Saturday, December 24, 2005
how can i ever begin my description of beijing? the first thing that pops into my head (it can be inferred that reminders are all around the city) is that beijing is to host the 2008 olympics. then, the blistering cold (perpetually negatives) and bald trees along the streets, of which many contain a lane for cyclists, follow. along these same streets, european-influenced buildings stand next to ancient chinese architectural wonders. this capital city of china isn't that
cheena if you really take a closer look at it. just across the tian an men square is a very westernised clock tower substituting the roof of a subway station. one major complain, however, is the awfully oily and salty food. i was hopelessly cold and hungry throughout my tour largely because of my preference for western food.
on a more personal note, i must comment that albeit all the lovely things mentioned above, the rather uncivilised behaviour of the chinese nationals did fiddle with my nerves: their ability to release their bowels without closing the door of the cubicle (warning: it is quite a common sight), their unwillingness to politely request for you to kindly move out of their way (no 'excuse me' at all and instead, what you get is them jostling against you), their incessant cries for you to patronise their stalls and (note this) their disgusting pouts and/or obvious expression of displeasure when you choose not to buy anything from them. one interesting thing about this city is their
ve-ly pow-der-ful eng-rish. examples can be seen from
my photo album.
then again, there are beautiful things worthy to be mentioned: the heart-pounding climb up the great wall of china (now, i am truly a chinese!!), the lobby manager of my hotel being the cutest (in my microscopic view) guy in the entire beijing, making yet another group of new friends (young and old) and experiencing history classes all over again (intriguing introductions to the ming and qing dynasties by my lovely tour guide, gu ping).
during one of my final moments of this trip, i experienced my most hilarious encounter at the custom. very often, i'll get officers staring my passport photo and i for at least half a minute due to the startling difference. the officers will usually glance at my passport photo, then stare at me hardly for quite some time before commenting that i look different. but this time (conversation in mandarin, of course)...
officer: (
after starting at my photo and i) you look very different.
michelle: yeah, i do. (
smiles)
officer: you lost a lot of weight.
michelle: yeah, i know.
officer: (
without breaking into laughter or smile) was it difficult?
michelle: (
silence) quite. (
bends till head is below the counter and laughs quietly)
anyhow, it's christmas again, not that there's much atmosphere here in singapore. i reckon beijing has more christmas atmosphere. hohoho!! merry christmas!!
a cultural immersion experience for us all
&
hush pretty pink lady ;
at 4:01 pm
a cultural immersion experience for us all