saturday). Hence for today I was taking it easy with visiting just the Temple of Heaven and then to the Olympic area for the Bird's Nest & the Water Cube - all easily accessible by subway. The weather was getting colder as I could feel the biting cold at my hands if I did not wear my gloves.












This wall works! It transmit sounds from one part to another part of the curved wall. I saw 2 persons trying it out each from a quite a distance from one another and they could speak and hear each other......quite amazing considering the many people shouting at the wall.



The voice of the person standing on the stone at the epi-centre was supposed to be the loudest and sharpest. Many people tried, I think the wrong way, by shouting at their loudest voice. If it works, a normal speaking voice will probably be more resonant. I did not try as there were too many people doing it.



The big disappointment was that I could not touch the actual turf of the Bird's Nest as the whole field was laid with artificial carpet grass, DAMN! DAMN!
In truth the stadium looks smaller than I imagined, watching the Olympics on TV.




I like the changing colours of the Water Cube by night only to find out at the last day (7 Jan) heading to and from the Beijing Airport that it looks even more amazing reflecting sunlight!





I needed my gloves on as it was biting cold, at least minus 4 to 6 degrees!

PIECES......OUT OF PLACES

Piece 1:
Last evening (19 Jan 09) was reading this article http://www.urbanmonk.net/229/giving-what-you-dont-have/ afterwork at the nearby library when a Maris Stella P5 student came over noticing the M1 wireless modem which I was using to access the page. He had a similar modem and that started our little conversation. He was mentioning how one of his teacher scolded a fellow classmate who did not pass up his assignment and told the teacher that he got no time to do it. No wonder the teacher was furious! Anyhow I told him that teachers that took the time to scold students care enough about the students' well-being to do that, otherwise why would they bother. Perhaps he never saw it from that angle and who can blame him, he was only a Primary student. I would have reacted the same way as he did if I was at his age - looking at things only from the surface. But on hindsight, I had nothing but respect for quite a number of my teachers from Primary and Secondary schools. There is one Mr. Kewal who taught us A-Maths, who without fail, started his class with everyone standing straight while he inspect the classroom's cleanliness. He was very particular about his routine and we never understood why at that time. Only many years later did it dawned on me that his method was extremely effective to prep everyone to be attentive to what he was teaching in class. And he was also very particular about writing out the steps distinctly on the exercise book which also helped us in a big way in understanding the solution of each mathematical problem. step by step. His method was one of a kind and very effective, slow and steady with no rush. It was so slow that we only covered half of the syllabus to pass GCE 'O'.....we skipped the entire Applied Maths section which was harder to grasp anyway. His application was spot on, directing all our focus on what was achievable with almost absolute certainty. For that he left the most impression of all the teachers that I knew and its all good!

Piece 2:
About this article: http://www.urbanmonk.net/229/giving-what-you-dont-have/ .
It was about the higher enlightenment of giving - giving what you do not actually have and thereby gaining it in the whole process! This is deep! Almost an art!
In truth, I agreed with the article, that giving what you already have is easy enough and nearly effortless, it is only a matter of how much (or how little) you are willing to give. Giving because you want to (or try to) and not expecting anything in return - that is the essence of giving and sharing. Selfishness is a disease few could really get rid of in their lifetime, it's like a pain that never could go away.
I sure hope I can one day gain this deeper enlightenment but it is a case of easier said (or read) than done!

Piece 3:
Things happen without you knowing or least expecting it....you just simply do it!

Last Sunday (18 Jan 09), I surprised even myself clocking in at 11:44.50 for my regular weekly 2.4km run. I stagnated at between 12 mins to 12 mins 30 secs for the longest time and went barely under 12 mins only once since I started to pick up running again. This timing was better than any I had run during reservist training for the past 13 or 15 years! The thing was that I ran at a fairly consistent pace for the six rounds around the track this time and felt relaxed enough at the end of the run. Hope I could sustain this!

Piece 4: Pièce de résistance!
My blog posts got LINKED!

I got a little mention in this post titled "Etc :: After Stars / Second to Bee-Gees" by Mr. Etc. - Ben The MAN! on 15 Jan 09.
3 of my posts were linked:
http://pcqq.blogspot.com/2008/12/smitten-by-nostalgia-dancing-to-smiths.html
http://pcqq.blogspot.com/2008/12/sonic-asylumsonic-salvation.html
http://pcqq.blogspot.com/2009/01/me-and-my-guitars-series-esplanade.html

Add to that, some really really nice words from Ben and humbled by being called a "prince"!
I am a BIG BIG fan (not the electric kind!) - that is the honest truth! And also Ben and I shared some common experiences in the developing process of the local indie music scene renaissance from back in the late 80's right through the 90's. I lost track of it all after the 90's and "came back from the dead" (figuratively speaking) with Electrico's We Satellites mini-tour, Baybeats 2008 and re-ignited by Etc's 30th Nov 2008 gig at the Esplanade Outdoor Theatre. The passion is back!

Piece 5:
Finally...at last! K my first ever song at a Karaoke!

I finally caved in, the bathroom singer sang his first song at a Karaoke on 6 Jan 2009 in Xian's Partyworld! No thanks to...(you know who YOU are!!).
Having resisted doing it all my life, I really don't know what came over me! I was not drunk nor alcohol-intoxicated at that time! Don't really know what happen, that person must have some kind of Divine power perhaps? Or maybe because it was during the afternoon and there was, for once zero alcohol in the KTV room?

After flipping back and forth, settled on IF (by Bread) as that first song! Reason? The songwords of course, also it was in a low enough key for me to "disgrace" myself and torture the rest of the company.
"If a picture paints a thousand words, then why can't I paint you...."
A reflection on the despair I have had, maybe?

If a picture paints a thousand words
Then why can't I paint you?
The words will never show
the you I've come to know.
If a face could launch a thousand ships
Then where am I to go?
There's no one home but you,
You're all that's left me too.
And when my love for life is running dry.
You come and pour yourself on me.

If a man could be two places at one time, I'd be with you.
Tomorrow and today, beside you all the way.
If the world should stop revolving spinning slowly down to die,
I'd spend the end with you.
And when the world was through,
Then one by one the stars would all go out
Then you and I would simply fly away

Also, belted out "Yesterday Once More" as a duet with an angel - unbelievable! I consider that as our Special song now! The next time we get to K, that will be the opening number...definitely!
I had better start practising now......................just in case!

DAY ONE - BEIJING - THE OUTING

25 Dec 2008 (PM)

After freshening up with a warm bath under running hot shower, sent out the relevant messages to people about my inland flights schedule. Basically informing them the dates I would be in the respective places.

A quick check with the hotel staff about what could be done for the rest of the day, I hopped out to find my way to Houhai, cutting through Smokers' Alley. Houhai lake was completey frozen! You could skate on the lake itself! I think the temperature was below zero degrees but it felt like it was warmer.

The Drum Tower (enroute to Houhai)

The plan was like this: Houhai-Forbidden City-Tiananmen-Wangfujing, however when I got to the Forbidden City it was like 45 mins before closing! But since I was already there so just soak up whatever that could be covered in that 45 mins. Eventually it was like an hour 15 mins or so in total, I was the last few to leave the place before the gates were shut.

The best place in the Forbidden City I think was 坤宁宫, the place where the Empress lived. It was also THE place with the most tourists/visitors peeping behind glass display windows that it was impossible to pose for any photos other to zap the insides of the place.

If you don't look upwards, one might miss the riches above!

Such intricate carvings!

Another fab ceiling shot!

The flag lowering ceremony in front of Tiananmen:

The long stretch of street food in Wangfujing, some stuff were simply YUKS! No way am I taking in stuff such as scorpions, starfish and other creepy crawlies! Makes my hair stands on ends but quite an experience actually watching others savouring them.

There was another street food cluster the start of the shopping area, so many foods you will be spoilt for choices to snack on. Watching people eating them sort of makes you also want to try each and every delicacies there is on display, but of course that is impossible unless you want to skip proper dinner (and maybe breakfast the next day too!) altogether!

Ended the day with a re-visit to check out the night scenes of Houhai and the fabled bar streets. The area was full of drinking places, pubs, live music etc. and business must surely be tough because of all that is happening around the world's financial crisis. Not as crowded as I expect and there were many touts chasing after customers. It is OK if you do it around where your place of business was but to do it half way around the lake? That sure tells you alot about how competitive or badly the business has been affected.

DAY ONE - BEIJING - The Hotel

25 Dec 2009

Reaching the hotel in 南锣鼓巷 was easy enough.It was rather interesting queueing up with the locals for Bus No. 107 from Dongzhimen Bus Station. Of course I was the odd one out with the backpacks and plastic bags with gifts. I looked foreign that's one thing, I also looked like a X'mas tree with all the bags and presents! Or maybe I looked like a vagrant?

Two old folks asked me where I'm from and that started my first official conversation with the locals. OK, my putonghua did hold up! They understood every word I said and me likewise, theirs.

This is the single room that I stayed in (only for the first night...more about that later).

A little crammed for space but comfy enough. Except that the toilet water drainage wasn't that good and it kept flooding during shower, maybe I was partly to blame as during winter I loved to just stand under hot shower for longer than usual because that was a sure way to get fatigue ad tiredness out of the system. It was next to the alleyway and sometimes you could hear people walking by and even those vendors on bicycle/tricycle peddling their offerings. This was what I had expected in choosing to stay within a hutong - travel like a foreigner but live with the locals!

Anyway below are more photos taken of the area around the homely hotel:

Alleyway leading to the hotel

The hotel name was Hutong Ren, not expensive (by capital city standards) and it does comes with homecook meals if you request for it but very unlikely as you will be out most of the time except probably breakfast! Anyway they do cook your share if you inform them before hand, be it breakfast, lunch or dinner. It was a shame I did not partake in any of their meals during my 3-day stay there as by the time I got back it would be too late for dinner and I left early each day before their breakfast meal. As I understood, they do in-house laundry for free too! This would be a good place to stay if you were to be in Beijing for at least a week or more. Everything would be taken care of.

The tree sprouting out from the place

Walkway to other rooms

Common area

Reception area...notice the big tree trunk?

A library of books and oddities!

The wireless internet access was excellent! However I had to endure the first night in bitter cold as the heater tripped the mains in the middle of the night, sparks and all! It was too dark and the staff was already deep in her sleep and I did not know where to locate her in any case. It was not too bad really, the comforter provided adequate shielding from the cold weather and I could still sleep reasonably well. The next morning we sorted out the electrical fault and the hotel was kind enough to move to their signature room for the rest of my stay as the booking of that room was cancelled at the last minute. So things turned out well and I got to stay in the most luxurious room at no additional charge!

This is the room, traditional enough?

Also there is no shortage of places to eat or drink in this area, even deep into the night! The bar area at Houhai is within walking distance as well where you will cut through another fabulous alleyway called the Smokers' alley or something like that.

RECOLLECTING IS THAT MUCH SWEETER.....WITH PHOTOS!

OK I have been tied up with so many things at work after taking a 2-week long break when I simply put everything (about work) on the backburner and also the Me & My Guitar series of accoustic gigs at the Esplanade concourse with so many class acts, that I did not start writing (through recollecting) on the recent 3rd China solo trip. So here goes, I literally glued my arse on a chair and start kicking off today, hopefully everything will finish before Chinese New Year's eve.

24 Dec 2008:
Murphy's Law: If anything can go wrong, it will!
How true! My big plans to start off the perfect journey was to begin with Etc's X'mas eve gig at Prince of Wales. It was supposed to be 8pm but a day before that it was changed to start at 10pm. My flight to Beijing was 1am on the 25th, so in any case I wouldn't be able to see the entire show.
My bigger problem was with the dreaded packing of my luggage, I left it to the last moment only to realise that I had too many gifts to bring over that could not possibly be packed into my Deuter backpack. By the time I settled on what to bring, what not to bring and how everything should be packed for easy carrying, it was already almost 11pm! I gave up the idea of going to Prince of Wales altogether, took a shower, got ready and drove my car straight to my office building and took a cab to the airport from there.
As I have already checked in online, everything went like clockwork at T3 and surprisingly no long queues or any big tour groups to contend with. I think to travel on the 24th of each December is a great idea! I put on my X'mas hat and head off to the duty free to get the Estee Lauder stuffs which a friend had entrusted me to get. The flight was quite sparse with many empty seats - just the way I like! See? Everything just flows! Except...missing that Etc's gig.
The movie and entertainment selections on SQ was pathetic, anyway it was a redemption ticket so no complaints! It's just that our national carrier may be losing its way with so much cost cutting and taking things for granted. Then again I couldn't care less about SQ, if I had to pay for a ticket I will never choose SQ, period! Why? After that dreaded meal I got flying back from Delhi where they serve me a western maincourse with Indian side dishes! Yucks!! And if SQ is still listening, hey! no one from SQ even bothers to reply to my website submission on this matter after more than 1o months! So you can no longer blame me for not supporting our own carrier, you are just taking Singaporeans for granted a-la-Temasek style!
I had my good ol' 1st gen iPod Shuffle (1 gig, the chewing gum one) loaded with Coldplay's Deluxe edition of Viva La Vida complete with Prospekt's March EP plus Etc's "Will Until", "Just A Dream" & "Dancing to the Smiths"; Aimee Mann's; Dido's "Quiet Times", so I am OK on this 6 hour flight....even catching a good night's sleep to boot, all fresh, recharged and ready upon arrival 7 in the morning at Beijing Capital Airport T3.
Beijing Capital Airport was a swell place, much better than our very own T3! Clearing customs was a breeze and friendly immigration staff too! First thing I did was take some photos with the X'mas deco just before customs checkpoint and also hopped by the arrival duty free to check out the Estee Lauder stuffs, it was cheaper here!

The speed at which the check-in luggage came onto the conveyor belt was unbelievable! Changi, you better watch out and you better not cry! Someone is coming to town and knock you off in no time, you smug!
Ok! down to the serious stuff, went hunting around the arrival hall to get my inland air tickets. That took some time though, there were queues at the Air China (my preferred carrier after the last Chengdu fog incident) counter. Eventually tied down tickets Beijing to Xian on the 28th, Xian to Chengdu on the 1st leaving the return journey open because I do not know how long I will be occupied at Chengdu and whether I would be joining the 2nd weekend trek, a much tougher one, on the Great Wall with these fab guys.
Having tied down the immediate week ahead, I head straight off to the eagerly-anticipated hutong hotel at 南锣鼓巷. I had the directions on my brand new HTC Touch 3G but damned the Mapking which rendered the GPS totally useless even though I had the BJ map. There is nothing more arcane to use than Mapking's unhelpful UI. No manual, no use (paraphrasing "No Woman, No Cry"...Bob Marley).
The Airport Express train was so easy to get to you would think what the hell was terminally wrong with Singapore's own MRT linking to the airport. It was straight out from the arrival hall direct to the train's gates! Changi will lose, now I am 100% certain.
The train goes straight to Dongzhimen bus station and there you could just about get to anywhere within Beijing either by public bus or subway, a point to note was the need to get your one RMB notes or coins ready for probably the cheapest (and efficient) rides anywhere on earth! To think the Singapore government keep bragging about us having the best public transport system in the whole world? Makes you cringe in shame being a Singaporean. The SG gov is not only deluding itself but letting every Singaporean knows how naive and propagandalistic they have been for so many years. How detached from the real world those mini-stars drawing exorbitant million dollars salaries doing an extremely poor job yet still boasting about how important and how well they have done their "job". This being the 牛year so there is no more bullshitting crap from you idiotic Men-in-Whites please!
And by the way, I ever shook hands with dee PM when he was visiting my constituency a short while back and I can say for sure that was the most superficial handshake I have ever come across in all my years of travelling around the world. If he is doing the same handshake to other luminaries then I think Singapore is truly fried! A simple layman in India or a driver in Tashkent could do much better than our PM, what a joke! Next time I better keep a handsoap (Dettol and nothing less) on hand just in case. OK enough of that rubbish which deserve to be flushed down the toilet bowl.

A MOMENT...ALONE

5:18 am - 13 Jan 09
What am I doing this late into the night or too early in the morning? Blogging? Must be mad, really mad! The truth is that I am having a gout attack and couldn't sleep at all waiting for the oral medication to kick in, so what the heck just put this moment alone to some productive use to run down the pain.
Just finished the DVD which I should have done over the weekend but did not until I bumped into Ben (a.k.a. Etc.) at the Me & My Guitar series at the Esplanade concourse where another class act - Zack Yusof/Deserters - was performing yesterday evening. A thoroughly enjoyable performance and who would have thought Kraftwerk's The Model could be done in electric guitar and a Melodica in de-la-slow version?? Totally mind-blowing! Zack and Lohan rocks! "Talk to Me" was fab!
Had a chat with Ben after the show and I did not know that Ben and members of his high school band, the Deadbeats were also at the Zircon Lounge's Yin and Yang Festival gig in NUS back in the eighties! Ah yes! Ben, I remember the drummer that day turn up later and he was the drummer from Speedway if memory serves me right. The Velvet Underground's banana record was an education in itself, glad to know you were also influenced by that one as well at a young age! Many things do connect, the banana record,John Peel, Smash Hits, New Wave eighties etc. maybe that's why I really dig your music, it just connects!

Just going through the DVD, quality's not great but at least it's digitised for posterity! I am going to quote this songwords of yours, Ben, cause they are simply PURRRFECT (get it recorded my man!):

Etc.: Just A Dream ('The Wong Kar Wai one')
(songwords by Ben Harrison Etc)

YOU CAN BE NERVOUS AND I CAN BE SHY
I BET I ONLY EVER LOOK AT YOU ON THE SLY
WHAT IF IT'S JUST A DREAM?

I CAN TELL WE OUGHT TO BE FRIENDS
YOU'RE ALWAYS JUST AROUND THE CORNER
I'M GOING ROUND THE BEND
WHAT IF IT'S JUST A DREAM?

I DREAM OF YOU EVEN THOUGH WE HAVEN'T MET
I DREAM OF YOU AND I DONT EVEN KNOW WHAT YOU LOOK LIKE YET

PASSED YOU IN THE STREET LIKE IN A WONG KAR WAI
I NEVER TOLD YOU BECAUSE I'M TOO DARN SHY
TOO SHY TO SHARE MY DREAM

SO I'M STAYING IN BED ALL WEEKEND
IN THE HOPE I GET TO DREAM AND SEE YOU AGAIN
REMIND ME TO GET YOUR NAME THIS TIME

I DREAM OF YOU EVEN THOUGH WE HAVEN'T MET
I DREAM OF YOU AND I DONT EVEN KNOW WHAT YOU LOOK LIKE YET

YOU CAN SLEEP OVER – SLEEP OVER THERE
I'LL TAKE THE SOFA OVER THE STAIRS
AND THEN WE CAN DREAM

HOPE IS JUST A HOAXER HOPE CAN BE A CURSE
I'M HOPING FOR THE BEST WHEN I SHOULD EXPECT THE WORST
WHAT IF IT'S JUST A DREAM?

I DREAM OF YOU EVEN THOUGH WE HAVEN'T MET
I DREAM OF YOU AND I DONT EVEN KNOW WHAT YOU LOOK LIKE YET

YOU WERE ALWAYS ROUND THE CORNER I'M GOING ROUND THE BEND
I THINK I WANT TO TALK TO YOU
HELLO MY NAME IS BEN
(all rights deserved. Etc reserves the right to change lyrics as and when.)

Hope you will eventually include "The Wong Kar Wai one" as a subtitle to the song when it's officially released/published because I think it will stick (like glue) to this really great tune. And yes, I sure hope you, Joe Ng and Pat Chng can reunite as the Padres once again...that will be some event! You might want to consider doing it as a charity cause, which was what you had in mind initially and I think Joe and Pat will definitely be up for it. You may want to consider lending a helping hand to this baby miracle whom I met up with recently from the Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan, China if this Padres' reunion does materialise.

Why am I quoting this song? Well I went through "nervous" and "shy" all over again recently with a special someone (she may not know it but I sure did felt it). However this one will be "Just A Dream", a hopeless cause however bad I wanted it to happen.

Me and My Guitar series @ The Esplanade Concourse

Was planning to cut short my trip to make it back to home by 7th Jan but as luck would have it, SQ stopped the early morning flight from Beijing to Singapore coincidentally enough on 7th itself! Tough luck.
It would have been perfect to catch Ben Harrison (a.k.a. Etc.) play the first of his 2 acoustic gigs at the Esplanade concourse on 7th Jan evening.
I kicked myself even further when I noticed from the programme that Oddfellow Patrick Chng played on the 5th & 6th!! Wondered if he played that Substation version of "Over Again", if he did I probably would pull all my hairs out (not that I still have a lot of it as it is).
I did make it back in time for the 2nd night though and it was a fantastic show, Ben even obliged with 3 of my requested songs! 2 of which he had already played the night before but still he obliged, you're the MAN, Ben!
The three songs I requested were (1) Will Until (2) Just A Dream & (3) Dancing to the Smiths.
I lost the last minute or so of the closing song, otherwise I would have the entire show on flash memory, DAMN! The battery went completely flat.
Anyhow, I will be editing those three songs and post it here ASAP and I also promised Ben I will pass him a DVD of those and the other videos of Etc. I got - that will be my immediate project I suppose.
The turnout was not good but what the heck, I got the prime seat in any case and a little chat with Ben plus an autograph to boot!
Wait until Etc. get to work on those three songs in a proper studio with a proper producer......those who missed this gig may as well kick themselves eventually.
Here are some photos of Ben in his first ever gig playing with glasses on:

.........a peep into Ben's songbook

.......Ben's effects setup

.........the autograph! (some encouraging words too!)

I had the good fortune to meet the Bee Gees back in 2001 in their last ever gig in New York (Live By Request show) , courtesy of Universal Music Singapore before the unfortunate passing on of Maurice Gibb. It was a meet and greet session before the show and I was overawed meeting my idols from way back when I was a schoolboy in shorts! I still had a photo taken with the brothers Gibb but I somehow forgot where I kept them, I still have the pass though.

Meeting Ben on 7th Jan comes a close second to that Bee Gees' meeting!

(Correction: it should be 8th Jan 2009 and not 7th, sorry for the error. Thanks Ben! for your kind words in your post http://etcmusic.blogspot.com/2009/01/etc-after-stars-second-to-bee-gees.html.)

TOUCHED BY TWO ANGELS.....ONE DREW ME AS A PIG (and I loved it!)

I count my own blessings that I was able to finally meet up with Baby Miracle, 宋馨懿 on 3rd Jan 2009 in 绵阳 where she and her family are finally able to find a place to settle in. I had the good fortune to be able to play with her (together with her family members for over 2 hours that day. We had the most joyous of times (at least I felt it that way) with the games she thought out, with the toys (or props) available. It was very very heartwarming that for one little kid under 4 years old, she had the most vivid imagination I have ever come across and the way she got everyone involved was truly out of this world! Her unreserved laughter still rings in my ears.

This is the drawing she drew and autographed for me. I don't think anyone could make out the message and signature but I knew what and where they were 'cause she told me specifically.....this is the 1st present I ever received from an angel!

I always had a soft spot in me about napkin scribbles as an art form. Things written or drawn are unpretentious and a spur-of-the-moment thingy which will never ever be repeated the same way or in the same context. This is the scribble by the 2nd angel I had the pleasure of meeting twice during this China trip. She is some sort of a mini-celebrity and if you Googled her name, thousands of relevant hits will turn up. If you Baidu her name, even more will turn up - all relevant hits too!

I was lucky enough to be given a DVD with the 5.12 Earthquake relief work she did with her other colleagues. It was fated that I saw the DVD in the coffee bar at Xian Xianyang airport on New Year's Day 2009, having missed my flight to Chengdu that afternoon. I did not have a DVD drive with me so I had to view it on the computer in the coffee bar. What I saw in the footages almost brought tears to my eyes - the dangerous trip to the earthquake-damaged areas both by mini-bus as well as on foot, having to stay overnight in tents with limited water supply, the tears that flowed........The defining moment (in my humble opinion) was this beautiful angel holding the hands of the Qiang woman who had to be sent to a hospital........that was LOVE from the heart from one human being to another, nevermind whether that human being was a friend or a stranger. In that single moment it seems the world became ONE - one literally without any borders or reservations of any sort - simply just LOVE OVERFLOWING! And how I wish I could have that too!

In the napkin art this lovely angel drew (at her 2nd "home", if I might add, on 6th Jan 09), I was referred to as a PIG and I was so so happy about it! PIGS could really FLY.....or at least I did! THANK YOU, Angel!

Ah yes! I finally managed to get her to autographed that DVD too (after much pesistent pestering in which she thought I was not serious and only joking!) !

My angel, this and your friendship are the best presents I could hope for... and I got them both! No amount of gold will ever compare to this....truly.

2009 - A 牛YEAR............A 牛BEGINNING

7 Jan 2009 7 am
Currently at Xian Xianyang Airport blogging this.
I am leaving Xian with a heavy heart having spent the longest amount of time in any city during this China trip. I will miss most, the friends I met and briefly met here. I chose Xian to crossover to the 牛year primarily to kill 2 birds with 1 stone - celebrating both New Year, New Year's eve coupled with an advanced celebration of the 22nd birthday of a very special person who resides here. Everything went perfectly, the French restaurant with a spectacular view, the fabulous food and sweet red wine and most of all the company. The only downside was the camera failed to take any good shots! The countdown to the New Year was with a bunch of alcoholic-crazy gang at the home of one of the gang. Smoke-filled room aside, the setting was as down-to-earth and authentic as it will ever get and I thank Dathy from the bottom of my heart for that.

I haven't been updating the blog with a progressive day-by-day trip report, I guess I am not up to it to do so while travelling and prefer to do it while recollecting those moments (old-folks' style) at a later date after the trip. I find doing it this way that much sweeter!

I missed my flight, by a whisker, the last time round on New Year's day from Xian to Chengdu. This time I booked an early morning flight Xian-Beijing, catching the 1st Airport bus out from Xian townside which will be the safest route because of the unpredictability of the mildly notorious Xian traffic. True enough, the streets were all clear and the bus departed 5 mins earlier than the scheduled time of 6 pm from outside Melody Hotel when the bus was full. Reached the airport at 6.33 am, the journey was a mere 38 mins as compared to the usual 50 mins to 1 hour 10 mins in the course of the day. Checked in was a breeze except that the counter staff insisted on a flat 20kg maximum check-in luggage (the 2 pcs I had was 26.8kg), after some wrangling and realising that they were following the rule to the book, I took out the big backpack and check in just the other piece. I guess it is not too difficult although it would be that much easier if I could check both in so that I will be left with a small backpack and a plastic bag. Anyway this is already the home stretch, so nothing to fuzz about.

Heading for Beijing and then home sweet home to Singapore and the hot weather yet again!

宋馨懿 in 绵阳 - A REASON TO BELIEVE..........

Thank you 宋馨懿 , for showing me (without you knowing) what is the true meaning of liviing。
Thank you 宋馨懿‘s uncle 宋岗 and grandparents，for showing what love really means，for showing me what true courage and true giving and sacrifice means by surviving against incredible odds。
Thank you all for showing me the LIGHT to LIFE and the LIVING!!
A million thanks，you are all fighters in a cruel cruel world。

To those I loved and still do:
I will love you until I don't
And if I can't, it don't mean I won't
DON'T EVER NEVER!
(quoted from "Will Until" - Ben Harrison/Etc.)