ITP blog

C o m i n g b a c k !

2008-10-09T16:36:00.005+08:00

No more internship since monday. Going back to the past places we visited over these few days. Already thinking of what i should do when i reach Singapore! Eat Ikea's Meatballs and salmon! Not to forget Salad! Drooling~

Bringing back mostly foods back to Singapore. Haha. I miss eveything and everyone in Singapore!!

I also had farewell dinner tonight. Invited my supervisor for my itp too. Food wasn't too good as usual. But i had my fun and laughter tonight, accompanied with lots of beer. I felt like i had graduate from itp. Will be part of my precious memories that will stay beside me. Already done most of the packing, ready to head back to Singapore! The whole group of us decided not to sleep for our last night. Long bus ride from Chang Chun to Harbin and 2 flights.

Chang Bai Shan!

2008-10-06T01:38:00.012+08:00

3rd~5th October: Chang Bai Shan

I went on a 3days journey to Chang Bai Shan on friday 3rd October! Though 2 days were required for travelling to hotel to another accommodation at a town, 20mins away from the entrance of the mountain.

On friday, we travelled 8 hours through mountains but had lunch and rest along the journey. Journey started at 7 and we arrived at 3 plus. The town is a little obsessed with Korean. Things from Korean keychain to Korean old notes could be found along street stalls and shops.

On saturday, we ate breakfast and head towards the mountain. Before heading up the minibus, i bought warm 'You Tiao' that became cold within a minute.=D

Not everyone can view Heaven Lake in their lifetime. Heard from staffs of my working place, locals couldn't afford to go up often. One of them went up 6 times but didn't see the Lake. CLouds and Fog... I managed to go up and see it in the first time~ Fate man~

On the way up the mountain on a 4WD jeep~
Another view~The other part of the mountain behind me belongs to North Korea~Staff's building~

There were just too much to post here anyways. 3.5gbs of photos. Another two more attraction! Stay tune~

Birthday!

2008-10-02T21:14:00.007+08:00

Part 2 of 1st October~ Friend's birthday celebration.

We surprised him with the dinner at the end of the day. We bought 2 cakes for him. 1 for smashing, another for him to eat. Anyway, less talk more pic!

Will post my very exciting journey up ChangBai Mountain tommorow... Tired after long hours of travelling~

Sorry for the short delay in my posts!

2008-10-02T09:16:00.003+08:00

31st September

Been to this place called Black water street for cheap fake stuffs.

There is this 3-wheeled vechicle which are flooding the streets of Changchun. It looks like it could fall apart any second:The streets:Street stalls:

There were more stalls underground that were quite cheap. The shoes sold there were quite expensive though, not worth it for that kind of quality. Bags and wallets are mostly bargains.

1st October

Ahhh! Tired! Everytime we said we would rest the next day, we end up shopping! For the past 4 1/2 weeks~ Arggg~ It happened again. So we went back to the streets we went yesterday. Mostly underground shopping and at the shopping mall not far away. No more shoppings at streets!

Noticed the satay sticks at the side?

Left the place after some shopping. Bought some stuff back my dear friends but hush hush k~

Cold Cold!

2008-09-26T07:39:00.004+08:00

25th September

Weather is cold! Temperature had dropped drastically this few days. Again, almost nothing to do at work except learning what i had learnt already. Came back to change then to KFC nearby in shorts and t-shirt and jacket plus slippers. We thought experiencing 6 degrees with slippers and shorts, well, it was really cold.
End up running to the KFC and running back. Haha! The fish burgers are a lot better then the fried chicken here in China. Photos are blurred cause i played with my friend's camera and it is in 'macro' mode for all the shots! Haha. My bad!

Holiday!

2008-09-25T00:03:00.006+08:00

22nd September~

We were given a break on monday since the factory is hustling with activites due to preparation for the new Audi. All i know was that the new Audi would be released together with Europe. I was prepared to slack at home since our group was busy every single day, going out for shopping, dinner, etc. Friends decided to go out suddenly, to New world shopping centre. Ahh~ Rushed out taking my wallet and phone. Took a long cab ride down to the shopping centre. Most of the places we went over the past few weeks are rather boring and things were old fashioned or expensive.

This shopping centre stood out from all the shopping centre we went since a few weeks ago. It was surprisingly nice to shop where the shops are not repeated like 'Ou Yang Mai Chang' where we went on saturday. Shops at 'Ou Yang Mai Chang' were repeated for huge areas. Like shops selling curtains in a long row. Same design, different brand.

First we went looking for food first, walked on and on avoiding the typical chinese food courts. Found a Western restaurant! Ahh~ So excited~ Western food! Everyone went in without any objections.

Steak!Didn't brought out enough money since i got out of the apartment in a rush. Bought a espirit shirt that caught my eye. Finally! Haven't been able to shop for my own clothes until now! Also saw a hello kitty shop selling handbags and all kind of stuff. I think nicole with love shopping there! There is carrefour there too!

We took turns to become donkey ( bagpack with lots of jackets and lots of shopping bags), I look like hunchback right.

Karen from the other internship group with us having her birthday celebration~ Cake plus songs~That is all for today!

New changes again~

2008-09-21T21:14:00.012+08:00

Finally caught up posting the recent things that happen around me.

20th Semptember

Ah.. Third saturday of my stay here. Went for shopping at 'Ou Ya Mai Chang' . It was the second largest shopping centre in asia. There were factory outlets too, but the things sold are mostly old designs. Haven seen anything i liked or nice as a gift.

21th Semptember

Due to complicated matters, our entire group shifted to another zone of Changchun. We shifted from Changchun economical district to Changchun developing district. There were complains from us to the agent that we are unfairly treated as compared to the other group of guys. They live in suite in hotel while we live in apartment. The apartment's living condition is very far apart from the hotel's suite. Few differences are bathtub, instant warm water, fridge, aircon,etc.

My room is directly on top of the entrance~Two storeys and thats me!Korean style beds =DToilet~ (Shot taken by friend)

About the new district here. I am sure hwee twins would be excited. This distract is filled with lots of korean theme shops. I live in a korean theme hotel. =D Double storey hotel room. Clean and comfortable place here. Really nice place here! There is korean provision shop and restaurant in the hotel itself. There is even korean essay conversion provided in the hotel. This service cost 30 Yuan/1000 words. Hahaha.

Next we went for a exchange programme with the ChangChun university of Technology. My babysitter( as seen in yellow and brown striped shirt right in the front of the picture) was an alumni of the university too. They welcomed us with band but can't really understand what they will singing. Played games with them, interact then we left already. Exchange is only 3 hours. Funny thing that happeneed when we entered the class room is that they spelled 'Singapore Poly technique' and we were beginning to experience culture shock! haha.

Haha, trying to waste time here when it ended. Photo session~Dinner was arranged by the agent~Night view of the place is nice~

Second Saturday~13th sept

2008-09-20T21:14:00.018+08:00

13th September~
Long long post. Just a few hand picked photos ( From a lot a lot of photos). We woke up at 9 , meet up at 10. Straight to the public rail transport. Similar to LRT in singapore but 2 compartments. Changchun is one of the few cities in China to have a developed public rail system. Not surprising though, Changchun is the capital city of Jilin province.Ticket system is somehow like ez-link system. But we have to buy it everytime we ride it. Price varies over distance as they had 'graph' at every station.Stadium~Finally reached the south-west end of the rail system. Welcome to ChangChun movie wonderland!~Big place but not maintained well enough. But it is the biggest of its kind in China.Haunted House~At each entrance, there something to surprise people occassionally and suddenly. This wierdo will start vomiting suddenly and vomit and vomit. Wonder how long ago did he last wash his shirt.This wierdo at the exit will jump out of the chair. Powered by air, it activates very very quickly! People got shock while posing, we can't stop laughing~This is a wierd tour about some story about Ying and yang. Boring~YAWN~4D theatre~ Need any descriptions?Another boring ride about a town that exist around volcanoes . Found this nice cube while exiting a motion simulator ride~ That ride is one of the few rides i really enjoy!Nice building, built out of pipes for the exterior of the building.A gun range. Firing real blanks. REALLY loud. A bit nervous to fire the loud weapon.Lots of shots to fill the remaining time. No more rides left. Last ride by 5pm. Awww~
Bye Bye movieland~Brief descriptions~ Too much to fill this post. Will fill u guys when i am back !~

Off to shopping

2008-09-18T21:40:00.017+08:00

7th september 2008

Rest late for the weekend after a good meal. Love sunday mood~

We took a bus to the city area after lunch at the hotel. Was told that shopping is not too bad at the underground market. Things are not quite as cheap as i expected it.

Underground market:

Lunch at hotel isn't filling, tried the mac at the shopping mall. Price is similar to what it cost in SP. Nugget cheap though. 6RMB for it, about a dollar plus in sgd. Had a hard time trying to figure out which of the menu is what since it is in chinese. Glad it had pictures~

Big nike store. Price is similar to Singapore~ Awww~~Welcome to Glasses supermarket!Beautiful night views~

More updates.

2008-09-18T21:40:00.009+08:00

Finally got my internet! Didn't update for quite a while now. How are u guys in Singapore?

Pictures to fill u guys up:

During the first week cause we just couldn't adapt to the locals' taste. Too oily, too salty, too wierd and too VEGGIE! So, off we went to a seafood restaurant.

Some kind of prawn we couldn't find in Singapore (tsk tsk.. Taste a little like lobster):Cheap! Just SGD$1~ Yummy yummy yummy~

Things i learnt about local food so far: I can find beef and mutton meat almost everywhere. They love Beef! Can't find chicken meat almost everywhere. Don't know why~ Dishes are "veggie intesnsive" unlike Singapore. I need meat!

6th September 2008

Went to Jin Yue Tan During the first weekend (Hotspot for tourism at Chang Chun), Huge park surrounding a huge lake. Here goes the photos~

Fed lots of hungry fishes at the entrance of the park:Hummer at e car park~ Wow~Don't really know what building is that, but had been in view since i was at the entrance of the park~

Went to this restaurant after we went back to rest for a while at the apartment~Food is alright, not too bad... but cheap even though we order a lot!

Cold~COLD!

2008-09-09T07:14:00.003+08:00

Ahh! During my last post, temperature was about 15 c. When i woke up this morning, it was very very cold! So cold i can't even bath, and it was only 14 c. Brushed my teeth, changed to my working attire plus another jacket and curl up in my bed. What scares me more is the coming weather. 12 c on thursay and 6 c on sunday.

http://www.timeanddate.com/weather/china/changchun

More pics for you, Sir?

2008-09-09T00:30:00.008+08:00

Just a bunch of pictures to share~

The Faw-vw factory at changchun, Huge place like a big estate by itself. Hostel not far off the factory (P.s: Not where i live, for workers): Main entrance:
Cards i bought, that is MADE IN CHINA! Thats all for now~ Coming up. My weekend trips! Weekdays are boring. Take care , all my dear ones in Singapore~

Over the few days...

2008-09-07T22:57:00.005+08:00

Tired these few days.. haha slept at 3am for last few days cause i had lan party at my room. I love weekends. Tell you more about what i did for the week end later. More pics over what happened last weeks. Just got them from friends.

Dinner at Harbin, first day~view of apartment from outside~Apartment, Dining room~Apartment, Kitchen~Apartment, toilet~Room~

Dinner for first day at hotel~Will post more tommorow. Just too much pic to post =)

Three busy and tired days...

2008-09-04T01:31:00.006+08:00

2nd & 3rd September~
We woke up at 5Am, took turns to shower. ( Need to turn on the shower for 20min in advance for warm water) Took breakfast at 6.15Am. Forgot to mention, it is quite bright at 5Am here, like 9Am in Singapore. So i doesn't feel like i am waking up early.

Reached the factory to have tour at the final assembly plant (Where completed cars finally drives out). Strictly no cameras allowed, our handphones are kept too. It was rather interesting to see a few different type of cars coming out of the factories. Audi s and Volkswagen cars are mainly created here. So machines are german labelled, briefing done in chinese. SO~ Great~

For lunch we had to bring our own utensil. We could choose among 4 stores which offer 6 different type of food each, and we had to choose 3 out of the 6 dishes. Rice, bread and soup are free flow. We had to choose between watermelon and soft drink(glassed bottles) too.

After 1pm we had theory lesson~Boring~Couldn't understood what they were saying in mandrin. Ended up learning chinese instead of their theories. There were new engineers fresh from the local university joining us for the lesson too. Shared thoughts and questions among us. Had to sit alternately between the china guys & ladies and ourselves. 1 pm everyday for lesson.

Almost the same for 4th sept. Went to the Dben's itp hospital to take blood sample (gasp... my first time taking blood) for our administration to be done. We had to be checked for any diseases or sickness since we shared the same canteen and work area with other workers. Companies policy to check us workers before getting our admin/food card. We would use the card to get our free food from the canteen everyday too. Able to access some special facilites with the card too.

Then we went for dinner today at a seafood BBQ restaurant. We couldn't find poker cards anywhere we go for the past 3 days. Sad~

I think these two days would be what i would be expecting for the rest of my itp.

4th September~

Took my blood report today. Immune system fine but quite low. Haha. Most of us had low immune system but nothing wrong with us. Except for one friend who always drink alcohol, highest immune system. Hahaha. Ironic Sia! A bit of hands on from the theory from yesterday's lesson. A supervisor led us around the factory for us to take photographs~Finally. Then we had free time. We went to the leisure/entertainment building for our company. Level one was Gym, Second level was pool and billard , third level was ping pong tables and board games , didn't know what the last level had ~ Haha

Went back to hotel and play games and blog late. Have to wake up early tommorow. Thats all~

Day 2! First visit to the Factory!

2008-09-03T00:51:00.011+08:00

1st september!

1st day of my itp. Skipped breakfast as we overslept.We were given time to rest till noon. It was more an orientation to the factory today. Had to collect our working attire(coat,pants and safety shoes) and attend safety talk at the factory. Remember that there were several groups of itp at china from sp? Aeronautical ended up at Harbin. Bioengineering (Dben) and Mechanical ended up at Chang Chun. We dropped the Dben students off at a hospital where they will be having their itp.
Dben had a Welcoming banner at the hospital too~ But my group at the car factory didn't have it! (We were more of a nuisence for them)

Pictures taken from the short trip from the hostel to the factory, which is situated a bit further from the main city. The volkswagen/Audi factory is part of the FAW (First automobile works) main factories. We are the first few students to be able be attached to this factory as they don't like oversea students. And girls. Haha, there wasn't much ladies in my course anyway.

Their mrt/tram station: (will post more things about the city over time) Sorry for the poor quality of photos~ Moving bus, squeezy and small inside. =D

Chang chun is famous in china for their automobiles factory and research. Trains, trucks, cars , etc are manufactured in this city. We entered another huge district not far from the main city( about 40-50min ride from the hostel). This entire district are completely filled with workshops, factories and showrooms, like a 'car city'. Finally we reached the germany~chinese factory for Audi,Volkswagen and a few less famous car brands. All signboards are chinese and german. Machines and technology from germany, workers from china. A lot of other senior engineer and executives are German! Big shots! There was about one thousand to two workers at the Body shop factory i am situated mostly for my itp. About tens of thousand of workers for this area of land owned by FAW. Since they had other joint production cars like mazda, situated at other places. The company is Huge!

(Naggy right? Too much things to share!~)First shot i took after the security post, which i was told not to take out my camera anymore! We were told not to take any photos in the factory yet as things had yet to clarify for photography inside the factory. Just a shot to show how long the factory is at first sight. Endless.
We got off the factory after safety briefing with a pretty engineer, and after we collected our attire. Headed back to hostel for dinner (More veggies plus beer today). I hate the food here. Sour, salty and oily. Awww~ Stay tuned, supermarkets and the streets which i explored during the third day!~

2008-09-01T22:47:00.002+08:00

All the best Jo :D

Once again, it's being hacked by ME!

Hope you like the New Blogskin!

Chel :D

Travelling for 24 hours is TIRING!!

2008-09-01T22:02:00.011+08:00

30th August

Flight landed at ShangHai International airport at 5.45Am walk around den ate Pizza Hut, No hawallian pizza till 9.30Am, only got bacon, sausage and ham. Plus i ordered another century egg porridge from a store(it said KFC's brother chain store). We were sweating like mad while eating cuz e airport decided to save money by not switching on its air-conditioning. -.- Didn't had the chance to go to city area by maglev, some member missing! Slept at Shanghai airport like pigs. got 5-6 hours to waste.

Pictures taken at shanghai international airport:

One funny thing happened when we checked-in our luggage. My friend brought shieldtox! Wahaha.. security told him to bring it next time.. haha he didn't even know that he brought that. Mother stuffed it in the luggage for him

Getting out from the clouds, bird eye view of Harbin:

Till 2pm. Reached the Harbin airport. Short bus ride(1 hr) to main Harbin city, where we dropped off Aeronautical students for their hotel and itp there. Had our dinner at a underground restaurant(The food sucks! Only thing edible was the egg meant for vegeterian friend & soup) . Harbin is further then the place i am suppose to go for my itp. I was wondering why didn't we were arranged a direct flight to ChangChun. Ended up taking a 248km bus ride.. Zz.. aircon auto switch off every 20 min sia.. den stuffy. Go out den very cold.. Very nice weather! Some what like genting's weather.Reached hotel after 24hrs of travelling, at 12mn sunday. Oh yar, got smoke coming out on top of the cabin sia. hehe

Outside Harbin airport~
Rain just stopped . Floor wet, sun setting. Breezy weather. Nice!

Long bus trip to another province, Jilin, where Chang Chun is. (where my itp is situated)
About 248km... Backside hurt a lot during the trip.

Endless Corn fields along the way:

Next, reached the hotel FINALLY!!

NOTICED ANYTHING WRONG WITH THE WELCOME BANNER?!
Wahhahahhahaha~Hotel room! Got another room with another 3 more beds. Plus kitchen, balcony and bathroom.

Flight details.

2008-08-29T22:10:00.003+08:00

Just to let you guys know of my flight details.

31st August~
Depart: Singapore Changi Airport 12:55AM Terminal 3
Arrive: Pudong International Airport(Shanghai) 5:50AM

Depart: Pudong International Airport(Shanghai) 2:05PM
Arrive: Harbin Airport 4:50PM
=X Gasp~ Long waiting time...

11th October~
Depart: Harbin Airport 5:50PM
Arrive: Pudong International Airport(Shanghai) 8:25PM

12th October~
Depart: Pudong International Airport(Shanghai) 11:55PM
Arrive Singapore Changi Airport 5:00AM

I am back!

Blog Safe from HACKERS again...

2008-08-20T00:05:00.004+08:00

I saved my blog from being hacked. LOL. I can't wait to go to China. Finally leaving all my dear 'burdens' behind. KEKEKE!

JoJo

hahaha

2008-08-18T22:19:00.000+08:00

BLOG HACKED?!

yyw :D

2008-08-18T00:46:00.001+08:00

Hello!

This is the very FIRST Post!
Credits to Myself for making this blog successful so that
Our dearest Jo won't be so badly missed by ~~US?~~ ME!
Also to Sze darling & YongWei BBF for cracking their
heads thinking of the blog link!

Message to JOMAIN:
Jiayou Jiayou Jiayou!
Check out our blog to update yourself about us too (:
Takecare! Dont fall sick!
LoveLoveLove!

CHEL :D