What's the travel destination after Nanjing? Well, I'm certain that I want to go to Hangzhou on the next occasion. Why Hangzhou? It's branded to be the most beautiful, tourist-friendly and cleanest city in China. And of course, its West Lake (a.k.a. Xi Hu) is very famous throughout the world for its natural beauty. Even Marco Polo claimed to have passed through, calling Hangzhou "beyond dispute the finest and the noblest in the world". So who should miss such a city?

However, I need to do some research and map reading on Hangzhou before setting off. Haha...to be ready and clear on the destination is essential for one who is going to a foreign place without any tour guide. Moreover, I feel that most tour guides are simply cheats or ones who just want to earn your money in the shortest time without concerning other issues.

Oh, I want to show you my little Pilz. Pilz is my newly founded companion. Hmm...though it looks like a normal green mushroom, it is one good companion who never abandons you in any circumstances. Haha...at times, my little Pilz might be naughty to "sabotage" my stuffs, like my laptop, mobile phone and even my jacket. However, I still love it, just the way it is.





Anyway, it's lunchtime now. So I shall end the post here. May you have a nice day ahead.

I'm back in Wuxi from Nanjing! Wow, the weather for last weekend was extremely warm. No wonder Nanjing is one of China's three furnaces. Anyway, I had been to Zhongshan Ling, Ming Xiao Ling, Fuzi Miao and Zongtong Fu. Hmm, uncertain about the names of the places I mentioned? Haha...I'll explain more along the way.

So after arriving in Nanjing via train and checking in with a youth hostel, I quickly set off to Zhongshan Ling, one of the city's highlights. Zhongshan Ling is actually the mausoleum of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the founder of modern China. And it is situated on Zijin Shan, which I must say to have a really nice, peaceful environment.




By the way, the following two photos are exclusively shot as I didn't know that no photo is allowed to be taken in the Memorial Hall, until the hall's personnel was shouting at me with some nonsense. Oops.




After viewing Dr. Sun Yat-sen's tomb in the Memorial Hall, I went to the exhibition, which is just behind the Memorial Hall. And it is full of historic data and photos. Certainly interesting.





Then, after that, I took a ride (which is provided inside the Zijin Shan park) to Ming Xiao Ling. Ming Xiao Ling is the tomb of the founder of Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuan-zhang. The site has recently been polished up with funds from UNESCO after being recognised as a World Heritage Site.







And not far from Ming Xiao Ling, there is the Shen Dao, which means the Sacred Way. And Shen Dao is a pleasant walkway half a kilometer long lined with stone carvings of 12 pairs of animals. The second half of the passageway, flanked by pairs of soldiers and mandarins, leads to Four Square Pavillion.





At around 4pm, I completed the visit of Zhongshan Ling and Ming Xiao Ling, and decided to go back to the town to have a meal and rest. After my KFC meal, I happened to pass by Nanjing 1912. And it really looks like Shanghai's famous Xintiandi, and with Starbucks starting off the fun of the place. But when I was there, it seems to be still early for any fun. I was too tired too, which led me to go back to the hostel to have a shower and rest.




However, at night, I did walked around Fuzi Miao, as someone told me that Fuzi Miao is famous for its night scenery and night market. Haha...so true. But it was very crowded too. Haiz.

Anyway, on the next day, I checked out early to have MacDonald's breakfast at Fuzi Miao. Hmm...it's still quite interesting in the daytime. At least everything is clear in front of you.




After that, I left for Zongtong Fu. And Zongtong Fu, also known as the Presidential Palace, serves as the seat of government of the Liangjiang viceroy's office (1671-1911), the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom (1853-64), Sun Yat-sen's provisional government (1912), and the Nationalist government (1927-37 and 1946-49). Though this presidential palace dates from the Ming dynasty, today's buildings were all built after 1870. Just inside the main entrance, the Great Hall marked by the words, "Tian Xia Wei Gong" (The world belongs to all) used to be the first in a series of nine magnificent halls during the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. On January 1, 1912, provisional president of the new Chinese republic Sun Yat-sen held his inauguration here. Indeed, Zongtong Fu has borne witness to all the important events and personalities in Nanjing's history













By noon, I completed exploring Zongtong Fu, and realised that Nanjing Central Library is just in front of Zongtong Fu. Haha..quite modern and beautiful.




And finally, I took a train back to Wuxi at around 3pm. My impression of Nanjing? Many traces of the Chinese history. Worthwhile to go if you like to see things related to history, or even modern China.

Ok, I did went to internet cafe yesterday. And then had a walk around the neigbourhood and a cup of iced mocha with ice cream topping. Wahaha...what a happy lonely night I had. But I didn't get my school stuffs uploaded to the school student intranet. This is because that crap internet cafe didn't allow any external media loaded into its computer units.

However, chatting with my cousins on MSN messenger was the biggest reward for the night's internet cafe visit. We chatted about lots of issues. You know girls' talk. Guys will never understand such thing cos' our brains work differently. Ladies, you will surely know what I meant.

Anyway, I have made necessary preparation to go to Nanjing this week, like booking train ticket and looking up for Nanjing's basic information. Well, I am almost ready to meet the capital city of Jiangsu province. But my colleague, Selina, told me that Nanjing looks almost the same as Wuxi. Geez. What a remark she gives. Nevertheless, since I am in China and near Nanjing, why not give it a try?

Okay, I gotta get back to work, though there isn't plenty to work on currently. And I'll keep the blog updated as soon as I can.

Wow, I can log in to Blogger during office hours, despite being unable to view my blog at the same time. Anyway, it's quite weird. Usually, it was the opposite way. Hmm. Anyway, who cares? I have not blogged for quite some time. Oops...

Okay, seriously, I have been too lazy to make an effort to go to internet cafes to blog. And I supposed I have gained weight. Hmm. I don't like this idea. I need to keep fit. Slim down? Maybe shed some weight will be more appropriate for my case. So it gonna be me controlling myself and my carve for food. Less rice during company lunch? Realistic. More vegetable and fruits? Maybe alright. Reduce sweet and salty food? I choose to retain dark chocolate and Lay's Original potato chips. Drink coffee? Yes, that's my favourite pastime during office hours. No heavy meals after dinner? Can be done? Exercise? I prefer more strolls after dinner. Haha...do you think these are useful to control my weight?

Oh, I'm now wondering if I should go to internet cafe later to upload my school stuffs into the school student intranet. Maybe I should as I could have a stroll then. Hmm...

I have been quite busy for the last week. Busy over my family's town visit, my birthday, and a trip to Shanghai to spend some time with my family before they are to fly back home on Sunday's late afternoon. However, as promised earlier on, I'll be bringing you the exclusive updates in my life.

Okay, I'll start off with how I celebrated my birthday this year. Firstly, I thought it's really special to celebrate birthday overseas, where few recognizes you. And I am glad to enjoy full freedom to do what I like on such a remarkable occasion. So when the clock struck 12 on midnight, I gave myself a shot of pure Vodka Peach. And...wow, the feeling was so amazing and I was so excited to call and chat my colleague at such hour. She said that I sounded so "high" on the phone. Actually, I wasn't. Probably, I was just talking too loud on the phone. I also bought myself several miniature cakes of different flavours, as I wish my life will then be as colourful as it can ever be.

Then, I went to sleep at around 2 am before waking up at 6 am for my usual attachment routine. And after work, I had asked a colleague, Judy, out to have Italian cuisine at the Italian restaurant, which is next to Hongyun Hotel. And this birthday dinner was rather hearty and familiar to a city girl who has lived years in a cosmopolitan society. That was really a big relief to me as I really have missed everything in Singapore, especially food. After dinner, we had a walk around the city to digest the "sumptuous" western dinner before going home to rest. Haha...maybe it seems like a simple celebration for my birthday. But I thought it's sufficient to make me feel contented on such remarkable occasion.









And on the same week, I met my family and cousin in both Wuxi and Shanghai. Haha...I thought I was quite cool to find the places they were at, be it the hotel or even tourist attraction. Anyway, after meeting them, especially my sister, I thought I have missed out several issues while being in China. And my sister is certainly a convincing speaker who makes me recall and return to the world I actually belong to. Salute to you, girl. I'll remember what you have said.

Anyway, they then returned home on Sunday while I made my way back to Wuxi from Shanghai via train. And my life just continued with the usual routine. That’s about it.

Oh, I'm now in Shanghai to temporarily escape from Wuxi's problematic water disaster, which is caused by algae infection in Taihu, the main water source of Wuxi. Damn. The water damn smells And it harms Man's health by consuming or simply using it. Gosh. Home is always the best. I mean Singapore. I love Singapore.