Finally return from the long China trip, I must say the after thought of the trip contrasted with what i initially felt. I wasn't veri keen on the trip but since its a family trip, i went along wif it. 7 person in total, (My parents, my 2 aunts, brother, sister and mi.)


The Trip last 10 days in total, departing from Singapore on the 10th morning, and returning in the wee morning on the 19th. The main highlights of the tour is on the 3 gorges of the Yangtze river (长江三峡) and its magnificent dam. Other than that, we visited some places full of mountains and trees in zhang Jia Jie (张家界) and a city called Chongqing (重庆) before transferring flight in Shanghai (i think u dun need mi to translate shanghai rite?).

[I feel like i'm writing a holiday review for secondary school holiday report...... Better change my style before u fall aslp or stop reading all together]

By now those whu haf read my blog before will noe that i can qualify for one of Singapore's most long -winded and lengthy blog (Wait till u read some other blogs). I'll be covering most of the things that i find interesting throughout the entire trip, so if u're feeling impatient, i suggest u ask mi straight where the interesting part is. (Haven start describing my trip, 4 paragraphs already...)

The ENTIRE 1st day is wasted on transferring flight! OMG! Singapore to Shanghai, then Shanghai to 张家界. Guess wat we had for dinner at Shanghai airport......


Unbelievable... Its a guided tour from SA tours lah! KFC leh hahahha first time in history got such thing. But nvm since i like KFC, i'm ok wif it.

By the time i reach the destination, its like close to midnight lah. The room was quite ok, but becos they didnt haf wi-fi, i couldnt go online at all. One of my habit whenever i check in to a hotel is that i'll read the handbook in the drawer. To my astonishment, this is wat i found...


The next day, when we're suppose to assemble at the lobby, i found another joke...


Now that i realise those urban legends email consisting of China's English translations are real!

Zhang Jia Jie is famous for its mountains, so u might haf guessed, its mountains all day long... I must say some are really breathtaking, cos we dun really see such sights every now and then. During the 3 days stay in zhang Jia Jie, most of the places that i visit are mainly sceneries of these few mountains. For those that are in love wif nature, i bet u'll fall in love wif the beauty of it. As for those whu are like mi, prefer cityscapes more to nature, its still an eye opener considering how they manage to blend architectural advancement wif nature in their constructions.



The top right pic in the collage above is actually the Bailong Lift, constructed in the mountains, its the highest lift in the world (This is wat i've been told, but everywhere u go, ppl always say they are the highest, tallest etc).


Here's a pic of mi and a lady dressed up in her traditional costume of the Miao's Tribe. I must say she's really demure and attractive... Gdness, i'm at a lost of words! Hmm let mi try again. Demure and virtuous, charismatic wif an aura of innocence... seriously i think i'm doing an injustice to her, the description i haf is still pale in comparison to her true beauty...


If u're wondering y she's dressed like that, she's actually a model for u to take pics wif. FYI, She charges mi 10RMB for this pic, that's ard SGD$2... Overpriced or a steal? u decide... ( I definitely think its a steal~!!)

Another highlight that i would like to mention was this theater performance, it was a show put together by alot of traditional dance and acrobatic performances. Actually, I dun really like dances and performance, but wat was interesting in that show was the way the tribes sing. I would dare say they are really skilled in their way of singing, juz that ppl might not known how to appreciates it. Try asking Singapore idol or Superstar to PK them... I think we'll be crying our way home... One particular performance that amazed mi was this man that can sing both male and female part in a song. Btw, if u're thinking u can do it too, i shall remind u that he's not using his 假英. He's singing using a female's voice!!! Ohh and as a side note, the performers are super beautiful! (Due to the excitement and suspense of the show, i didnt manage to take any pics. yeah rite~)

That concludes the Zhang Jia Jie part of my trip, total of 3 days. Before we set up on a journey of 6hrs bus ride to the pier to catch the cruise, something interesting happened on the way there. Another wonders of China - " The Legend of the No-door-and-flush-super-smelling-toliet" This legendary toliet is said to make kids cry and develop toliet phobia for adults, best of all, it charges 20 cents per entry.


During the long ride to the destination, i was thinking wat kind of lousy cruise i'll be getting on. After all, its not the sea that i'm going to cruise on but a river! We cant help but keep picturing negatives images, after all China doesnt sound veri high class to u isnt it?. So one can picture wat kind of ship u're gonna board... perhaps something like this?


When i finally reach the pier after 6hrs of ride, i wasnt really in the mood to see the surroundings as it was already 9pm, thus i simply accept the fate that i was walking to one of the CMI (cannot make it) cruise in my life. The moment i set foot on the entrance of the cruise, i was taken aback...

U might haf thought i'm joking, but in actual fact, the ship that i board does resembles the previous pic. Except that its one of the newest and grand ships in Yangtze River. From Victoria Cruise: Anna


The first word that flashes in my mind is "Wow". I wasnt expecting something like this at all! After a small briefing, we made our way to our cabins. Upon entering the cabin, i cant help but decide to take a few pics.

The previous experience i had had was on Superstar Leo from Star Cruise, although it was grand and big, the cabins was not impressive at all. ( Too bad, i didnt join my family for Superstar Virgo, if not it would be a better comparison.) Did i mention the pics above didnt show a 26" LCD TV mounted on the wall? That sure helped mi out cos i was able to watch shows like Mr bean's holiday and The Reaping on HBO as well as 黄金甲 and the recent Andy Lau's Three Kingdom on the special channel. (Apparently i've watched all of them before but nevertheless it was a bonus)

They say a picture tells a thousand words, in response to this, i created another phrase of my own: A video stirs a million thoughts © (Copyright hor!) Let my video on the tour of Victoria Anna do the job of describing the ship to u.





Now for the main highlights on my trip, the Yangtze River's Three Gorges Dam (长江三峡大坝). Its too complicated to explain wif a few words, but if i were to go into details, given my style of writing, i can turn this single post into a book already. Ok! let mi begin, its basically a Damn Big Dam built on a Damn Long River! If u think this is juz another Dam, u're so wrong. Its the biggest dam in the world, costing approximately 180 billion RMB, which is close to 36 billion SGD! Wat makes it special was the difficulties in constructing this dam and the massive amount of money needed to construct it. The project started in 1993 and is expected to complete in 2009. (IT TOOK SO LONG!) For more detail infomation visit here


When i hear that the ship is suppose to go upstream, i cant help but wonder how this ship is suppose to go up the dam! WTH, its impossible! It wasnt until i went on a 3hr tour offshore to haf a better understanding of the dam. It was indeed a veri educational tour, it totally changes my impression of China's technological advancement in comparison to the world. Here's another short video on the introduction of the dam.



U might get a bit confuse wif the video and stuffs, let mi clarify a little. The video u see above is the stair system that allows big ships to cross the dam, this stair system is another features of the major dam project. Smaller ships got another alternative methods, which is to make use of the elevator system. The elevator system consist of a huge enclosure box that allows small ships to board, after which the enclosure will rise as though its a massive elevator. This elevator is still under construction.


The picture above shows the stair system (in midst of the mountain) and the dam (further inwards). If u're really interested, u can do some read ups of the dam or u can choose to ask mi when we see each other. U can find video guides on crossing the stair system in my YouTube account. Here's part 1 if u're interested.



Being on the cruise for 4 days, there is nothing much to do except exploring the Yangtze River and its three gorges. The view is nice, but seeing it for 4 days, anybody is bound to get bored of it, including mi. Nevertheless, i was fine wif the slow and relaxing cruise. Before i forgot, we bought a Eagle-shaped kite that costs us SGD$170... Gdness... This is how it looks like.



If u were to visit the Yangtze River in future, i would strongly recommend this Victoria Cruise to u. Reasons being, other than having a nice cruise ship, the service attitude of the crew is exceptional. Out of curiosity, one of my fellow tour grp's uncle decided to ask one of the waitress wat qualification they had. To my surprise, they are graduates! Degree holders being a waitress?? Wow! I guess being able to work on this cruise company is similar to Singaporeans wishing to be in SIA. I managed to take pics wif the bar waitress (left pic), but too bad she doesnt smile for the camera, if not u all would be able to witness her fabulous smile wif her cute dimples. Not forgetting the super friendly waitresses (right pic)! Thanks Angel, Vicky and Becky (from left to right. I can remember their names). ( Vicky is super beautiful!)


If being friendly and providing gd service isnt enough, u'll be pleased to know that the dances and musical performance at nite are performed solely by the crews! Astonishing! Performance ranging from Jazz, traditional Chinese dance, Chinese orchestra, fashion shows! Wat a multi-talented crew...


After 4 long days on the cruise, its finally time to say goodbye. I reluctantly left with the companionship of the crew band's fanfare (another talent they haf!). The ship docked at a city call Chongqing (重庆), not really fantastic but the only unique thing is that the city is somewhat built on mountainous grounds. At this point in time, my father had to leave for Shanghai a day ahead of us on business matter, the next day he would rejoin our grp again when we reached Shanghai for our transfer flight back to Singapore.

During the 1 day tour in Chongqing, there wasnt much program other than shopping. We visited 2 places, one being a mall full of lousy counterfeit goods and their veri own "Orchard Road" shopping district. Below shows a Fake LV cardholder that cost SGD$9. Try to spot the flaws if u can.


Rumors has its saying that Chongqing ladies are exceptionally beautiful, thus i had to witness for myself the validity of the rumor. It was until the tour guide mentioned that most of the crew for the cruise are mainly from Chongqing that i begin to believe the rumor. To further reinforced this matter, throughout the duration of the shopping time, i did see that most of the girls are indeed pleasant looking! Not forgetting the patient salesgirl that tolerated my indecisiveness in choosing which jeans to buy, she too was lovely~

I wasnt veri pleased wif the overall experience in Chongqing becos of several reasons. Food was oily... Veri oily... Apparently its their culture. Night view holds the highest priority in my must-see list whenever i'm overseas, somehow Chongqing's night view has got no relation to the word "impressive"... *Yawn* Take a look in my Youtube account if u're interested.

Finally, to the part about the hotel. I must admit it really exceed my expectation of being a hotel that tour package is willing to include. I remembered i was chatting to some of you that nite, and so i decided to take a pic of the exact spot where i was sitting at.


As usual, videos to help u wif the visualizing~



My last day in China is indeed a memorable 1, we depart for Shanghai and reached there in the afternoon. We managed to join my father there and he took us out to dinner wif his frens. Leaving the tour grp behind, we took our own transport to the restaurant. Upon reaching there, we're greeted by wat i always feared most... China's delicacies.... The horror of those food still stayed wif mi 4 yrs ago when i came here alone under my father's request. I was repeatedly treated to delicacies that i can hardly tell wat food they are, thus when i hear we are having dinner wif those China frens of my fathers, i somehow had mental preparation.

Duck Tongue, something from the duck feet, weird plants, funny soups, and best of all... Garden Snails... I pity my family whu was not in the least prepared for such feast, especially my mother, whu juz couldnt refuse ppl's gd offer when they place things that are out of this world on her plate.


After the traumatizing dinner, we went for a short tour ard Shanghai Town. Due to time constraint, as we need to rush for the flight back to Singapore, we could only visit the Oriental Pearl Tower and the river banks. Nice view as usual, being my second time here, i've always like Shanghai's night view.


After all the touring, we rushed to the airport only to find the rest of the grp weary and unhappy. Upon inquiring further, we realised that from afternoon ard 5pm till 11pm, they had been walking ard the airport and the tour guide didnt even bring them out! Gdness~ how lousy can the guide be? Worse still, dinner is none other than the same KFC again HAHAHA! Nevertheless, i personally still think eating KFC is much better than that weird cuisine.

After 10 long memorable days, i'm finally on my way back. This trip was indeed an eye opener for mi and i must say wif every trip i go to China, my impression of that place gets better. Perhaps in the future u might even hear that i'll be settling down there! haha after all the ladies there are so irresistable (irresistable as in character and attitude).

Last but not least, i'm so relieved to finish writing this entry... Gdness, its definitely a new record considering the sheer length of it. Uploading the videos alone took mi ages! So my frens~ PLEASE FINISH READING IT!!!

Thankz~!