back in the winter, back to the house where much time was spent making it home, back to the room and study table which kept me company through the dark nights, back to my favourite bedtime activity of cuddling in bed with my laptop.
we finally went to sing ktv, very cheap, very big and fanciful room with 1 big screen and 3 small screens, disco lights etc, and best thing of all, perfectly decent.
somethings are best left as it is, some needs another breakthrough. another mission impossible, should i or shouldn't i??
goodnight world

当以往的狂欢共乐已成为今日的孤单芭蕾，
当熟悉的画面已面目全非，
当纯真的快乐已无法进入心灵，
终于体会岁月不留人，
挥手告别童年，
情人节快乐。

then there was the most horrible train ride back on 人日. that was when i learnt 'non-aircon' doesn't imply temperature, it implies 'smoking is allowed'. and so i endured more than 15 hours of secondhand smoke, people eating, spitting all over. almost died of boredom too before i finally made it back to BJ to do my post-cny spring cleaning.
then was my first time taking a plane alone. speaking of kiasu-ness, i nominate myself for reaching the airport half an hour before check-in started (that's 3 and a half hours before the flight). luckily i had shows in my laptop to provide some entertainment.

如今又回到了这里，这熟悉的环境，熟悉的面孔，熟悉的感觉，仿佛一切又回到了昨天。

还是让我用中文写完这春节的中国游吧。年初三的三更半夜，我从温暖的被窝里爬出来，坐了五个多小时的车来到了这次旅程中的第三座山－黄山。说是三日游，实际上只在山上呆了一天。
第一天的安排是山下的自由活动。我们的第一个景点是九龙瀑。还以为山下活动只是坐坐车，拍拍照，没想到要走那么多路，那么多阶梯！不过为了这些景物，是值得的。


有山有水，一路上绿色盎然，加上走得满头大汗，根本没有冬天的感觉。



像不像一只乌龟？


看完了水，该是看石了。于是我们到了下一站－凤凰源


头上戴朵花的癞蛤蟆



远看像两个棺材



近看像四个美女



从后面看像一个拳头

猪八戒吃西瓜

毛主席的头


虽然旅馆每晚给开8个小时的空调，但山区的冬天一点也不暖和。
第二天，我们正式上黄山。但天不作美，让我们碰上了阴天。

从旅馆窗户看出去已是一片雾蒙蒙，山上的雾更是可想而知。


说是旅游淡季，也是人山人海。我们坐缆车，在云海中从陆地消失，真像升上了天。


手机石



睡美人？还是男人？



在山上冒着风冒着雨，走了一整天就为了看这棵迎客松。


人说上山气喘，下山腿软，的确如此。
又在山下过了一晚，吃了一顿手冻的连筷子都拿不了的晚餐，第三天早上我们就坐车回去了，结束了黄山游。

next up, a journey back to childhood, tradition and the real winter.
following my first time taking the train alone, which i spent 10 out of 12 hours sleeping, was my first chinese new year not spent with my parents.
it was a great training for my tolerance of cold, with no heaters in the house, no need to put on any extra jacket when going out of the house, cos there's no temperature difference, and my fingers and toes never felt warm the moment i got out of bed.
it was quite an experience, going to the public bath and walking home with hair FROZEN. and having water supply only twice a day, and i finally knew why the taps are always dripping, it's to prevent the pipes from freezing. that was pre-cny, with half the time spent in front of the tv, felt great not having anything to do.
stocking up for CNY making good use of nature's fridge:




my only source of most readily available warmth..



then in the midst of sounds of firecrackers, spring came.
now i understand and fully support the ban on firecrackers. even walking around the neighbourhood felt life-threatening. things may explode anytime, anywhere. playing with the pretty fireworks brought out the mischievous child in me, i almost set a patch of grass on fire, oops.. and look what we did:



hanging little duckies fireworks outside ppl's windows heh


then came 正月初一, i was awakened by the sounds of firecrackers. it was really 炮竹响连天. every few minutes a bunch of firecrackers will go off, and i heard at least 2 ambulance sirens!



the aftermath.


and look what i've found:

the most ancient camera i've seen!



next up, the third mountain..

this winter holidays has been a journey through history, tradition, nature, etc.. and i've found myself a new 'hobby' and exercise - climbing mountains, or rather, walking stairs. and also discovered some interesting answers..
the journey began right after the last paper..
part 1: 西安
after a night's train ride, and listening to stories told enthusiastically by our new-found friend sharing the same cabin, we were greeted by the ancient architecture of the historic town. our first stop was 骊山.



bringing to you the first mountain!



apparently i didn't register majority of what the tourguide said, but the xian incident does sound like something learnt before in history.

then we hopped around the area visiting the burial ground of 秦始皇 and other historical landmarks before 8th wonder of the world - 兵马俑





百闻不如一见


the first day ended with 华清池








杨贵妃 bathed there.

day 2 was one huge mountain - 华山





although we took the cablecar up, it was still a long walk and many flights of stairs to reach the peaks.









day 3: more tombs and more 兵马俑s






















last stop for the day: 法门寺 before a long busride back to the city



金龟!!


and we spent the night in the city, walking down the street trying and buying local food!







day 4 and last day in xi'an was spent on the 城墙 that surrounds the city, cycled around it for my last bit of exercise before the feast begins.






our last lunch there, looks yummy doesn't it?





and lastly, asia's largest musical fountain, which was under maintenance every tuesday. how lucky =(




and that concludes our xi'an trip.
a long wait at the train station, and another night spent in the train, and my journey continues...