Living My Dream

The Lijiang Old Town (Gu Cheng) welcome me with beautiful weather !
Stayed in a local Lijiang Guesthouse (RMB50 - SGD10) … felt like I was in the old movies… authentic old settings… hee hee

Took a walk around the old town.. its like a maze… high possibility of getting lost in it …
a climb up the Wan Gu Lou … gave me a bird’s eye view of the town… Old and New merging together.. amazing…
http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=736812424&k=32CU4553S3VM5BFDPB3TQQ

Spent the next day travelling with the local bus system to Tiger Leaping Gorge… one of the deepest Canyon in the world apparently…
Well, with my physical abilities… (sigh.. so physically UNFIT)
it was yet my luck that i met Xiao Bai & her boyfriend Cheng Wei… who helped me all the way to view the Gorge… Phew !!!!
But it was worth the climb  …. and also bodyache the next coupla days…

had a chat with drink seller lady who told me stories of the mishaps within the Gorge
apparently there are some foreigners who ignored local’s warning and explored the Gorge on their own..
many have sustain serious injuries during fall and some even lost their lives…  sigh
http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=736812424&k=ZX13X4TZPZ3DUCDBUC66YTT

Went Kunming and stayed with Xiaoli’s childhood friend Chun Ming….
But down with flu and slept the whole day on on Fri 13 Mar …. i think the ACROSS THE BRIDGE NOODLE helped…. yummi after a whole without food
Recovered in time to attend a Chinese Wedding dinner on Sat
The Beautiful bride is Chuen Ming’s Schoolmate…
take a look at the pix of the wedding dinner … errr…. sort of lose my appetite after seeing the food piled up …
http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=736812424&k=3XD5Z456R6ZM5BFDPB3TQQ

After catching up with Vivian (UPSer - ex colleague) in Guangzhou… its time for a gruelling 30-hr train ride to Sichuan Chengdu…
The ride was surprisingly pleasant… except for the 5-6 little kids (aged between 1 to 3)… milk time, nap times, grumpy times… hee hee they are adorable…
Got to know 2 lovely Youngsters… Jack & Moon who were on school break..
Played card games on board and they even sing for us… lol
http://www.new.facebook.com/p.php?i=736812424&k=5ZCUYZV6W4XM5BFDPB3TQQ

Xiao Li & Xiao Puo… came to pick me up at the train station in Chengdu…
Thanks guys for putting me up at your lovely home
Xiao Li brought me around to Old town in Chengdu town, Giant Panda Breeding Research Center etc
http://www.new.facebook.com/p.php?i=736812424&k=5Z1565WZRZYM5BFDPB3TQQ
Her parents are always ready to bring me around in their motorbike (brand new mind you)… hee hee
Botanical Garden, Peach Blossom Park / Gardens etc etc
We also made a visit to some of the sites that were affected by the 12 May 2008 Earthquake which hit the Richter Scale at 8.0 … destroying entire villages, buildings, leaving many homeless, widowed, orphaned…
Many had to sleep on the streets days after the disaster happen as there were many aftershocks which means its not safe for them to be inside any building
Temprorary housing were provided by the government… now nearly a year after the natural disaster.. many are still rebuilding their lives…
http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=736812424&k=5VF5P4U3WX5M5BFDPB3TQQ

Spring is almost here… so beautiful blooms of Canola, Peach Blossoms were available..
the favorite past time for people here seems to be Mahjong !!… regardless of how cold the weather is… they are playing mahjong at the park by the beautiful flowers, or outside shops etc etc
http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=736812424&k=4VL6Z2U2UY3M5BFDPB3TQQ
http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=736812424&k=33E525V4UZXM5BFDPB3TQQ

Too cold for me in Chengdu… hee hee
moving on to Yunnan, Lijiang for warmer weather