It started to rain this morning and all plans to go travel around Wuhan has to be cancelled. Its troublesome to get lunch since its pouring and the streets are wet. Just some light rain and the street is filled with water. The drainage system here is really poor. Stuck in the room researching on Beijing tourist destinations. Now i'm really familiar with both Xi'an and Beijing map. The good thing about Beijing is that we can always rely on the subway system. With the subway system we can go almost anywhere we want, except The Great Wall.
The rain stops a while during dinner time so we hurried to have our dinner. Siau Ling, Armanda and Kezia plan to buy the train tickets from Xian to Beijing so they left the trainee house after dinner. Meanwhile, i'm still searching on information regarding the Great Wall and try coming out with a tentative for both Xian and Beijing. When Siau Ling is back, she is so frustrated about the people here. Apparently i feel the same way too. The bad or impolite treatment that we have compare to other foreigners, most probably we both looked like local. The people always treat other EPs better than treating us. The shopkeeper would be rude to us and very polite to them (other EPs). During shopping, the people will never give discount to Siau Ling but will do so to other EPs. When it is pouring and both me and James (UK) were waiting under the heavy rain for bus, the locals shades James with umbrella and left me under the rain, despite i'm standing beside James. James (US) got more toppings when he ordered some food, but mine only ordinary quantities. The ticket selling lady was really rude to Siau Ling but talk so gentle to the other EPs. When Siau Ling told the person she is from Malaysia, the person selling the ticket got stunned and treated Siau Ling better. All these things really makes me hate China more.
Managed to finished arranging the Xi'an tentative after Siau Ling confirm all the train ticket schedule and everything else. Finally, i get to enjoy instead of getting stuck at Wuhan. Still wondering whether i should go Suzhou myself or not after the Beijing trip. Feel like i'm wasting my time not doing anything here but i guess i can always go help James(US) out or accompany him in his project. Going to the countryside to help farming which is organised by the NGO here. I guess (hope) i'll be having fun there... Have to wake up at 5am though...
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
25th Day in Wuhan
Other EPs were planning to go to the Hubei Provincial Museum before 1pm today. I woke up at 10am, get ready for everything and they all only ready after 1.30pm. By the time we finish our lunch, its already 2.30pm and we will not make it to the museum in time as no entries are allowed after 3.30pm. One hour is a long time to get there, however with the traffic condition in Wuhan, who knows what will happen. I'm not going all the way there late and not being able to enter the museum. Therefore we decided to go to Optics Valley to shop. The weather was freaking hot, similar to in Malaysia and I really hope that the mall would be air-conditioned..
Upon arrival, the mall is an open-air concept and most of the shops has no air-condition. The entire building was warm and it is unbearable. I wonder how people can shop under this kind of temperature. The girls were indecisive, wanting to go here and there but just stand there and keep discussing. I mean come on, its a shopping mall, you suppose to shop and walk around, not debating where to go, whether to split up or not. End up, me and Rosebud and James(UK) walk on ourselves. We accidentally venture into a lane where all the shops sell anime stuff. One shop sells ready made cosplay costumes and another shop selling The Sword of Elendil (280yuan) and Frostmourne (1200yuan) ONLY!!! I so wish i could bring it back but think again, it doesn't serve any purpose having that at home just for display.
The return home journey was quite some thing. We waited half an hour for the bus and no bus came. Eventually it rains and i have to wait under the rain to see if the bus is coming. Finally, we couldn't wait any longer so we went to take a taxi but when we wanted to stop the taxi, 2 buses came and we ran to the bus instead. The bus was terrible, having people squeezed inside despite there's no room left. I almost suffocate in the bus and the people smells terribly. I hate the buses in Wuhan!! So many people and always not enough bus. Skipped dinner tonight because its raining and i don't want to get all dirty again after bath.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
24th Day in Wuhan
Everything went back to normal today. The landlord come by and apparently someone accidentally turn off the valve to our house water supply. He also passed to us the electricity bill which cost 840RMB, but we only have 2days to pay before they cut our electric supply. I spend the entire day searching for Xi An attractions, the fees, opening hours, descriptions and also every bus that we can take to arrive in the particular place. It was really tiring especially when you don't have a map and all you can reply on is digital map and google map. Not really an easy thing to do but well, i manage to familiarize with the entire Xi An already. Might be doing that again for Beijing tomorrow.
When we were going out for dinner, i noticed my spectacles were missing and i searched the entire house but couldn't find it. Then we went back to the restaurant that we had our lunch and thank god its there. If i lost it here, i would probably get a new spectacles. Sure happy about it but of course i would be spending more than necessary. Don't plan to do that since I've already spend a lot during this trip. Watched Red Riding Hood after my dinner and i wonder why people can get so violent nowadays. They've turn a fairy tale into a werewolf story. All the best to the future kids to come...
When we were going out for dinner, i noticed my spectacles were missing and i searched the entire house but couldn't find it. Then we went back to the restaurant that we had our lunch and thank god its there. If i lost it here, i would probably get a new spectacles. Sure happy about it but of course i would be spending more than necessary. Don't plan to do that since I've already spend a lot during this trip. Watched Red Riding Hood after my dinner and i wonder why people can get so violent nowadays. They've turn a fairy tale into a werewolf story. All the best to the future kids to come...
23rd Day in Wuhan (The day that everything went wrong)
It was weird today. Normally i would wake up at 9am but somehow i feel my entire body was tired and couldn't really wake until 11am. We went to a ticket counter and bought train tickets to Xian from Wuhan. We were asking about the price, the types of seats, the route of the train, the time and everything else. It is just so confusing and there is no guide telling what kind of train or seat there is and we spend almost 3hours just to get the ticket and back to our house. On our way back, we suddenly got a call from Armanda stating that she got lost and don't know where she is and she told us that she will take a taxi to Optics Valley. After that, we didn't really heard of her since her phone can't get through and she didn't call back. We thought that she is lost and we worried the whole day. Been trying to contact her but can't get through.
In the house, we noticed that there is no water, therefore we can't shower or go toilet or do anything else. Worse is the water in the bath tub never drains out and the dirt and hair and other random stuff clogged it up. We went down for dinner and luckily Jack was there to help us ask the people downstairs how to fix it. I probably would say that the buddy here are so much better than the LC, at least they show us around and they are always there for us. Some of the LC just can't get anything done. We went home and tried to unclog it but it doesn't work. End up James (US) moved the entire bath tub and found out that the tube for the water to flow out is stuck and he managed to get everything done. However, the process is really unpleasant and especially the smell that can really make people puke. Worse is there is no water to wash our feet and hands. Things were getting a bit out of hand and everyone feels uncomfortable and we were worried of Armanda, whether she is safe or not. Some of them was thinking of going out to find her but some of us think its futile to go out since we don't even know the place well and we might end up getting lost ourselves.
We called Michael, the LCP and told him what was happening, about the water supply, about the hotel, about Armande. He told us that he will send someone to help us with our problems. We had a suggestion that the LC should rent a hotel room for us till they fix the problem and they should pay for the hotel. We talked to Michael about it and he said he will call us back later. At last, Jansen came and he booked a hotel for us, just to bath and if we want to stay there, its fine. We waited for him to booked us a decent hotel and while waiting, Armanda just came back and she told us that all the while she is at Optics Valley and she didn't received any call from us. I guess its the phone problem. Everyone was just so glad that she came home safe and sound.
When Jansen came back, me and James (US) went to the hotel to bath first. We thought that the girls would want to sleep there and we just go and bath, then come back to the house. We walked there and it is the worst hotel i've ever seen. We have to walk up to the 3rd floor, go through a room where all the junks and plastic bottles and stuff like that just pile up there, go down one floor below and there we reach the room. The way in to the room was eerie. It is not the worst. The room was terrible, the fan barely function, air-condition which does not function, no towels provided, and the toilet door can't be locked with no place to hang your clothes in the bathroom. I cant imagine how people can consider this as a hotel.
We finished bathing and went straight back to the house. It feels so much better in the house, where there is air-condition, bright lights, no creepy places and most of all, there is internet connection. James lend me a book to read, 'The New Business Road Test'. I can't stop reading it for the first few pages and i think i might spend another few more days reading that book since i have nothing to do in the house. The knowledge should come in handy if i ever need to start my own business...
In the house, we noticed that there is no water, therefore we can't shower or go toilet or do anything else. Worse is the water in the bath tub never drains out and the dirt and hair and other random stuff clogged it up. We went down for dinner and luckily Jack was there to help us ask the people downstairs how to fix it. I probably would say that the buddy here are so much better than the LC, at least they show us around and they are always there for us. Some of the LC just can't get anything done. We went home and tried to unclog it but it doesn't work. End up James (US) moved the entire bath tub and found out that the tube for the water to flow out is stuck and he managed to get everything done. However, the process is really unpleasant and especially the smell that can really make people puke. Worse is there is no water to wash our feet and hands. Things were getting a bit out of hand and everyone feels uncomfortable and we were worried of Armanda, whether she is safe or not. Some of them was thinking of going out to find her but some of us think its futile to go out since we don't even know the place well and we might end up getting lost ourselves.
We called Michael, the LCP and told him what was happening, about the water supply, about the hotel, about Armande. He told us that he will send someone to help us with our problems. We had a suggestion that the LC should rent a hotel room for us till they fix the problem and they should pay for the hotel. We talked to Michael about it and he said he will call us back later. At last, Jansen came and he booked a hotel for us, just to bath and if we want to stay there, its fine. We waited for him to booked us a decent hotel and while waiting, Armanda just came back and she told us that all the while she is at Optics Valley and she didn't received any call from us. I guess its the phone problem. Everyone was just so glad that she came home safe and sound.
When Jansen came back, me and James (US) went to the hotel to bath first. We thought that the girls would want to sleep there and we just go and bath, then come back to the house. We walked there and it is the worst hotel i've ever seen. We have to walk up to the 3rd floor, go through a room where all the junks and plastic bottles and stuff like that just pile up there, go down one floor below and there we reach the room. The way in to the room was eerie. It is not the worst. The room was terrible, the fan barely function, air-condition which does not function, no towels provided, and the toilet door can't be locked with no place to hang your clothes in the bathroom. I cant imagine how people can consider this as a hotel.
We finished bathing and went straight back to the house. It feels so much better in the house, where there is air-condition, bright lights, no creepy places and most of all, there is internet connection. James lend me a book to read, 'The New Business Road Test'. I can't stop reading it for the first few pages and i think i might spend another few more days reading that book since i have nothing to do in the house. The knowledge should come in handy if i ever need to start my own business...
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
22nd Day in Wuhan
Went to Hubei University of Science and Technology (HUST) to do our last survey on paper recycling. This will be our last day of work. After that we will be travelling around China. Went to a place where all the final year students sell their books and other belongings and that is where we do our survey since the people there is the most. Didn't encounter much problem in getting respondents since everyone there is university student and they were very helpful since they know we are from other countries. Anyway the street is really a good idea to sell away unwanted books, thus saving more papers in the process. I really do hope UPM can allow such a thing instead of junior finding senior for books or vice versa. It can really save tons of papers.
During the night, Frank and Hippo brought us to a nice restaurant to have our dinner. Sort of like a farewell i guess since after the project they won't be meeting with us often. The restaurant is really beautiful, decorated very well and the food in comparison is not that expensive. Though i spent quite a lot on dinner these few days. Trying to cut down any unnecessary spending or else i won't be having enough money to travel around.
During the night, Frank and Hippo brought us to a nice restaurant to have our dinner. Sort of like a farewell i guess since after the project they won't be meeting with us often. The restaurant is really beautiful, decorated very well and the food in comparison is not that expensive. Though i spent quite a lot on dinner these few days. Trying to cut down any unnecessary spending or else i won't be having enough money to travel around.
Monday, June 20, 2011
21st Day in Wuhan
Woke up early today. Planned to go Guiyuan Buddhist Temple and Heptachord Terrace. The park around the Heptachord Terrace is really beautiful, if only this kind of park exist in Malaysia, that will be great. At night we have a welcome party for all EPs, however it is more like inviting everyone to the bar to drink instead of a party. There was no agenda, no host saying anything and the most important, no one to bring us there from the trainee house. They would always ask whether we would like to join a certain event and it always end up no one bringing us there. I guess i should have got used to it for the past 3weeks. End up we went there a while and leave for dinner and then we head back to our house. Disappointing day...
Saturday, June 18, 2011
20th Day in Wuhan
It's raining again. The rain wasn't really heavy but somehow the streets are filled with water that couldn't be drained off. Rushed to the bus stop to go to another high school for workshop. I did everything right, wearing short pants, not taking bags except 1, i wear shoes. In not more than 10mins walking, my shoes is already filled with water. What's worse is that there are fine sand that got into the shoes and i have to endure this till i come back after i finish my workshop. The journey to the high school encounters little obstacle beside some flooded road but the bus manage to drive through. The disappointed thing is that after arriving at the school soaking wet from top to bottom, non of the students came except 2 who help organize the workshop. Therefore we go forth on presenting our slides to the 2 person who came.
The journey back was miserable. It only took us less than 1 hour to reach the school but more than 3hours just to get back to the trainee house due to the rain. Everywhere was flooded and the water is up till knee level. Some cars even got stuck in the water while driving through it. The interesting thing that happened to us is that when our bus actually drove through the water, the water was rushing into the bus through the door. We took another super crowded bus back to somewhere near our place and we have to walk back. Its really tiring and sometimes i wonder, am i really lucky to be a Malaysian?
The journey back was miserable. It only took us less than 1 hour to reach the school but more than 3hours just to get back to the trainee house due to the rain. Everywhere was flooded and the water is up till knee level. Some cars even got stuck in the water while driving through it. The interesting thing that happened to us is that when our bus actually drove through the water, the water was rushing into the bus through the door. We took another super crowded bus back to somewhere near our place and we have to walk back. Its really tiring and sometimes i wonder, am i really lucky to be a Malaysian?
19th Day in Wuhan
Went to high school to present about the culture of Malaysia and also other nations as well. The kids were fun and active as usual, i must say being the last time meeting them i'll miss them a lot. On out way back, everyone was heading to optics valley but then Ayush called and said they will reach the Trainee House in 45mins time and they don't have the keys. So i have to take another bus back to the trainee house with Richy accompany me. After that, they went for dinner and the only one left in the house is me. Skype with my girlfriend and that's all for the day...
Friday, June 17, 2011
18th Day in Wuhan
Walk with Patrik to the place where James (US) got his suit tailored in the morning. James(US) left the Trainee House in the afternoon to Shanghai, while the rest of us get ready for our presentation at No.12 high school. We arrived early at the high school so Siau Ling decided to look for a place to get her money changed. The thing which is so different from us is that whenever you want to change money, the bank would request for your ID and if you are a foreigner, your passport. There is no money changer here, not that i've seen of. I just don't understand why do we need ID and passport to change our money. The school presentation was fun as usual, having so many interactions between the students and they are not afraid to voice out their opinions. Skipped dinner tonight because of the serious headache and went to bed very early, around 8pm...
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