Three years ago, if you told me I would spend my 21st birthday as part of a 10 day journey to Thailand with awesome people, I would say you were crazy.
Two years ago, if you told me I would spend one week getting inspired in the streets of Dhaka, I would say you were crazy.
One year ago, if you told me I would go to China, I would say you were crazy.
Well I’ve gone there and back! And really thankful to God for a safe adventure. It is during these overseas sojourns when I am often humbled by his power.
Before I left on 19th July, I spent an entire afternoon in SMU discussing the China trip. We ended at 7pm, and we left with a grim smile on our faces – there was alot of travelling to be done!
Well, it turned out to be much more than I expected:
Singapore to Hong Kong – Tiger Airways 2569km
Chep Lak Kok Airport to Nathan Road, Mongkok – Bus & Taxi (we got lost)
Around Hong Kong – MTR (which is way much better than MRT!) and Tram!
In Ocean Park – Cable car
Up Victoria Peak – An even cooler tram 40km
Sha Tin to Tai Po Waterfront Park – Cycling! 35km
Hong Kong to Shenzen – MTR 44km
Shenzen to Guilin – (nice and clean) bus 878km
Around Guilin – Con-man electric rickshaw 10km
Around Guilin – Walking across a river!
Guilin to Yangshuo – Boat, down the Li River 54km
Yangshuo to Yulong Jiang – electric motor bike! 40km
Yangshuo to Guilin – (Normal school) bus 60km
Guilin to Hai An port – (Horror) bus 500km
Hai An port to Hai Kou – Very big boat! 70km
Around Hai Kou – Taxi, Bus and Motorcycle Trishaw!
Hai Kou to San Ya – High speed train 350km
Within San Ya – Bus at the wrong bus stop 40km
San Ya to Hai Kou – High speed train 350km
Hai Kou hostel to Airport – Taxi 40km
Hai Kou to Shenzen – Hainan Airlines (good service!) 250km
Shenzen to Macau – Ferry 86km
Within Macau – WALK
Macau to Singapore (at last!) – Tiger Airlines Flight 2540km
Total: 7596km ~ 8000km
I’m still quite amazed looking at the figure. That’s an insane amount! Plus, I think we took all kinds of transport possible.
I watched sunrise on a boat, and sunset on a plane. (:
Oh, (not in chronological order) and two of us got conned, my flight was booked wrongly so I had to fly elsewhere to get home, we escaped the onslaught of a typhoon, we played monopoly deal, we survived overnight bus rides with noisy china-men, we survived the crowds at Ocean Park and Disneyland, we survived taking a high speed train in China, I met a kenyan working in china for breakfast, we ate at Michelin-rated restauarants, we got temporary tatoos, we saw pandas…………………………
On a side note, even though I have an awesome camera, some of the most exciting moments are captured off film – like trying to find my way to the Shenzen bus station and while riding an e-bike! The best pictures are often snapped in the mind…..
Many many many photos taken, and I’m trying my hand at editing. Will upload the China photos – one day!
