To be very truthful,I used to think I am a 'banana', ie.'yellow on the outside,white on the inside'. This is a derogatory term for Chinese who feel
they are 'westernised' and even deny their own Asian heritage. I think I was
never that bad; it is just that I have always been extremely interested in
all things western,be it culture or history.I even took French as a third
language in high school,instead of other Asian languages like Japanese, Malay
and Tamil that were offered.
It was not until April'97,when I went to Beijing for a holiday, that I realised hey,I was not 'beyond help'! Hehe...I confess that my motive of
going there is not just to accompany my mother,but also really to meet my 'cyber
gor gor' Bruce,who lived in Beijing.I must say
that for the first time,I felt an intense pride that I can claim the rich
Chinese heritage as that of my own.As I toured more and more of the historic
sites and monuments,the grandeur of the magnificent architecture,and the
rich cultural value of everything just overwhelmed me!That feeling is really
beyond words; it has to be experienced.
When I first told people I was going there, everyone immediately said,
"Eeks!Why would you want to go to a place with no proper sanitation
and the prople are rude and crude?" That is never further from the truth!
I enjoyed myself tremendously,and I am the meticulous type of people who
simply CANNOT tolerate filth.If I can survive it,so too can you! The people might sound curt, yet it is their way of being direct.
They are straightforward,which sure can be refreshing! So do not take it personal hehe... I sure miss their lilting and cultured Beijing accent, and am so sad to have lost it now that I'm back in S'pore! While I was there, I was so honoured that the taxi-driver asked Bruce if I were a Beijinger!*LOL*
I made this page in the hope of sharing my lovely memories of my holiday there. Given the chance,I'd really love to work and live there for a while, since I was only there for 5 days and that was way too short.One needs at least 3 weeks to see all that Beijing has to offer!I look forward to going back, whenever it may be.This is really more like a diary of my holiday; it is in no way as informative and professional as those travel guides you find in bookstores,so do not take my word for everything! I'll try to add in as many details as I rememeber,but then I am aging quickly,so do not expect my memory to be perfect ok? :Þ
Do your part and save a great treasure!
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