Alas! I managed to sit down every other evening to finish some writing on my recent travel to south China and will be posting part 1, part 2 and part 3, stop at part 3 and will continue to write part 4 and part 5 until the last day there. Enjoy reading!
January 31, My Paper the free edition published
Singaporeans are still going ahead with their travel plans to China despite the severe weather conditions there. Those who have made plans to squeeze in a getaway to the country over the Chinese New Year are monitoring the situation. Local travel agents interviewed said they have been receiving between two to five calls a day from customers who have booked tour packages to China. But none of the five tour reported cancellations. Popular tour destinations among Singaporeans such as Jiuzhaigou, Shanghai, Beijing and Xiamen have not been affected much. In big cities such as Shanghai, Beijing or Guangzhou will have enough facilities and manpower to clear the jam. We are talking with our agents daily on the updates and arrange for contingencies should the weather worsen. Some 6,400 vehicles with more than 10,000 people are estimated to be still stranded on a 116km stretch of frozen highway in Hunan province. China has deployed 460,000 troops to fight the country’s biggest battle at the moment: the worst snowstorm it has seen in 50 years. The soldiers fanned out across parts of China to clear ice and restore crippled power and food supplies. The will also help to ease the transport gridlock caused by heavy snow, sleet and ice rain that has hit 14 provinces in central and southern China. It has resulted in the death of at least 55 people and affects about 77 million others. China Premier went on public relations for a second straight day wading into crowds of marooned train passengers in the southern city of Guangzhou for days. Trains services have been paralyzed by a crippled power fine.
The same day, January 31, three of us my mother, sister and myself went straight to the airport Terminal 2 at 4:30 am to catch 7:30am flight by Silk Air to Xiamen. The day before we threw in long johns for my mum just in case the weather turned frozen cold,
a week before we doubled up our warm clothes. We checked in two big luggage and two hands carry bag for our thick overcoat (just in case upon arrival, the weather turned terrible cold). The flight across the South China Seas was smooth although there were short period of turbulence and all passengers were asked to return to their seats with belt fastened. Minutes before touchdown, the Captain announced over the system, the weather was 13 degrees C, drizzle and windy. Everything went smoothly from customs, baggage claim and clearance. We saw one stocky man carried a plague “Visitors from Singapore” so we approached him and verified our identifications. Then the local guide appeared from nowhere and ushered us into an elevator that took us underground car park. Huang is the name of the local guide who will guide us from 31 January to 6 February. He told us that two persons have cancelled their trips and three of us with him and driver will traveled together for one week. We were not quite impressed by his commentary, short and simple and he seemed too preoccupied with something else. Anyway, we were here to enjoy ourselves guide or no guide, we can speak the local language and native tongue. The van traveled in the highway completed two years ago. We visited Xiamen in 1984, 2004 and 2008. The changes in1984 and 2004 were minimal, not quite spectacular but the changes in 2008 are big tremendous efforts by Xiamen Provincial City Planner. Everywhere there is skyscraper building shrouded in net, construction everywhere. Yet the city is not polluted despite the on going constructions, the noise is kept at minimum. The only noise is the honking of the vehicles at the back, somehow the impatience shown up in the drivers. Cars are everywhere and few bicycles, just the reverse in 1984, few cars and many bicycles with their ringing. Now it is honking and honking!
Many changes took places and hardly can recognize those places I had seen in 1984 and 2004. Most of the old buildings have been abolished and new building spruced up in its place. The old Xiamen city is lost in the booming economic structures, what a pity? The dirty old lane in between the narrow old buildings is no longer found. In place is the concrete jungle out there with slim and high skyscrapers. Quite uninteresting sight!
The city tour is quite blurred through the windows as it was drizzling all day, the van window wiper goes “zip zip” with the sound of the wheels splashing the rain water.
No commentary and the tour went off quietly, no music from the player and I thought it was good of me to bring along “sentimental popular hits” so that the driver can played while we traveled through city- town- villages and province. I anticipated there will be overland vehicle trip from city-town-villages and province.
Our first stop was lunch and the food were local fare dishes, very delicious well at least the rice was steaming piping hot, soup were very hot and so were all the dishes. It was such a good welcome lunch with everything on the table piping hot and you could see the smoke twirling from the dishes. This is what I was looking forward when one came in from the cold outside. I really enjoyed watching the layer and layer of steamer filled with meat dumpling or dim sum and when the streamer cover was opened you could watch the piping hot smoke rising from the steamer, glorious and wonderful food!
After lunch we were quickly ushered into the van and out on the road as if we were late for something spectacular, it was actually a visit to the Nanputo temple, it is renowned ancient temples in South Fujian Province. It is highly recognized for its splendid architecture with its elaborate ornaments and fine Buddhist statues. True, indeed but the drizzle spoiled all the fun of looking at the elaborate ornaments. I took few pictures in the drizzle of the temple roof with the fine ornament arches. We did not expect much to see and explored in the first day, a more sensible program will be to head back to the hotel for a good rest. The rest of the afternoon was spent traveling on the road with brief explanation on the latest development of an underground highway that cut through the waterway from Xiamen to Quanzhou, some form of an underwater highway. That reminds me of Moses and the parting of the Red Sea. Then there is couple of luxury condomium sprucing up along the coastal line overlooking the South China Sea, this are meant for the very rich people who found their fortune during the bourse killing period and those who strike rich selling off their vast land to private developer for housing project.
We reached our hotel at 7:30pm and the guide suggested that we have an early night sleep and dinner to be sent up to our rooms. We were quite impressed over his concern on our having good night sleep. Later, did I found out that we are supposed to visit the night snack street about two three streets away from our hotel. Anyway, Huang was in the hurry to get rid of three and hurried home and there was a good reason for it.
That is so much for the first day first impression!
Singaporeans are still going ahead with their travel plans to China despite the severe weather conditions there. Those who have made plans to squeeze in a getaway to the country over the Chinese New Year are monitoring the situation. Local travel agents interviewed said they have been receiving between two to five calls a day from customers who have booked tour packages to China. But none of the five tour reported cancellations. Popular tour destinations among Singaporeans such as Jiuzhaigou, Shanghai, Beijing and Xiamen have not been affected much. In big cities such as Shanghai, Beijing or Guangzhou will have enough facilities and manpower to clear the jam. We are talking with our agents daily on the updates and arrange for contingencies should the weather worsen. Some 6,400 vehicles with more than 10,000 people are estimated to be still stranded on a 116km stretch of frozen highway in Hunan province. China has deployed 460,000 troops to fight the country’s biggest battle at the moment: the worst snowstorm it has seen in 50 years. The soldiers fanned out across parts of China to clear ice and restore crippled power and food supplies. The will also help to ease the transport gridlock caused by heavy snow, sleet and ice rain that has hit 14 provinces in central and southern China. It has resulted in the death of at least 55 people and affects about 77 million others. China Premier went on public relations for a second straight day wading into crowds of marooned train passengers in the southern city of Guangzhou for days. Trains services have been paralyzed by a crippled power fine.
The same day, January 31, three of us my mother, sister and myself went straight to the airport Terminal 2 at 4:30 am to catch 7:30am flight by Silk Air to Xiamen. The day before we threw in long johns for my mum just in case the weather turned frozen cold,
a week before we doubled up our warm clothes. We checked in two big luggage and two hands carry bag for our thick overcoat (just in case upon arrival, the weather turned terrible cold). The flight across the South China Seas was smooth although there were short period of turbulence and all passengers were asked to return to their seats with belt fastened. Minutes before touchdown, the Captain announced over the system, the weather was 13 degrees C, drizzle and windy. Everything went smoothly from customs, baggage claim and clearance. We saw one stocky man carried a plague “Visitors from Singapore” so we approached him and verified our identifications. Then the local guide appeared from nowhere and ushered us into an elevator that took us underground car park. Huang is the name of the local guide who will guide us from 31 January to 6 February. He told us that two persons have cancelled their trips and three of us with him and driver will traveled together for one week. We were not quite impressed by his commentary, short and simple and he seemed too preoccupied with something else. Anyway, we were here to enjoy ourselves guide or no guide, we can speak the local language and native tongue. The van traveled in the highway completed two years ago. We visited Xiamen in 1984, 2004 and 2008. The changes in1984 and 2004 were minimal, not quite spectacular but the changes in 2008 are big tremendous efforts by Xiamen Provincial City Planner. Everywhere there is skyscraper building shrouded in net, construction everywhere. Yet the city is not polluted despite the on going constructions, the noise is kept at minimum. The only noise is the honking of the vehicles at the back, somehow the impatience shown up in the drivers. Cars are everywhere and few bicycles, just the reverse in 1984, few cars and many bicycles with their ringing. Now it is honking and honking!
Many changes took places and hardly can recognize those places I had seen in 1984 and 2004. Most of the old buildings have been abolished and new building spruced up in its place. The old Xiamen city is lost in the booming economic structures, what a pity? The dirty old lane in between the narrow old buildings is no longer found. In place is the concrete jungle out there with slim and high skyscrapers. Quite uninteresting sight!
The city tour is quite blurred through the windows as it was drizzling all day, the van window wiper goes “zip zip” with the sound of the wheels splashing the rain water.
No commentary and the tour went off quietly, no music from the player and I thought it was good of me to bring along “sentimental popular hits” so that the driver can played while we traveled through city- town- villages and province. I anticipated there will be overland vehicle trip from city-town-villages and province.
Our first stop was lunch and the food were local fare dishes, very delicious well at least the rice was steaming piping hot, soup were very hot and so were all the dishes. It was such a good welcome lunch with everything on the table piping hot and you could see the smoke twirling from the dishes. This is what I was looking forward when one came in from the cold outside. I really enjoyed watching the layer and layer of steamer filled with meat dumpling or dim sum and when the streamer cover was opened you could watch the piping hot smoke rising from the steamer, glorious and wonderful food!
After lunch we were quickly ushered into the van and out on the road as if we were late for something spectacular, it was actually a visit to the Nanputo temple, it is renowned ancient temples in South Fujian Province. It is highly recognized for its splendid architecture with its elaborate ornaments and fine Buddhist statues. True, indeed but the drizzle spoiled all the fun of looking at the elaborate ornaments. I took few pictures in the drizzle of the temple roof with the fine ornament arches. We did not expect much to see and explored in the first day, a more sensible program will be to head back to the hotel for a good rest. The rest of the afternoon was spent traveling on the road with brief explanation on the latest development of an underground highway that cut through the waterway from Xiamen to Quanzhou, some form of an underwater highway. That reminds me of Moses and the parting of the Red Sea. Then there is couple of luxury condomium sprucing up along the coastal line overlooking the South China Sea, this are meant for the very rich people who found their fortune during the bourse killing period and those who strike rich selling off their vast land to private developer for housing project.
We reached our hotel at 7:30pm and the guide suggested that we have an early night sleep and dinner to be sent up to our rooms. We were quite impressed over his concern on our having good night sleep. Later, did I found out that we are supposed to visit the night snack street about two three streets away from our hotel. Anyway, Huang was in the hurry to get rid of three and hurried home and there was a good reason for it.
That is so much for the first day first impression!
.JPG)
