Day33 & 34 in Wuhan

Day33 This day is the day for our last guided tour in Wuhan. Our destination is Lulin Resort.

The aftermath of our late night celebration yesterday for JJ's Birthday is that we had to drag ourself out of bed. Practically drag. The journey to Lulin resort was yet another dreadful 4hours trip and the bus ride was super bumpy. And foolishly we choose the last row of seats, which means bumpy x2 =). Well the long trip got us totally ignored about the conditions of the ride on the bus and got us into lala-land as soon as it took off from WUST at 8.00am SHARP! Poor Jin Quan, hes not feeling well since the night before where he vomited and stuff. So the ride there was twice as suffering for him as compared to us. Could it be the drinking that we done yesterday? But it can't be as he drinks kinda often, well more often and experience than us. So what do you expect a teacher would do if he comes to know that one of his student is not feeling well. Well expect the direct opposite.

But fret not,the whole LSCT student body will stand by him to provide any help if needed. So in another words, teacher is not needed at all. So by the time we arrived at Lulin resort, it marks the time for lunch =) 12.05pm. Well as usual, lunch served was more than 8dishes and as usual, we could'en finish up all the dish. But this time, i find most of the food quite ok. No violent objections or comment on the food at all. Next up after lunch, we went on to check into our respective rooms in the hotel. Seriously, room was fantastic! Spacious, clean, comfy bed with heater. Can be compared to 3star hotel in Singapore.

Ok enough said, Jin Quan stayed back in the hotel room to have his rest. So, our 1st stop for the day. Beauty valley-美人谷 Well, as the name goes, you can sense and feel the beauty of the valley even before stepping into it itself. The peaceful serenity of the place. The rows of yellow flower that you walked pass. The clarity of the lake water that reflects back to you like a flawless mirror of nature. The land forms, the hills that encaved the place leaving it with a surround sound of peace and tranquillity. The sound of flowing water, birds chipping and leaves clashing unto each other created a priceless piece of music done by nature. Simply magnificent and awe-inspiring. The waterfall that will drown your worries and sorrow and splashes out endless happiness that will fill your heart. The natural rock form that created your pavement for movement with ease through the valley. The valley's love story that inspire the all generations to love like no tomorrow. The sudden feel of embracing,appreciating the beauty that nature has offered to us. This place gives me an over whelming feeling of protecting the environment so as to preserve such beauty and heritage for the future generation to see. It seems like a flawless diamond with a perfect cut.

2nd stop of the day Suspended bridge-吊桥 This part of the journey shows the life that villagers in Lulin led. Crossing this man-made bridge that stretches for approx. 400-500m across a river was sure an experience. This bridge, can only hold around 10people at a time for crossing over. Upon crossing over, you seems to enter another era as if you have travelled back in time. The simple life that these villagers led is a life so simple that it would not satisfy the needs and wants of someone that has stayed in the city since birth. The growing of mushroom, vegetable, rearing of pigs, chickens is what these villagers do for living. Not to be fooled by the appearance of the place that they stayed in, we were told that these villagers that stays here are richer than most people in the city. I would say, these villagers here led a simple yet fulfilling life that tells me from their smiles and activities.

They do not need any MP3, handphone or even said technology to keep them happy or satisfied. Small little little things in life can keep them entertained and happy. How envious of them. Unlike people in the city, we seek material comfort, our wants exceeded our needs and we strive for power and money and that is what they keeps us going forward. But in this village, it is the totally opposite. Playing with chickens, chopping woods, dining with their family is what they are seeking for. Has the city and developed lifestyle ruin our originally stress and worry free life? Make us lose our importance and priority on families instead of money and power? These are questions for us all to ponder about.

There is a saying, with money, not everything is possible but without money, nothing is possible. But the crux of it all is that, money can't buy one happiness, love, comfort from people around us. So what is all the pursue for power and wealth all about? It should be the pursue for happiness, comfort that comes true from within.The life of villagers in this village has indeed enlighten me to seek for what i called for most, family,love and comfort. After the Village visit, we went on to dinner at the place we had our lunch. Dinner was ok yet fulfilling. Right after dinner, we were all invited to a welcome party hosted by Lulin resort. It's basically a campfire,karaoke and showcase of talents in Lulin event. We were shown several performance like standing on knife blades, Stepping and jumping in broken glass, leaf musical performance and taught how to dance Cha-Cha by the villagers. Well something that came to my thoughts was yes it is indeed a good thing that villagers are able to earn the extra money by showcasing what their good at and the special talents, technique that they acquire with their stay in Lulin. But the thing is that, are they really willing to do it volunteering? or are they in a way or another forced to do it for the sake of tourism. Well isnt that something to really ponder about?With the rise in number of tourist, the place will naturally be tainted and influenced to the locals will cause adverse effects isnt it?

After all the performance, Karaoke session was up next. The 1st Singer of the night was Yi Sheng, singing Yong qi by liang jin ru. Next was Clive Poh singing forever love by wang lee hom followed by Jin Quan with Mayday song. The night ended with a boom and a song titled Peng you. Well ended and perfect. Enjoyed myself alot with all the dancing and stuff. Returned to room, wash up and went to sleep after a tiring day. Day34 Woke up with the ring of the hotel's morning call at 7.00am.

Freaking early!!! After all the washing up and stuff, we assembled at the entrance of the hotel for breakfast at the same old restaurant. Breakfast was as usual, the buns porridge, eggs and ya. Nothing interesting. Thank goodness Jin Quan was feeling better today =) So the 1st destination which requires us to climb mountain. T.T Qu Yi Feng. This is the place where Wang Guan and Wang Feng built their palace and armies for war.

There is a saying in this place which is 天下好汉出绿林. We entered a gate build from the olden days where army enter. While climbing the mountain, at this particular spot that we stopped for a rest, we can clearly see a sleeping Buddha. Natural formed. Incredible isn’t it? Beauty and mystery of nature. While walking, we were also showed some precious stones in the mountain. And the most amazing thing is that there is 1 tree, which roots wrapped the whole mountain. This tree is of age thousands of years, having its vein wrapped tightly around the whole mountain. And by superstition, it is also said that by hugging this vein, one will get a longer life. Well just to give it a try, since there is no harm trying at all. Further down, we were introduced the "eternal love" you must be thinking what is that right? It is basically 2 tree, one which is dead and the other which is not. Why eternal love? It is because the living tree's vein wrapped the bark of the dead tree. This showed us the love that goes beyond time and life. Love is something that lives inside ones heart and will never die out. Inspirational. Next stop is the fortress of Wang Guan and Wang Feng. Magnificent? Not the word this time. Its more like BIG. More incredible is that how did they transport stuff up such altitude of the mountain. The technology that they used in the past truly shows the intelligence of human beings. The way they build things and create weapons to go against intruders. Simply wonderful. The tour guide that led us all the way was incredible and their good! Wonderful service and explanations.

They did a very good job and sure left a deep impression. Its lunch time so yeap went back to the same place to have lunch. Starting to get sick of the food there. Departed with the tour guide and went on to our last place of interest which is the "Kong san cave" This cave is filled with stalactite and stalagmite which creates interesting rock forms that impressed us. Forms shapes like turtle head, crane and many more. They even have a natural form wedding bedroom made out of rocks. Natural. no man made involved except for the decoration to bring out the theme. Next we were asked to choose between Long life route or happiness route. And obviously i choose the Happiness. Ask why? Caused i already hugged the vein just now. No just kidding. I would not mind living short but filled with happiness and i mind living long but filled with misery and sufferings. Make absolute sense right? So happiness is priceless. This cave is known for their natural instrument which is their rock form that once knocked, produce sound of different frequencies. The cave trip ended with miserable spiral steps of about 200 steps.

So back to the bus and back to WUST =) Reached WUST at about 9.00pm plus. Had a quick bite at back alley =)