Day 16 - Coca Cola

Our day started with a trip to the coca cola factory. we met at 8.15 and took a 1hour bus ride to the factory. we were first brought to a room where we were shown a video presentation before going for a tour in the process of making of their drink. we also had a free coke! NICE! after going through the manufacturing process, we went to some display where they show coca cola displays. camwhoring around as usual.

A-Team!

Free coke!

ohh-laa-laa!

A-Team again!

Brenda flying infront of me -.-

After coca cola was our OIE presentation. was one of the last group to present so everyone was kinda falling asleep. but it went well nonetheless.

Reflection:

Coca cola factory was an eye opener for me. our common drink all over the world actually goes through many processes to be so perfect. it is the same in our lives. we have to go through many different experiences, sweet or bitter, to grow as a person. many processes, challenges and obstacles that we have to overcome, in order to live our life and tell ourselves, yes! i lived life to the fullest. and i guess everyone would want to be able to say that to themselves, don't they?

Day 15 - WISCO without water

Today started earlier than usual. we met at 8am to collect our helmets for our steel factory visit. the factory is called WISCO (Wuhan iron & steel company). we took a bus to the steel factory and walked through the process of the hot iron being cooled and rolled up for ease of transportation. when the hot iron bar roll pass us, although it is about 100m away, we could still feel the heat of it come pass. that is how hot it is. after the tour, we went back to our hostel and had lunch on our own. after which we went for normal lessons till late afternoon.

Our surprise of the day came at night when we finish our project work, and people came running out of the rooms and announced that there was no water. nicholas who was bathing halfway with soap on his body could not wash off. how funny! haha! so we all panicked since there is no water. cant even do our business in the toilet as the flush is gone also. the girls went up to level 4 to get buckets of water for us because apparently they have water on level 4. how weird right. should it be the upper levels without water since the pump should be pumping water from level one up? but oh well. it was an eventful night but water supply was restored at about 1am. thus being able to bathe!

The factory

The furnance! so hot!

The iron bar. the heat given off was unimaginable.

A-Team!

A-Team!

Reflections:

Today was a very eventful day. from the steel company to the low pressure pipes in our hostel, it made us learn alot of things. in singapore, we are very fortunate that we have hardly any stoppage of water as our pipes are very well maintained, without saying of course the clean water coming out of it. yet many of us take that for granted in singapore and waste water. after coming here, i have realised how fortunate we are back then and we should cherish it. immersing myself in wuhan has allowed me to experience things out of comfort zone, and this should be the challenge that everyone should take to toughen your mental strength. not only that but also to be able to think of others as well. In Singapore is privileged, not a right.

Day 14 - Happy birthday zz!

Lessons as usual after our 3 day adventure on the cruise. had OIE lesson in the morning about chinese philosophy. i guess everyone would be already bored with the go-for-lesson-then-go-for-lunch thing that has been on my blog for the past 13 posts. so i shall cut down on that. today's special occasion! zhen zhao's birthday! i have spent his previous 2 birthdays with him overseas. last year was our pahang adventure trip, this year at wuhan.

zz's cake!

the birthday boy!

A-team with the birthday boy

Belated present for dyana!

birthday boy prank!

Reflections:

I have learnt more about chinese philosophy today. the way of life under Confucianism. in hunmanity, it highlights the values that a human should have such as loyalty, filial, piety, courage and wisdom. one saying that caught my attention was "a fool would act as if he knows everything, a real wise man would pretend that he doesn't know anything." this is quite deep but after careful thought of it, it is actually very true. by acting smart, not only will it make yourself lose out, but also your friends. (害人害己).

Day 13 - Beautiful Dam!

Woke up early to have breakfast and we had to leave the boat after breakfast. we then headed to the 3 gorges dam for a tour. and god, it was beautiful. after the tour around the dam, we took a long bus journey back to wuhan, en route stopping for lunch at yi chang. on the way back, saw an accident on the expressway. how scary.

A-Team while waiting for the tour to start!

A-Team at the dam!

Me!

Ticket!

Accident on the way.

Reflections:

Seeing the accident on the expressway made me quite afraid that anything might happen to us. (touch wood). it made me realise how fragile our life is, and we have to make full use of our lives, live our lives to the fullest everyday and do not live with regrets. you never know when you will leave the world, but you can do your best to leave happily without any regrets.

Day 12 - Pirates of the Yangtze river - A-Team!

Woke up at 7am! early bird catches the worm! and we went downstairs for breakfast! after breakfast we were told that we are gonna go off the boat to a small boat for a tour around the gorge! very beautiful scenery everywhere. i shall let the pictures do the talking!

Breakfast!

A-Team!

Smaller boats!

A-Team on the boat!

Nice scenery

A cave!

Brenda and me!

The tour guide singing a song for us!

After the boat tour, we went back to our cruise and had lunch. then A-team (Group A) had their project group discussion at my room.

Yummy lunch!

A-team at work!

Then at about 4.30, we left the boat again and went to a place called Bai Di Cheng. we have to walk up 400 steps to get to the top. how tiring! but oh well. it was worth the climbing eventually! great place! it was said that liu bei once took over that place in the past. after that was dinner and mahjong till late!

Tickets!

Our bus!

Me, nick, brenda, jia li!

A-Team on a mission!

Come on up if you dare!

Reflections:

i learnt many things about the chinese culture today. visited places that has nice scenery. learnt about the history of the places and why those places exists. i have finally seen with my own eyes how the 3 gorges looks like, and indeed it was a great experience, especially the short hike to the top to see the scenery. China is indeed a very beautiful place.

Day 11 - Row row row the boat to 3 gorges!

TGIF! and we begin our journey to the 3 gorges. we set off at 1pm in the afternoon and took a long bus ride to a restaurant for dinner. before the trip, everyone was busy packing their bags, not knowing what to bring there as some say no towel, no this, no that. then everyone was confused. end up we just brought more just in case! better safe than sorry right?

Our bus!

Preparing for the long journey!

Pit stop along the way!

Dinner at restaurant!

Then after dinner we set off for our cruise! how exciting! adventureeeee! we board out ship and headed to our rooms. i was rooming with nicholas. but how unlucky we are! the shower head was spoilt. no water coming out. so we requested for a change of room. but after the locks, we went back to our new room and the pipe was broken! then we called the service lady again and she came and change the pipe for us. what an unlucky start to the cruise trip. but nonetheless, first day was awesome, except for the lack of sleep since we need to wake up at 7 for breakfast. ps: we slept at almost 4.

Our ship on the background!

Our room!

Gate of the locks!

Inside of the gates!

A-Team!

Reflections:

A great experience so far as the 3 gorges are known to be a very scenic place. and without a doubt it was. however what caught my attention was experiencing the locks. i learnt in maritime management about locks and how it works and why it is used. however, i had a hard time understanding the method of which it was using. being able to experience it first hand was awesome!

Day 10 - May our dreams come true

Free and easy day today as Mr Chia cancelled lessons for us to work on our project which we had to present to him at his room at 3pm. so most of us slept in until 11. lack of sleep totally. was just lazing around using the computer until then. went to a new restaurant for dinner after jia li introduced us as they had discover it while having lunch there. its called kuan le chu fang (Happy kitchen). a whole bunch of us ate dinner together. after dinner, we walked to the supermarket to buy some things for our cruise trip! bought my oat meal cereal and i am a happy boy. after that we walked back to hostel to wait for everyone to come back before we go play our xu yuan deng (wishing lantern). however, there was a delay due to a room which got their keys locked in. so me and Mr Chia became locksmith and try to break open the door. and guess what. we succeed. HAHA! after that we went to play our lanterns. it was so beautiful. May all our dreams come true!

The menu!

All of us!

Breaking open the door!

May our dreams come true!

Fly baby fly!

Reflections:

Dreams are goals which people have in mind to achieve. by having a target, it gives meaning to your life, giving us motivation to live and strive for the best. while thinking of the wishes i wanted to write on the lantern, i realised that there are too many. then i started asking myself, why do we have so many wishes; studies, wealth, relationships, etc. the basis of all these is happiness. only then i realised, being happy was the most important thing one could ever wish for. a simple feeling, yet being the hardest to fulfill. complicated? maybe, but once you get it straight, everything will fall into place, wouldn't it?