Home Sweet Home... Or is it?

(Tuesday, December 16, 2008)

As the wretched Boeing 737 touched down on the runway of Changi Airport on the 28th of November, it marks a new lease of life, probably. But then, i became very busy, too busy in fact to blog about my trip in China. It's not all going to be written in words though...

I shall start off where i left off, feeling dreadful about everything... I thought the Pratt & Whitney's are going to blow away my troubles... Yea right... I thought my plane journey to China would be nothing short of uneventful; it almost had been. Thanks in no small part to a child seated in front of me making a huge din. Blimey.

My very horrific mood didn't quite disappear when i finally stepped into the rocky roads of the little town Lianjiang. It's been years since I've last visited this little old town, not much had changed, except for the fact that there's more roadworks for now. Another change was the place of accommodation; from a medium-sized apartment to a one-room flat style house. But, with the kitchen and the bedrooms separated by a corridoor. Still, that wasn't the worst ''nightmare'' - the real scare came from the face that the toilet was at the balcony =.= .

Things aren't looking up at all, the little town that used to make me forget about things in Singapore has failed to work its magic for now. My grandparents also failed to cheer me up in anyway.

However, a few outings and a click on the mouse made me a happy lad again.

I should explain, on a bloody cold morning, i had to turn to my grandparents' neighbour to use the computer for some important matters. And, how nice she was to oblige; in fact over-willing to let me use it. With a few clicks, problem settled! From there, it was a turning point for what's thought to be a gloomy trip.

Of course, my trip there wasn't limited to Lianjiang. I went to other towns and cities as well.

There's the trip to the mountains where some of the temples are situated, very beautiful scenery but then be sure to take pictures carefully; as there are tombs on adjacent mountains. A few days after this was the trip to Fuzhou - for my mother and sister to go shopping, but that ended up in shambles as my sis didn't enjoy it.

Then, with my mother in Xiamen for some business deals, her ex-classmate brought my sis and I to have seafood in Changlong as well as to visit some tea plantations. It was very tiring on the trip there, but its enjoyable in a sense. The air was seriously fresh, the scenery, free from any tombstones :) . Besides that, its quite a nice place to set up machine gun positions because of its high points and steep gradient. Meanwhile snipers can hide in the tea plantations as they pick off specific targets... Hmmm... i sense a WWII movie now...

Right, enough of warfare now, now to the last major highlights of my trip. Just days before my departure from China, i went to a much older town called Dinghai. Firstly, i went to visit the abalone "farm" (sadly my phone's battery went dead at that point of time, so no pictures were taken. Afterwards, it was lunch time; seafood time to be exact. But since Dinghai is somewhat a fishing village, the seafood served was really very good. Everything feels fresh and i think i know where should i return to for more...

Next, it was the tour round the Ancient City of Dinghai. To be honest, this "city" really deserves it name. Its old, its backward, it didn't have proper waste disposal. However, the "city" did not feel all that ancient once I popped round a few provision shops. The stuff sold there did not include cloth packaging and neither are the stuff there look like they belonged to the museum. Everyone there seemed to be leading a simple, stress-free life, I'm feeling rather envious now.

Of course, not everything went well in my trip, there were a few problems faced. Like for example, electrical supplies being cut off out of a sudden, sometimes, it even happened in the evening, when the sun has already set. Along with this, came boredom from the lack of television programmes. Oh no, I mean, there's over 20 channels in China and the programmes there are excellent. But the electrical stoppage and at times, the roadworks cutting off the television cables are the causes of why boredom came. It was also from the stoppage that i found out just how kind my grandparents' neighbours really are. They would just pop by and give candles without my granny asking for it. I'm staggered...

On the 27th November 2008, my last night there, my granny cooked many nice food as part of my send-off. And, on the 28th morning, indoor temperatures dropped to 14 degree Celsius, outside temperatures were much lower. I struggled to drag myself out of bed to prepare to leave.. Somehow, i still woke up and prepared. My last breakfast there was uneventful.

As the luggauge filled the boot of the hire car, I looked back to the place which started my grandparents stayed: an old office building that's being transformed into a residential area. Its the very place that made me find out many things... I actually missed the town alot now..

As a foreigner there, I know, its not the best place to visit. Sure, the old town of Lianjiang is noisy, dirty and its never going to be as modern as Pasir Ris. Yes, its a laughable town. But, to me, its more than just a town, its a place where I found myself, leave my troubles behind and a second home to me.

Sure, us Singaporeans will laugh at towns like Lianjiang, thinking that its a toy-town of some sort. However, this *ehem* "toy town" need not have "good-neighbours" campaign to allow neighbours to be nice to one another. In addition, life is simple, somewhat carefree... enough said... Now that I'm back home, it begs the question, home sweet home, or is it?

Borrowing the lines of General Douglas McAuthur: "I shall return."

Here's some pictures: