BACK FOR THE NEW YEAR

It was drizzling when I got back to Manila last night (December 31,2008) but that is way, way much “cozier” than the freezing cold temperature (-8oC) that I’ve experienced in Beijing (北京) and in Xian (西安). Besides, there is something about Philippine New Year celebration that I always liked. There is the noise, more noise, a heck lot of more noise and the dangerous neighborhood firecracker spree that one can’t find anywhere like it in any other places in the world. Anyway, I took a vacation this yuletide holiday with a tour to Beijing and Xian (December 26 – 31). It was the second time that I’ve been to Beijing in 2½ years and my first to Xian. It was also the first time that I got to spend winter in China though there, I didn’t get to see any snow during my trip. Nevertheless, it was damn freezing cold even with 3 – 4 layers of thick clothing, 2 socks, thermal clothing, and gloves. The wind is especially harsh. For not only the wind aggravated the coldness, it was also dry and abrasive. In fact, the wind was so abrasive that I felt I’ve undergone a diamond peeling session every time I’m out in the open (which is quite a lot during the trip). And the fact is, I’d never asked for one nor been to one (diamond peeling). I was traveling with my sister during the trip along with 16 others, mostly families. The food during the trip was not really good unlike during my first trip to Beijing except of course for the long waited for Peking Duck at Quan Ju De (全聚德), which I really dig and missed. Don’t get me wrong, we were treated to five star hotels and restaurants every meal during the stay except that our meals are strictly under budget to the extent that we (me and everybody else in the tour group) felt that we are in a 5 star restaurant eating a one star meal. In fact, we are damn sure that the local KFC in Beijing or the Dad’s Buffet Restaurant in the Philippines could have been better than the food we had during the trip. Well, regardless of the disappointing food, my trip in Beijing – Xian is generally enjoyable and exciting except that whence before during my first trip, I was more of an adventurer and an explorer; in this trip, I was like everybody else, a tourist. Not that I’m less enthusiastic in my recent trip than my first trip, it’s rather that I felt less inspired and eager. Probably, it’s the weather, or maybe the food, or maybe it’s because of the fact that I had something else in my mind lately, or maybe, it’s because I’m “older” or maybe, it’s because I don’t have a little girl named Megan to bring cheers and add fond memories to my trip. Despite that, I had an added novelty in my recent trip. I actually had a “night life”, well, two to be exact. Whence before in my first trip, I was in my hotel room by 9 pm and be already asleep by 10. In this trip, I got to “stay out” or more aptly, “chill out” till 11pm. It helps that we have more youngsters in this trip (almost all of them are born in the early to mid 1980s except for me of course) and that they are a bunch of “gimikeros”. It was a nice vacation, a fitting end to 2008.