mommybie's passion: Shanghai 2013 ~ Day 1 & Day 2

Finally, i can post about my holidays. I've been busy choosing and editing the photos (hehe...sounds like a pro but i'm not :p ) So here it goes...

Day 1 (20.03.13) KL ~ Hangzhou

Our flight to Hangzhou International Airport is at 8am, so i had to wake my girls up at 4.30am as the cab is picking us up at 5am. We arrived at LCCT around 6am and waited for the rest of the group (relatives - it's sorts of a family thingy)

Little Jay in her 'blur blur' state

Getting on board

Big Ray fell asleep as soon as she found her seat, even before the plane take flight!Can you imagine how tired she was having to wake up so early in the morning - she slept throughout our flight to Hangzhou ( 5 hours plus). We had to wake her up when the plane is about to land so that she could see the landing process.

I am so SLEEPY zzZZZ

Little Jay checking the weather

Arriving at the Hangzhou International Airport

Hangzhou International Airport

Shortly after arriving, we found our Tour Guide cum Driver (a Mr. Li aka Li Sifu) and started our journey to Haining. On the way, i saw these cute little red trucks that resembles the tuk-tuk in Thailand.

Our first stop is the Temple of Seagod . Guess what? This is the first time i went to a tourist spot and there is no one else except us. They must be closing early or perhaps the locals rather stay at home than 'chilling out' in the cold weather. Yup, the weather is much colder than i expected and luckily i've brought extra shirts and pants for my gals. Below are some photos of the temple.

Little Jay having her tea time

Next, we visit to a 'Prime Minister's House & Street'. (I'm not to sure who either hehehe..)

The huge difference of traveling with and without your kids is your focus will be on them rather than the tour guide (who explains the history and stuffs) and the scenic spots. While our Li Sifu was explaining things, Mommybie is busy catching up with Big Ray & Little Jay and taking photographs of them.

A sedan chair - olden days mode of transport


A stage in the Prime Minister house used for entertaining important guest

Below are some snapshots taken at the Prime Minister House Street.

Sisterly Fun

Big Ray getting bored waiting for the aunties shopping

Call me when you are ready ok?

Later, we were brought to the hotel and have our dinner there. Being our first day there, we were all still excited and thought perhaps we could go for a walk nearby after our dinner - just to see around, and my mom asked one of the waitress if there is any place around that is still open (that's because while on the way to the hotel we saw many shops closing and it's only 6pm!) Well, the waitress kindly replied " Madam, the weather is not good (too cold), better to stay indoor" . So, that's the end of our Day 1.

Day 2 (21.03.13) Haining ~ Suzhou

Good Morning Haining ! I woke up an hour early before our morning call at 6.30am. Why? Because i have to get myself ready first before waking up the 2 little gals. You'll have plenty of work to do - boiling water to make their milks, packing milk powders & water for later feeds, changing diapers, waking them up and getting them to dressed up is no easy task ( also getting them to poo poo before leaving the hotel :p)

Haining International Leather City

The first stop for the day is Haining International Leather City. Well, the entire area is huge consisting of a few blocks of buildings selling winter jackets, shoes, bags, luggage, wallets etc.
Anyway, we only visit a small section of the building as it is way too cold outside. The first thing that caught our attention are LEATHER GLOVES!! We were liked bees attracted to flowers and each bought a pair to protect our freezing fingers.

Wuzhen East Gate Water Village

Next, we went to the Wuzhen Water Village, one of China's ancient water town. It is a very nice place to visit with its charming architectural and unique culture. The whole town seem so peaceful and relaxing with the river sandwiched in between rows of traditional houses and stone bridges. Also, one can find lots of exhibitions on the old ways of life here such as the flower printed blue fabric, winery, traditional beds and etc. I personally think the people here did a great job preserving their culture.

Big Ray & Grandma

Big Ray at a kitchen display

Do you know what are these? Beds from the olden days!

And here we have a collections of olden days clothes, different styles and cutting.

A display on traditional Chinese wedding and customs

Oh...the sweet smells of Chinese wine, you could smell it even before you enter the doorway.

Pots of wine placed at the winery

The place where the wines go through the distillation & cooling process

Here comes the purified wines

And this was the most beautiful part of all ( for me). These pretty flower printed blue fabric all hanging down from the poles - don't you think it looks like a scene taken from those TVB dramas?
(hehehe..guess i'm watching too much dramas).

Little Jay is having the most fun here.

Samples of the flower printed blue fabric with different designs

A template (paper board) used to print the fabric

Flower printed blue fabric was said to have appeared since the Qing dynasty. Back then, people used wood blocks carved with reversed design to print the patterns on the fabric. While after the Song dynasty, people started to used paper board (picture above) to print the fabric.

Tools used to make the wood blocks for dyeing the fabric

Scenery from the Wuzhen Water Village

These ladies are preparing to weave a cloth the traditional way

Another beautiful scenery from the water village

Next, we will be heading to Suzhou.

Mommybie and gals having a snack time in the bus

Our first stop at Suzhou is the Flirting Garden (Former Residence of Tang BoFu - the scholar with 9 wives). But in real life according to our tour guide Xiao Shen, (we got a tour guide in Suzhou!) he only have 2 wives and his life wasn't as glamorous as portrayed in movies and dramas.

Entrance to the Flirting Gardens

I forgot the Chinese name of this tree but it is loosely translate as Dragon Claw. Don't you think it looks like one? This tree is planted by noble people in the olden days. If you see it in someone's house, you'll know that the owner is some one respected, with certain rank or wealthy.

These flowers are flirtingly beautiful

At night, we went to the Suzhou Bird's Nest Stadium . Unfortunately i did not manage to take any photos here. It actually does look a bit like the Bird Nest Stadium in Beijing.

From there, we goes to the Harmony Times Square. The main attraction here is of course the 500meter long LCD screen above the walkway.