Day 28 – 31st March (Queen Elizabeth & Practical test Prep)

Lesson started at 1pm today.Y? Cos Daryl was down with fever and was brought to the hospital last night. Get well soon boy... As mentioned before by Ms Neo, we will be watching a movie, Queen Elizabeth. Before watching the movie, it thought it will be some lengthy movie with boring story line, SURPRISINGLY, the movie was great. We only watched 15 mins of the movie, mainly the main parts where Ms Neo thinks its essential, but still the short 15 mins makes me want to carry on watching the movie. Its interesting and meaningful i swear!!! The movie shows the leadership skills of Queen Elizabeth, she may be a female, but she possesed great skills and capabilities. She led her ministers thru crisis with no rush or fear shown, she motivate her army to boost their confident levels. She throw aside her personal affairs, putting her country's problems as her first priority.

We were given an assignment to write an essay on the movie that we watched earlier on. I didnt use much effort to complete it as i really learnt alot from the short 15 mins of video i watched. Complete the work given, did some project discussion and went off to practise the practical test tmr....

Reflection
Queen Elizabeth is really a great movie, just purely 15 mins can make me feel that whatever qualities i studied ytd. And i think that i can learnt more through looking at videos, this is what Ms Neo had mentioned before a different kind of teaching methods. Would really wan to watch the full movie although we can lent ot from Ms Neo but due to the time constraints, i decided to watch it at a much later date when i have the time to....

Day 27 – 30th March (Getting prepared & Nothing else)

After resting for a day, lesson resume today and we totally didnt feel like going for lesson.... Got back the written test result and i think i didnt score too well.... shall buck up and stop slacking already. Got more past year papers from Ms Neo for us to practise for our upcoming practical test on thur. It may be a very easy task, just sitting down and just clicking but to complete the paper, it actually took us hours can!!! Went out for lunch cos we had miss the "perfect" timing to eat fried rice in the school canteen.

BAck for lesson and Ms Neo started on Chap 7 which is on Leadership and Motivation. I can say i enjoy this lesson very much because its unlike other chapters which are very dry, chap 7 is actually very interesting in understanding different types of leaders and get to know more about the qualities. Ms Neo had also made the lesson very interesting by getting us engaged in it. Lesson ended as usual and we gals decided to go out to replenish our "stocks" even though its drizzling outside.

Back in dorm drenched, prepared our dinner(instant noodle) and watch a Hong Kong Comedy while eating... nice movie anyway!!! BAck to work immediately, did some project discussion and practise for the practical test...


Reflection
Didnt experience anything happening today, just typical schooling day. Lesson was very interesting as mentioned above and i like the way Ms Neo conduct this lesson :D Learn more about what a leaders sld have and make me realise they are much more as a leader and i could actually implement what i have learnt in lesson today to my friends and juniors which i think would be very very useful like how im feeling nw!

Day 26 – 29th March (Shopping & More Shopping)

Its Monday, supposely lesson at 9am but since we climb the mountain for almost 6 hours ytd, Ms Neo decided to give us a day off! THANK YOU MS NEO!!! Even though there is no lesson, we still woke up around 9 plus to complete our blog... seriously the connection is killing us causes us making slow progress in updating our blogs. Blog till around noon and sent our clothes to laundry and then to school canteen for lunch... FRIED RICE!!!

Decide to explore more place rather than staying in the dorm the whole day so we asked the locals for places to recommend and got to know about JiangHan Lu. So off we went with noor tagging along unlike the other 2 no life people who would rather stay in dorm to blog.. haiz.... so we took bus 588 at RMB2 each... OMG! we like so independent can, testing a new route with only a guy in the group. Reach destination 30 minutes later and started exploring. We found this shopping mall called ATM!! (cute rite the name)U can find all sorts of things in it, its like bugis but at a cheaper price. Off we went shop, shop and shop till its dinner time already!!! FAST rITE!!!went KFC to have dinner and shop a little more while after that and cab back to dorm...






Reflection
Borrowed a broom after we reached back as i feel that our room is really very dirty. Suddenly decide to "train" our princesss Charmaine to sweep the floor. Cos as we all know this gal doesnt know hw to do hse work and me and hazel decided to let her do her first time sweeping herself!!! She started nagging and making noises when she hold the broom but overall .... WELLL DONE CHARMAINE IN COMPLETING UR FIRST CHORE!!!

Ms Neo is really very kind and caring for letting us off for a day to rest... Didnt feel much ache so its still manageable to go shopping. hahahha... use to tag along the guys whenever they go cos we feel much more safer with them around but after today i feel that actually we girls can survive on our own!!! Shopping was really enjoying and fun even though the time flies and we must be back to blog! Lastly, i would like to give a round of applause to Char for sweeping the floor even though its her first time and was a little forced by us hahahhah but she still did a good job!! Thanks Char!

Day 25 – 28th March (Conquering Wu Dang Mountain & Back to Dorm)

Woke quite early, didnt wan to wake up cos the bed is just so COMFORTABLE(compared to those mattress in our dorm. Breakfast at 7am so wash up quickly and step out realising that most of their rooms didnt have electricity and water so some gals came to our room to finish whateva they didnt. Went for breakfast, as expected not very tasty but still ate a little cos we need ENERGY to CONQUER WUDANG SHAN later!!!!

Deposited our bags in the hotels lobby and surprisely, most of us are going to climb the mountain. Cos due to bad weather, many people were nt feeling well and many thought of giving up climbing but alot still went... cool!!! Good Job OIP Batch 4!!!




Off we went to start our journey, at first we were still like tourist taking pictures, chit-chatting and gossiping away and thought it was so easy cos we keep walking down the stairs. But.... few minutes later, every one start conserve their energy and concentrate on climbing.. 1/5 thru, we started to feel tired cos we climb up lots and lots of stairs and the air was very thin... those who couldnt take it took rest and the others proceed on...... it took us almost 6 hours to reach the golden summit and back to the starting point but its all worth it cos i feel so much achievement after i reach the peak and view there is superb!!

Were a bit off scheduled so we rushed to lunch at around 4pm!! I swear this is the fastest lunch i ever had... feel so stress to rush to eat our lunch... Board back our own tour bus at 4 plus and headed back to dorm... i swear everyone were soooooooo tired after the climb and all slept throughout the whole bus journey... Dorm Sweet Dorm at 10pm, went to bath and tuck myself in bed.





Reflection
We spent almost the whole day climbing the mountain, i can only say determination is the only thing that can drive you to keep moving on.. At some point of time im so exhausted that i really wanted to give up, really wanted to sit down and ask the rest to carry on.. but there's a voice inside me keep telling me to move on, i wouldnt wan to make this a fruitless trip so i just keep pushing myself for that so many hundreds steps and so many hours.. then next time i knw, im already at the golden summit. The view from the peak was really so nice that i couldnt find any words to describe :D On our way back, i was so surprise to see those dun knw hw many hundreds steps that i took just nw. And hazel keep asking us "is this ur greatest acheivement up till nw", my answer would be YES! OF COURSE!! u wouldnt believe unless u really try it.. our next target would be conquering mount everest!! hahahahha!!!

Day 24 – 27th March (Wu Dang Tour & Bumpy Ride)

Woke at around 5 plus and we were all getting ready to board the bus and head to WUDANG SHAN!!! Yes! U are right, we are climbing the mountain…. Tmr.

The bus ride took us 5 hours before we reach at a restaurant to have our lunch… guess wad… one of the dishes is actually DONKEY MEAT!! YEW!!! Its cruel I knw but since its already on the table so I think I sld at least give it a try.. its kind of salty and I didn’t like it… every bite reminds me of the cute donkey that I see in Zoo… :(

After lunch, board back the bus and not long after we arrived at the ticketing area of 武当山. Other than us, there are also some other tourists which makes the area quite crowded. Board the buses specially for tourists and believe me you wouldn’t want to be in it for too long cos the ride will just get u dizzy…
We visited 3 diff sites, first is tai zi po, 太子坡, a place with several halls, worshipping several gods. Something interesting is that the temperature inside the halls are much more lower than the outside. after observing, we didnt find any air-conditioned around the room. WEIRD.. but i guess they might wan to preserve those statues inside the halls therefore lower temperature are needed... MAYBE? Tour around on our own for quite a while before boarding the tourist bus to our next destination zi xiao gong,紫霄宫. The bus journey is really killing me, making me so uncomfortable when i arrive at the next destination... haiz.. Same like tai zi po, zi xiao gong also worshipped several gods in several halls. As im a taoist, i took this opportunity to pray and hope to be blessed.

Before going to the 3rd site we went to our hotel to check in first and also to put down our bags. After the cruise trip, we didnt pin high hopes on the hotels we were checking in as we think that the condition would be around the same. Surprisely, the exterior of the hotel had already WOW us and and..... the rooms were way much better than expected.. we even had bath tubs in the room!! can u believe that?!! Its like the difference between heaven and hell.. hahahhaha. Anyway, put down our bags, and proceed to the 3rd site, which was like free and easy for us to tour around till dinner time at 630pm.. so the few of us went up the hill explore halfway thru and headed back cos its near the dinner time.. took several pics :D

Dinner at a small resturant and we were in the VIP room, only the group of us, thanks to the malay guys as the VIP room serve "special" dishes from them... Stroll back to room and watch a very hilarious tv show.. its been ages since i watch tv and i almost forgot how a TV looks like hahahahhaha. Anyway, the show was about 4 kids in groups of 2, got themselves on the street and have to find their mother on their own... its so entertaining cos they are soooo cute but its so touching when they finally found their mother. They are so brave and independent, finding their way thru the very very cold weather (around -30 plus)... turn in before 11pm cos im just too tired and got to prepare myself for tmr climb!






Reflection
Feel so holy today. Being a taoist myself always thought that its just a religion didnt knw there are so much behind it. Motion sickness really kills me today, half the time i feel like puking but thanks to the gals, they accompanied me to take slow stroll and allow me time to regain my comfort level. About the Tv show we watched today is just so entertaining yet i learnt so much from it. I can see how kids at so young age could defend the cold and find their way thru back home (to their mum)..they are really so independent that makes me really think that if i am even half of wad they have.. recalling when im at their age, i dun think i can even leave my parents for a min moreover a day like they did.. they even came contact with strangers to help them thru and this really makes me as an adult, really guilty that sometimes i dun even dare to approach strangers... i can really say i learnt so so much from them...

Day 23 – 26th March (IS & Cherry Blossom)

IS lesson today at 9am and we gonna have lesson till 5pm for 2 parts of China's Philosophy lesson!!!! sounds very complex... ANYWAY, originally the lesson is suppose to end at 5pm today, philosophy part 1 and part 2 but our very understanding and beautiful IS lecturer, Ms Grace, wanted us to catch the perfect timing to view the Cherry Blossom that is going to wither soon. So she "squeeze" her lesson and ended the class around noon. The lesson might be shorten but still we learnt something that we might came across before. Some examples are like Daoism, Buddhism and Mohism.

Headed for lunch after that went back to dorm and we girls decided to change into the colourful leggings that we had brought ytd which we might not dare to wear in Singapore.. hahahahaha... then the 7 of us took a bread van which the driver quote us a very good price of RMB 60 from our hostel to Wuhan uni then back to our hostel again.. well even though there are no "proper" seats at the last row but we still take this van as he is charging us at a very cheap rate. So the 7 of us happily hop onto the van and headed to Wuhan Uni.

Upon reaching, we saw crowds and also tour buses in Wuhan Uni. Can see that we are not the only group that want to catch the blooming of cherry blossom. Paid Rmb50 entrance fee and walk around the school to take beautiful pics of the cherry blossom. Tour around for few hours and sat down near a volleyball court to watch some match and also to take a rest. Headed back to bread van and ask the driver if he could drive past the east lake to let us have a look since its on the way. Happily took the van back with beautiful scenery to see. THEN! when we are back, the driver charge us RMB150!!!! we thought its was RMB60 back and fourth but he claim that cos we wanted to drive past east lake so extra charges is imply which he didnt even mentioned when we were on the long journey way back!!!! Anyway, since we are already back no point arguing so we paid RMB150 the most expensive transport fee we ever paid in Wuhan.




Reflection
Benefited so much during IS lesson. Heard the names before but never really knw wad it was. Thanks to Ms Grace we are able to watch cherry blossom. Its really pretty and even the locals also came all the way to see it.. this shows how rare cherry blossom is and hw short their blooming period is. Did something really daring today was that we gals wore colourful leggings... something seriously we wun do back in SIngapore. We thought it would be normal but OMG!!! we are like center of attraction can... 4 of us couldnt stand together cos it will really attract lots of attention, so we keep walking away from each other or keep a distance.. damn funny but a super fun experience... Today i also learnt that communication is such an important thing, a minor communication breakdown could led us to fork out RMB150 for a less than 2 hour trip.. expensive can.. haiz... anyway, just treat that we are sitting in "chartered" car specially for us.

Day 22 – 25th March (Written Test & Shopping)

Written test at 10am today, suppose to wake up at 8 plus to do a last min revision but got woken up by loud firecrackers sound around 7 plus.... it was damn loud as if the firecrackers was just at out room's balcony !!! Seriously we dun knw wads the occasion.

Written test commence at room 705, 10am - 1130am. Reached the classroom slightly before 10am feeling very nervous, maybe didnt get to study much the previous night so was quite unsecured. Test ended after struggling through my 1 and a half hour, didnt wan to talk about it as i think i could have performed better :(

ANYWAY, since its over i shall move on...... and gooooo SHOPPING!! yes...again we went shopping so we decide to go to the very very big shopping mall, together with hazel, meow lin, charmaine, jean and mei xiu, we took bus 702 which only costs us RMB2 for a 1 hour bus ride. Reached slightly after noon and went for lunch at MCDONALDS!!! But we went separate way from jean and mei xiu as they would like to have pizza hut for lunch instead. After lunch this is when our shopping.....START!!!!! I can only say that shopping is females most effective remedy to anything... retail therapy is always needed!!! hahahah :D Time flies when we were shopping and its time for dinner already.. we went to a small small Japanese restaurant as we really have cravings for Japanese food after eating weeks of fast food and Chinese food. Well, of course its not very delicious but its still cheap.. so wad do u expect... hahahha..





After which, we board a cab back cos we really brought alot of stuff and there's no bus already. Seriously, we dun knw whether the driver will drive us to the correct place nt cos WuHan is just too big and we dun recognised most of the streets/roads/buildings/structure. So, cautiously, we board the cab and luckily we met a very friendly and nice uncle who told us that he's driving through another way, which cost around the same price and will get to the same destination. Of course in the first place we're still worried cos the places he drive through were trees and bushes, no crowds and its damn quiet. But after a while, we let off our guard cos this very friendly uncle start to become our city guide!!! He drove us pass the very famous city's attraction, east lake, introduce to us how we can come here, how long i takes and what activities can be done here like fishing, rowing things like that. He also introduce some shopping malls we can shop to get cheap and nice stuff.

Reflection
Test is over!!! even though i know i will not score well but at least i've tried my best, no point fret over it. Shopping today was awesome... very fruitful day, got stuff for myself and also souvenirs for family and friends :D The mall is really toooooo bigggggggg that we really can spend the whole day in it and still not enough.. how nice if Singapore can have such a big shopping mall.
I think we or maybe its me only that will put on guard on strangers and you never know that actually there are always nice people out there. Take the cab's uncle for example, his first intention wasnt bad but my first thought was "where the hell is he bringing us". So, kind of feel bad after knowing that he's actually a very very nice person who even brought us to tour the night view of east lake.

Day 21 – 24th March (Studying & More studying)

Its another typical lesson day, not much to blog about, did more assignments on PERT and some practical activities. Lesson ended earlier than usual as Ms Neo wan us to prepare ourselves for the written test tmr. Went back to dorm after class and couldn't start studying as my headache is getting worst :( Took medication and went to sleep. Got woke up by my friends around 6 plus for dinner, headache got a bit better but its still killing me. Went to the back streets again and got our dinner....Its raining outside and its funny of us to wear slipper out :D Our feets were really numb and wet but we wore warm clothing for our top.. hahahaha..
Anyway, went back to the dorm for our dinner and my headache is getting better, so got to really start studying if not i'll have to burn MIDNIGHT OIL!!!!! Studied for a few hours but my headache is really causing much discomfort in me, so i got to turn in early... haiz...

Reflection
Really not much to blog today, the only thing i remember was that im really having severe headache, want to rest but at the same time NEED to study(seriously dun wan to fail) :(
Food to recommend today! As you know there's lots of cheap and good food just located at the back streets of the campus examples are like SGD$1 fried rice and SGD$0.60 milk tea. A main course and a drinks that never fails you.. hahahahha.. its a good combination for dinner u know. No words can describe how nice it is and i think im gonna miss it when im back in Singapore.. awwww..... (trying to peek on those spices they added so i can try it out myself back in Singapore :D)

Day 20 – 23th March (Raining & Delivery)

It’s raining today!! Did I mention before that it actually turn a little warmer the past few days but today, the temperature seems to decrease again :( due to the rain maybe? Anyway, its cold and raining today morning and we have to shelter ourselves to the class. Like selling umbrellas, there are all sorts of umbrellas drying in one corner of the classroom.

We learnt something new in PM lesson today, Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT). It involves formulae, a little like AStats, which we had learnt before. So, its actually not that alien to me. Did some exercises to refresh what we had learnt so far and lesson ended at 4pm and its still RAINING!!!

Dinner was a little different from other days cos….. we make the food come to us instead hahahhahah…. Its still raining outside and its chilly so we decided to call KFC delivery. Well, actually we search through the web for KFC delivery number but cant seems to find it. Then the local students told us to call a number which is equivalent to *100 in Singapore (for those who dun knw its actually a phone no. directory). We gt KFC delivery no. and placed our orders with MUCH EFFORTS. Cos it’s all in Chinese and I can only say even though I speak and understand Chinese, given their accent and speed, I still have to listen attentively if not I would not be able to catch wad they wan to say. Delivery came shortly after I’ve made the call, around 20 mins or less damn efficient! But, there is an inaccuracy of order!! They delivered lesser items than wad we ordered so I got to call the delivery hotline again to ask for my missing order…. They delivered the missing items but than…. The deliveryman sort of like beg us to withdraw the complaints as it’s the deliveryman’s first day of work… but the problem is I DIDN’T LODGE A COMPLAINT!! So we were guessing maybe the phone call that I made just now “automatically” file a complaint for me. So, without the intention of lodging the complaint, I called back the same hotline and asked them to withdraw this issue. She didn’t gave me an answer instead just told me its noted, so in the end im still not sure if this issue is settled anot….

Reflection
Experience wad does Ms Grace means by saying that Wuhan's weather fluctuate a lot. Just when I thought it is going into spring, there comes the rain and back to winter again…. Its our first experience calling fast food delivery in foreign country.. very special experience but its kind of suffering having to place order in Chinese :( but still i've tried my best and the order did came hahahahha... Didnt know that they will file a complaint just because i called back to ask about my missing orders so its kind of scary u know if the deliveryman really got sack because of our orders.... so sinful....

Day 19 - 22th March (IS & Special Guest)

Woke up a little early even though IS lesson today was at 1pm.. got a little bit headache maybe due to the motion sickness yesterday.. Anyway, went for our 2nd IS lesson taught by Ms Zhang and the topic today is "Doing Business In China". U may think that whats the use of teaching us how to establish business in China when we are still students. Well, like wad Ms Zhang told us, u never know in future, one day, this topic might actually be put into good use when we step into the society or trying to do business in China. Lesson was quite interesting today as we learnt quite alot which makes us understand more about China. One topic taught today which i find it very interesting is about the business culture in China. Here are some points extracted from the lesson:

Do‘s 
- Be aware of all favors done for you and prepare to respond in kind.
- In China, business relationships are personal relationships; establish a trusting -personal relationship that demonstrates your respect
- Business cards are important, especially in Chinese
- Become friends with local influential officials

Don'ts 
- Avoid unintentional criticism of others.
- Don't poke fun at someone, even if in fun.
- Don't be the first to reach for a restaurant bill

Some points are actually quite similar to us but of course, there are points that are different and also interesting at the same time. Another point that are find "special" or rather "amazing" is their table manners.

- It will be appreciated if you use chopsticks. When you are finished eating, place your chopsticks on the table or a chopstick rest.
- Placing your chopsticks parallel on top of your bowl is believed to bring bad luck.
- Sticking your chopsticks straight up in your rice bowl is considered rude because in this position, they resemble the joss sticks that are used in Chinese religious rituals.
- Do not put the end of the chopstick in your mouth.

Spot anything similar to wad u knw or spot anything different from us? Anyway, from wad i knw, normally, we will place chopsticks parallel on top of your bowl after we finish eating, didnt know that it will really bring bad luck!!! OMG!!!

There is a guest making a special appearance today... Mr Foo, Deputy principal of NP!!! He drop by to speak to us, asking us if we are able to adapt and also share some interesting things he encounter here. After which, we went back to dorm to rest and dinner is on TAN SI HAO!!! Y? Because...... this boy got GPA 4 and according to Chinese culture (like wad Chao ran and Ji Long has treated us when they receive their book prize), he decided to treat us and also the local students at the same restuarant. Thanks boy and also congratulation!!!!



Reflection
Was really nervous when i heard that the deputy principal is coming to address us. thought it would be like a very formal kind of dialogue session but surprisely, he was warm and humourous. I was thinking that maybe most NP students by the end of 3 year in NP, might not even know who the principal or the deputy principal is, thus, i feel very very honoured that i've met the deputy prinicipal. Ms Zhang's lesson today was very interesting as compared to her first lesson. Through her lesson, i could know more about the Chinese's culture as stated in my learning plan. And thanks to Si hao, we had a very delicious dinner despite the headache which was killing me the whole night. One dish to recommend today - ba si xiang jiao (拔丝香蕉) which is fried banana but its different to the goreng pisang we have back in Singapore. Banana was fried and then covered with sugar and malt. Super Nice Dessert!!!!

Day 18 - 21th March (3 Gorges & Dorm Sweet Dorm)

Woke up at 530am and...... WE ARE STILL AT THE 5TH GATE(which is the last gate)!!!! Over the night and we still at the "dam" thing... hahahh !!! can u imagine how long it is!!!! Anyway, breakfast at the same time, 630am, eating almost the same thing as the previous day and we are alighting at 7am which marked the end of our stay in the cruise. First station after alighting which is our last stops for the trip, is the 3 gorges exhibition centre.

We visited 3 sites within the area. First, is the 3 gorges project model room, where model of the dam is being displayed. The tour guide also explain to us how the dam has helped in the flooding issue around the area and also how the dam operate. We were then given around 30 mins to tour the area ourselves and this means its time for ....... group pics!!! the view from the top was nice as we were able to view the whole dam thing but due to the large crowd, its quite difficult to really get a nice group pics.


Secondly, we took a shuttle bus for 5 mins and we arrive at 185 station where we get to see the close up of the dam which is really near.. just in front of us.. due to the fog we didnt get to see the whole dam thing very clearly.

Last stop, we went to a monument park where there is a theatre on the construction of the dam, large sculptures to resemble the work of building the dam and also the labours. We spent around 30 mins in the park and then boarded the shuttle bus and back to our own coach. From there, we head back to Wuhan and this is when all of us slept all the way through the long hours journey before arriving at a hotel's restaurant for our lunch. Board back the bus and WAY BACK TO OUR DORM!!!!


Reflection
I am really really impressed by the dam thing. Be it the structure, design or the people that actually came up with this thing. Through this trip i learnt alot not only academically but also personally. This 3 gorges trip is something i would share with my family and tell them the pros and cons of this dam thing and i feel so proud to be able to see it myself. Also, i've nv been on cruise for such long period of time (maybe i've been on one before but that's long ago), and although the motion sickness had spoil most of my touring's mood, i do enjoy myself and able to survive even when the condition wasn't really to the superb standard. Prove to my family wrong that im not just a gal that has to live a luxury life :D

Day 17 – 20th March (White Emperor City 白帝城& 3 Gorges 长江三峡大坝)

Breakfast time!!! Our first meal on board at 630am. Damn early I know! But no choice, we will need to assemble at 7am and alight from cruise to start our first tour, White Emperor City (白帝城).

Board the buses, damn chaotic cos we are not the only group going on this tour. Ended up we were all separated and board the bus with anonymous people. We reached our first stop, White Emperor City (白帝城). First, we visited the Guanyin Ge, where everyone, irregardless of religion, went in and a monk chanted to bless all of us. We were then told to pray the four-faced Buddha just located near the temple. After that, we walked on a very oriental-designed bridge where flags bearing the surname of heroes of the Shu Kingdom during the Three Kingdoms period, Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, flies. After the journey on the bridge, we saw several middle-aged men asking us if we wan to take the wooden sedan for RMB40, but it look a bit unstable so we decline the offer. THEN!!!! We realised y some of the tourists would spent the money to take the wooden sedan. Cos…. WE WILL BE CLIMBING SEVERAL HUNDRED STEPS UP!!!!!! Damn tiring can!!!! After much effort, we finally reached the doorstep of White Emperor City. Took several group pics and then proceed in where the guide led us through all the halls and explain the story behind it. The front hall contains large modern statues which depict Liu Bei on his deathbed entrusting his sons to the care of Zhuge Liang. The two Forest of Tablets halls contain several rare engraved tablets. The Phoenix Tablet is particularly finely engraved. The Bamboo Leaf Poem Tablet is one of only three in China and I was amazed when I realised it’s actually a poem !!! The Wuhou Hall is dedicated to Zhuge Liang, his son and grandson. Mingliang Hall is dedicated to Liu Bei, Who is shown surrounded by four attendants, as well as the black-faced Zhang Fei and the red faced Guan Yu on one side, and Zhuge Liang on the other. We also enter a hall where coffins and skeleton were display. On the wall, there are drawings on how coffins were placed on the cliff and not like wad we know, buried or cremate.




Return back to cruise around noon to have our lunch and we were on board for the next 2 plus hours before boarding another boat to visit the 3 gorges. After boarding the smaller boat, I started to have seasick  and the seasick pill isn’t taking any effect so throughout the whole journey, I couldn’t really enjoy the scenery due to the discomfort. On board the boat, there is a tour guide explaining to us each different cliff and what does is resemble. After 20 mins, we arrive at a small pier and alight from the boat to board a sampan for further exploring into the 3 gorges. On the sampan, there is another tour guide guiding us through. During the journey, she even sang songs to entertain us and also let us know about their tu jia zhu (土家族)culture. Other than the tour guide herself, on the return journey, the sampan "captain" also dedicated songs to us and his already 74 YEARS OLD!!!!






Back to our own cruise around evening time and its ready for dinner time!!! Did some packing as we'll be going off the cruise at 7am the next day. When the night fall, we were told to assemble at the deck if we want to witness the ships moving into the DAM!!! SO y do we have to go through this "DAM THING"? As mentioned by the tour guide, we are moving from a place with higher water level to a place with lower water level, so we will be passing through 5 gates with each gates decreasing the water level slowly till we reach the point where the water level is equal to the water level on the other side. The whole process will take us 5 hours or so, thus, we will only be witnessing the first process.




Reflection
Today is a long day for all of us. Tired, sleepy but yet look forward to visit all the sites. First stop, White Emperor City, story of it doesnt seems too stranger to me as i've read story about it before and also seen dramas protraying the story of the three kingdom. Enjoying myself exploring the different halls and get to links all these with wad i've read and seen before. Although its a bit too crowded to really enjoy all these but still i think, if i have the chance to come again, i would visit the place again with much lesser crowds. Couldnt really remember wad i've see during the touring of 3 gorges as im having seasick :( So, through photos, there's actually real coffins placed on the cliff. We were also told that because of the "dam" thing, it had flooded a village/streets which was located at the foot of those mountains. And this is when i realised what is give and take. If u wan to gain something from here, u gonna lose something over there. The "dam" thing really took a very long time just to pass the 5 gates, we ran up and down alot of times cos it was cold on the deck and the process was actually quite slow. It's amazing how this design/structure was created to decrease the probability for flooding to occur. There's actually alot of professional from all over the country to built up and construct this dam and now it had been made well-known throughout the world. Impressed :D