National Service aka China-ASEAN #4

Tahniah, anda telah terpilih untuk mengikuti Program Latihan Khidmat Negara Siri 6/2009.
NAMA : CHERYLINA CRYSTALITE

NOKP : 123456-78-9876

NEGERI : WP KL

Wtf.

The list for National Service just came out and I am so freakin' lucky.

Lucky.

NO!!! MOM I DON'T WANNA GO PLEASE NO!!

You can't just ask me to push aside my studies and go for this programme.

I mean, people die there, they get raped-sodomised-whatever-kind-of-assault. I'm a girl, for crying out loud.

Why can't we be like Singapore? They only send the guys.

Ok since this is not the final list, let's forget about the morbid stuff and proceed with my China escapade.

I used to be so engrossed in story books about the Miao ethnic group of China.

Then when I read the itinerary, I was jumping up to reach the ceiling.

We were going to visit 3 Miao villages!

Woohoo... wee~

There were mountains again (more, actually) on the way to Kaili. Then we had to change to another bus (again) because the road is still new and still being built, our big comfortable tour bus can't go in.

To get to Shiqiao village, we had to change into a bus with no air-cond, and the weather was sweltering.

So you can imagine how happy I was.

We had lunch at this homey restaurant in Shiqiao (the only restaurant at the area).

Left to right: Nikki, Octo, me, Jade, Percy (local student from Guiyang), Kok (from Cambodia)

As usual, we were served 12 dishes, only this time they're all spicy. And the women served us this red drink (I thought it was red wine lol), turned out to be their homemade rice wine.

Kinda nice actually.

Percy had more than one cup.

Shiqiao preserved the essence of its origin. It's not so commercialised. A very quaint, tranquil village. Some pictures:

The things in the basket are spices. Dried 'hua jiao' (sorry I don't know the English name for it). Used in SiChuan dishes, dad can't take the smell. I found it quite aromatic actually.

I repeat: I am an amateur photographer. I'm not even a photographer.

From left: Jade, Claresta (from Indonesia), Percy, Icha (from Indonesia), Angel, Nikki

For you people who don't know, this is a water buffalo. Repeat after me, water buffalo...

The ride back to the tour bus was so bumpy (on the way there, it wasn't that bumpy). We were literally jumping on our seats.

Octo and I called it the 'slimming machine'. You know, the Ogawa-Osim thing, Amber Chia is promoting it. You just stand on it, the thing vibrates, and it sorta shakes your fat away.

Next stop was the Qingman village.

Commercialised village. Get what I mean?

Young and old came out to greet us in their traditional costumes and musical instruments.

And when we got on the bus, I saw the girls taking off their traditional costumes, wearing BodyGlove shirts and shorts, some even spaghetti stripes...

More wine. I couldn't stand this. Once it reached my throat, it was burning. Seriously.

Things they're selling.

Now you get the meaning of commercialised?

The 'ying bin wu', welcoming dance.

I asked the kids who were playing nearby whether could I snap their photos. And this boy willingly looked up at the camera, stretching his eyelids apart to the maximum.

So cute (according to them Singaporeans it means adorable but ugly; according to Wafiy it means pretty and nice), right?

This proves that them Miao people are hospitable, friendly and adorable.

And it proves that them people are one bunch of posers.

Ladies and gentlemen, presenting, the try-to-tie-the-freakin'-long-hair show!

We were teasing Icha (yay not me) because she has the longest hair among us girls.

The woman is damn good la wei... she just held it, tied it, tied a knot with her hair, clipped some accessories... done.

Maybe I should try to tie a knot with my hair...

After all the shows, they invited all of us to dance with them.

This cutie grasped my hand tightly, she refused to let go during the dance.

I mean, I don't mind. She's so cute!!!

Left to right: Priscilla (local Guiyang student), future Ms. Miao, Octo.

These Miao people are smart. They know that their kids are cute. They used them to stop us tourists from bargaining.

I just couldn't bargain with a cute kid like that, could I?

Bloody hell, just pay the money and go...

Then it was dinner and to Guotai hotel, which has really small rooms (not as small as First World). Kaili is actually quite alive at night, contrary to popular belief.

P/S: I heard from someone that one gang of SBU girls are checking out my blog almost everyday because they want to see something. Lol, thanks for increasing my page views. And yea, what you're anticipating will come soon. Cheers ^^