Life in the Village is full of inconveniences.
And also in the ‘village’ / estate we live in.
For a start, we have no control over the central air conditioner.
And being well-insulated with a layer (correction: layers of fats), I am feeling way HOTTER than anyone.
My hair is wet from the perspiration, most of the time.
The company has control over the central a/c unit.
In this economy situation, they probably thought that they can save lots of money by turning on the a/c central unit at fixed time.
And over the weekends, when there noone in the office building, they couldn’t be bothered to turn it on for the mere 40 over people in our estate.
Therefore, i hate weekends. It’s too hot to stay in. And sometimes too hot to get out in the 40 degrees heat.
No Electric Power. I am sure you have had enough of my complaints about it.
There isn’t a month that goes by without having no electric power for at least half-a-day, 3-4 times a month.
I used to get very upset when there’s no electricity.
No electricity = no internet connection = no online shopping.
But I have now learned to relax.
If it isn’t too hot, I will nap. Otherwise, I will go to the mall or swim with Amanda.
Water. Most of the time, the color of the tap water varies yellow to yellowish.
Gross.
This is also why most people here have really bad teeth. And if their teeth are good, they either didn’t spend most of their time here or they are fake.
There is also a saying why Yuncheng dentist are good here. Coz there are many bad cases of bad teeth here.
And don’t get me started on the mosquitoes.
There are some perks living in our estate though.
The view of the reservoir. The quietness.
And this Summer, with a higher occupancy rate (we had only 2 last Summer), the land behind most houses either have fruit trees and vegetable plots!
The fruits tree bear fruits only for a few days before they go bad or are infested by worms and bugs.
However, we have fresh vegetables all summer.
The vegetable plots are growing very well.
Eggplants, Pumpkins, Spring Onions, Chili and Tomatoes.
Plucking fresh lettuce for lunch.
Not our vegetable plots. We know nothing about growing vegetables except on facebook and QQ!
But most families have more than enough for own consumption.
And since we know everyone in the estate, we could just walk into their backyard and pluck whatever needed.
Noone closes their gates here. And in the day, noone locks their door.
Its good to be living in a close community.
Still, I often lament how Yuncheng isn’t a good environment for raising kids.
Though I am aware that Amanda is way more fortunate than most of the kids here.
Still, its every parent’s goal to provide the best for their kids.
She’s still young and as she grows older and is ready for school in Singapore, I hope she doesn’t lose out to her peers.
When we were young, we all LOVE going to the Botanic Gardens and the Zoo.
Dp isn’t as lucky. But lucky him, he didn’t know what he was missing… then.
And oh, he didn’t miss out too much of the Botanical Gardens coz he played and lived in one, plucking and eating fruits direct from the trees in their very own ‘orchard’ when he was a boy.
Botanic Gardens, Singapore. Circa 1984.
Moi at The Singapore Zoological Gardens. Circa 1984
I remember a pic which I posed and imitated a goat. Baaa…
2 weeks ago, we made a trip to the park. It was a cloudy day but great a day out.
There was a new Amusement + Water Park.
And I was really excited about going to the park. I can’t remember the last time I was this excited in Yuncheng.
It is quite of scale for a small city like Yuncheng.
At least Amanda would have something to remember about her childhood in Yuncheng.
To my disappointment, the Amusement + Water Park was closed due to some reports of inappropriate use of land.
The low land was supposed to protect the city from flood. Not some recreational park.
Anyway, we visited the ‘wildlife zoo’ next to the park.
It was also closed by the officials. But well, this is China!
The man at the entrance overcharged us with an entrance fee of 40rmb for 6 adults, 2 kids and a baby.
It was gross! The ‘wildlife zoo’ is gross.
Half of the zoo.
The ground was muddy and wet.
We had to walked on the 2-brick wide pavement.
Skinny lion.
The tiger is bigger than the cage.
I u-turned and was ready to run out of the zoo when I saw 2 turkeys roaming in our track.
It gave me goose-pimples.
A quick count of animals in the zoo. 2 lions. 1 tiger. 1 snake in a box (not sure what species I was too grossed up). 1 pheasant. A few Monkeys. 2 goats. 2 turkeys. Yikes!
I am definitely adding “Zoo” to our itinerary whenever we get out of Yuncheng.
After the scary visit to the “wildlife zoo”. We had stroll in the park.
Mummy! What was that scary place you just brought me to?
Took some pictures of the closed Amusement Park.
It seem Fun. For Yuncheng.
Found a video on one of the rides.
There’s a Carousel too!
The Park was opened for a week before it was closed by the Officials.
I hope they reopen soon!
There isn’t much to do here and Fun places in Yuncheng are hard to find.
Its going to be a fun place to bring Amanda to. Can’t wait.
I am sure the Owner who invested in the park is more anxious and couldn’t wait too.
SHOPPING!
The bad: Nothing much here. The good: Online shopping.
I am also trying to divert my desire to shop online to desire to blog often.
And I am sure you already know I failed miserably with 1 post a week!!!!
I have also been trying to my update my blog with this post since Wednesday… but got distracted with the shopping and only managed to complete this post 4 days later.
Last week, I have shopped A LOT!
From Dp’s iPad, massive toy (Learning Home) for Amanda, cute pink car accessories right down to a soft lil’ cushion for my crown for a extra volume and height to my hair.
I am suspecting that this cushion will also help to soak up my perspiration.
The week before, I got 出前一丁 instant noodles and Yakult from HK.
They are all very essential and vital for survival here!
Will work harder on blogging next week.
But for now, Time to go get the 101 things I ‘need’ in this Village.
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