I explored my maternal grandmother's village with wonder. Afterall, this was the place where my grandmother stayed 70 years ago before coming to Sillypore. There were traces of my grandmother here; the dialect spoken, the free-range poultry (fed on a diet of peanuts and corn, not manufactured feed) and even the lunch tasted like my grandmother's cooking.
My granduncle was pretty forthright when my mum apologise for our sudden visit. "There was nothing much to do anyway since the fields were still damp from the rains.", he replied. This was a reminder on how their pace of life was significantly different from ours. While my mum were catching up on the happenings in Malaysia with the others in the main hall, my grandaunt pulled me aside and asked me if I was married. She was astonished to hear that I have absolutely no interest in getting married and that people in Sillypore marry late. While she wanted to introduce some of her nieces to me (!!!), I politely declined and reminded her that my elder brother is single as well. She then went to consult my mum about my brother instead. Phew!
It is amazing to think that our relatives were so hospitable to a group of "strangers" whom they had not ever met. On hindsight, there probably would not have many people who would go through all the troubles to remember certain names and visit remote villages in order to "get" a free meal. We were all feeling tired as we went back to Qionghai; it was a major accomplishment to reach my grandmother's village - though it would be better if we could had stayed in the village for a night.
We went to Dingan City (or Dingcheng Town) the following day; this is supposed to be the nearest city (or at least this was inscribed on my grandfather's tomb) where my paternal great-grandfather's village was located. Asked around but no one seems to know the village is. Perhaps the name had changed after all these years. Or maybe the information was passed down (to the next generation) wrongly. Whatever the case, we had reached a dead end in Dingan and we decided to head back to Haikou first thing tomorrow morning. |
| |
|
 |
My mum and the Chuan Chuan Xiang (i.e. frangance on skewers) stall. Bascially, one would choose the food (on skewers and kept hot in warm water) and the lady would pour some (salty) sauce on it. Selections include bamboo shoots, pork stomach & fungus. RMB0.5/S$0.11 per stick.
|
| |
This is the teahouse where we had our breakfast of coffee, tea and bread. My grandfather probably got his inspiration from these kind of shops and decided to open one himself when he went to South East Asia.
|
 |
One can get (or remove) a fake mole (can choose colour and size) in attempt to change one's luck and to enhance the beauty (for females only).
- impressions of the market in Jiaqi, Qionghai, Hainan, China
|
 |
Was not successful in trying to understand what the guy (with an amplifier) was explaining on some game with numbers. It was probably something to do with gambling.
|
 |
wyattwang.com doing it in front of the Red Female Army Statue at Qionghai, Hainan, China. |
 |
Mum and the plaque inscribed with "Red Female Army" - right smacked in Qionghai City. |
 |
She (my distant cousin) probably does not like strangers and kept wanting her grandmother (i.e. my grand aunt) to bring her home while we met up in Jiaji. |
 |
Sensuous pictures (not to mention about the expired condoms) can be found in the toilet of Jinri Hotel, in Qionghai. |
 |
A typical teahouse in Dingan; it was filled with men on a Tuesday afternoon, as if they all do not need to work. |
 |
An evening view of Dingan; mum and bro was tired and went back to the hotel while I walked around and explore the city (it was more of an enlarged town actually).
|
| << Pg
2 |
|
|
