10:28 PM
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Day 3: 31 March 2009
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Day 3 begins at very early time - 5.15am to be exact. Dazed and still half-asleep, we dragged ourselves for our morning Taiji. The exercise was conducted at one of the parks in the city. It was interesting to see so many people up so ealry in the morning playing badminton or taking a walk. And as soon as we thought we were adjusting to the cold....BAM! it gets even more colder. We were freezing in the morning. The taiji itself was difficult, not helped by having it conducted in only chinese. Apparently, the instructor tried to teach us way too much for a first lesson. It was interesting nonetheless but we all couldnt wait to get back into the warmth of the bus.
After a rushed but hearty breakfast, we made our way to the rehab center. The place was quite far away and we all appreciated the extra sleep that we could get. At the rehab center, we were greeted by so many adorable kids. Cameras immediately started clicking away. Although the program didnt go according to plan, the visit was still considered a success. Little did we know that we would actually be conducting our planned activities out in the open.......or to be more precise...out in the cold. Main difficulties we faced were the language barriers which resulted in a lot of communication issues. We also had difficulty getting all the pictures printed out fast enough. It was still interesting to see how these kids lived and studied. This was one of the more touching parts of the trip.
Lunch was at a thai restaurant. The food was one of the better meals we had on the trip. One thing we noticed about all the restaurants we've been too so far; they are all so big!
After a rushed but hearty breakfast, we made our way to the rehab center. The place was quite far away and we all appreciated the extra sleep that we could get. At the rehab center, we were greeted by so many adorable kids. Cameras immediately started clicking away. Although the program didnt go according to plan, the visit was still considered a success. Little did we know that we would actually be conducting our planned activities out in the open.......or to be more precise...out in the cold. Main difficulties we faced were the language barriers which resulted in a lot of communication issues. We also had difficulty getting all the pictures printed out fast enough. It was still interesting to see how these kids lived and studied. This was one of the more touching parts of the trip.
Lunch was at a thai restaurant. The food was one of the better meals we had on the trip. One thing we noticed about all the restaurants we've been too so far; they are all so big!
Next on the agenda was the trip the Ren Ai Elderly Care Center. The center was still being renovated so it was a bit difficult getting our activities started. The elderly people there were also unwilling to participate initially, but they soon warmed up to us and we ended the session on a definite high. Pity that we had to leave there so fast. However, with the little time we spent there, it was a fulfilling experience learning from the elderly people there. We were all amazed at the simple they all led. Some of them were even very cool people, showing us the beatiful ornmanents that they make. One of them even had his own mini garden with a lot of beatiful potted plants. It was the most rewarding feeling to see how much they appreciated the photo frames we gave them. Made all the effort worth the while.
After a very long bus journey, we made a short pit stop at the Birds Nest stadium and Water Cube. The entire Olympic area looked very impressive and modern. The architecture of the builldings were nothing short of impressive. Walking around and taking pictures, we noticed the huge crowds of tourists and as a result, we could see plenty of the street peddlers again. There were so many of them that it actually became annoying at one point. Not permitted to enter the stadium, we all indulged in our photo taking outside the stadium.
Next up was an activity that I am sure most were looking forward to - Shopping! We were taken to this major shopping area (of which the name i have now forgotten) where all the major international brands could be found. We noticed that most of the items were not really that much cheaper compared to Singapore. In fact, some of it was even expensive. Our shopping all had to be hurried up as the cashiers over there were very slow as there was no barcode for them to scan, so everything had to be done manually. The entire area was very overly commercialised as all we found were major brands that we already knew about. However, there was this 1 street where we could find local delicacies and cheap sovieneirs to buy. Some students even witnessed people fighting in some of the stores.
One of the highlights of today was dinner - Peking Duck! Everyone surely enjoyed their meal even those who had to be contented with just brocolli! After this, it was back to the hotel for a good nights rest as we were going to the Tianjing the next day.
