Day 2 in China

8th December 2007

After 4 hours of sleep, I finally out of the warm thick blanket (and quilt). It’s 7 a.m. in the morning, and it’s very cold of the bed. With my whole body trembling significantly great, I headed to the toilet to wash up and get ready to go down to the hypermarket (to do some daily food purchase) with Jason’s family.

The tap refused to give me hot water to heat up my body, cold water gushed out of the tap like never before. My fingers and face nearly wanted to crack instantly.

After a ‘tedious’ half an hour, I’m finally done with the washing up part (whoa, I have never feel so cold before. It’s about 7◦C right then).

The sceneries outside my window was excellent – barely visible contour of the mountains (could only remember Huangshan) and Zhejiang. But the sad thing was that it was still heavily misted then. If it could be less misty, I would be able to capture a very clear view of the borders joined by the lake and sky with mountains as the background camouflage.

The eating lifestyle in Jason’s house was very fixed and regular (or should I emphasize that it’s my eating habits bad?). Breakfast was sumptuous and nutritious. It was one of the best breakfasts I ever had, perhaps. (Well, I have been eating and eating since I landed in Jason’s house, I guess I will gain a few pounds when I head home.)

It’s about 10a.m. and we were heading to the markets (my first market trip in China! Till now, I still cannot imagine that I’m stepping the land of China; running along the streets of China; sightseeing in China). The market was enormously huge and crowded. There are many varieties of selection – real livestock, many varieties of seafood, vegetables, and many different stores. Rare sights in Singapore, indeed.

After Jason’s parents were done with the purchase of food and vegetables, Jason and I went out to play (actually, he was to get his hair cut. Eh… Nope, he trimmed his hair instead. It’s quite nice and cheap.). We went to many different streets of HangZhou, saw many historical buildings and businesses. I tried smelly tofu also, and well, the taste? (Re-read what I have tried and you would probably know that.) I did manage to take some interesting photos.

Met up with Jason’s parents after he has his hair TRIMMED and it was time for lunch. River Prawns, Crabs, Ground Peas + Tomatoes and a green vegetable (forget the name, maybe should ask Jason’s mum tomorrow). I must say that the food prepared by Jason’s mum was very delicious (bon appétit), no wonder Jason (when in Singapore) always tell me that he missed his mum’s cooking, now I know why (yup, I guess I will missed her cooking too when I have to go back to Singapore).

After the heavy lunch, we went out to do some shopping around Yong He Guang Chang and had a short walk around Xi Hu. After this trip, I guess I would redefine all the stuffs we have in Singapore (Singapore River to Singapore Drain and so on.)
It was very windy, cooling and refreshing (I still cannot imagine and believe that I’m in China!). But, it was getting colder and colder once the night come.

Dinner was on (see, I have been eating and eating. Sighed.. I’m gaining weight.. I’m fat!!). Well, we had broccolis, si chuan vegetables, huang yu, long bean + luncheon meat. Dinner-talk was as usual. Now I have started to realize that China is more sympathetic and emphasis heavily on friendship and kinship, unlike my own family. Sighed.. It’s a long story.

Till now, I’m still feeling very cold. When I told Jason and his parents that I even slept with my coat on, they were very shocked and amused by this fact. Sighed, I’m really very problematic, posing a lot of problems to people. Sighed! I guess Jason must been wondering how come he brought an idiot back to his house. Well, let’s hope I would pose lesser problems soon.

It’s about 12am. It’s time to sleep soon, I guess. But then, I need to do some exercise to keep myself warm and healthy. 1 2 3 4 1 2 3.. Haha..

See you guys tomorrow.