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..