Yêu chính mình là khởi đầu của một cuộc tình lãng mạn cả đời.
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爱自己是终身浪漫的开始。
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Love yourself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.
P.s.: Picture taken in Avatar Hallelujah Mountain, Wulingyuan, Zhangjiajie, Hunan, China in 2019.
Cuộc sống của mình lông gà đầy đất, còn cả ngày bàn luận quan tâm người khác.
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自己的生活一地鸡毛, 还整天议论操心别人。
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Your life is like chicken feathers scattering all over the ground, you still have time to bother about others’ businesses.
P.s.: Picture taken in Fenghuang Old Town, Hunan, China in 2019.
Ở một vị trí yên tĩnh, hãy đi và ngắm nhìn thế giới sống động.
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在一个安静的位置上，去看世界的热闹。
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In a quiet location, go and watch the lively world.
P.s.: Picture taken in Zhangjiajie, Hunan, China in 2019.
According to Pedometer app, I walked the most steps in my Chinese trips:
1. July 5: 31,497 steps ~ 15.12 km* (in Chengdu)
2. July 6: 29,337 steps ~ 14.08 km (in Chengdu)
3. July 3: 28,849 steps ~ 13.85 km (in Mt. Siguniang)
4. June 24: 23,878 steps ~ 11.46 km (in Dujiangyan and Chengdu)
5. June 26: 23,233 steps ~ 11.15 km (in Songpan and Mounigou)
6. June 30: 20,196 steps ~ 9.7 km (in Langmusi)
7. June 27: 20,136 steps ~ 9.67 km (in Huanglong)
8. May 18: 19,550 steps ~ 9.38 km (in Wulingyuan And Fenghuang Old Town)
9. Nov 5: 17,348 steps ~ 8.33 km (in Shanghai)
10. Jun 23: 16,136 steps ~ 7.75 km (in Saigon, Hanoi, and Chengdu)
* My normal stride length is 48 cm (80% of the number in the app 60cm).
Tôi đã từng muốn cầm ô để mưa khỏi làm ướt áo. Đáng tiếc sau này mới nhận ra, mưa rơi vốn dĩ vẫn luôn ở trong lòng. Áo quần tuy khô nhưng tâm hồn cũng cạn kiệt, không còn cách nào.
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我曾经想撑一把雨伞，以防止雨淋湿。 不幸的是，后来我意识到，小雨一直在我心中。 尽管衣服是干的，灵魂仍然是干的，没有办法干。
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I once wanted to hold an umbrella to prevent getting wet. Unfortunately, later I realized that light rain was always in my heart. Although the clothes are dry, the soul is also dried out, and there is nothing to do about it.
P.s.: Picture taken in Fenghuang Old Town, Hunan, China in 2019.
Only 9 days before had I decided to go on another trip to China with my twin sis, this time to 3 provinces/cities of Anhui, Zhejiang, Shanghai. My main visits would be Huangshan (Yellow Mountain), Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Yanguan Ancient Town.
This was another trip that required no individual visa (like my previous trip to Hunan and Hubei). The 4-hour non-stop flight stopped at the Huangshan Tunxi International Airport at 9PM. Some local officials with banners saying that this was the first flight from Ho Chi Minh City. They also gave us some Chinese and Vietnamese flags. I learned that this trip was sponsored by China. That was why this tour of 6 days was so cheap. With the same amount of money, I might have bought the plane tickets only.
I was asked in English by two customs officers how many times I’ve been to China. This time I didn’t have to scan my finger prints any more. It was my easiest Chinese customs check ever. I loved Huangshan!
Because of taking photos for some local newspapers or promotion(?), it took us all an hour to get out of the airport. Around 30 mins later, I could lie down on my bed and call it a night.
Outside of my window I saw a pine tree with the top turning to the the color of fall. I hoped to see more autumn leaves on this Jiangnan trip.
Vấn đề là: Bạn cố gắng kiên trì và buông tay cùng một lúc.
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问题是：你试图坚持并同时放手。
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The problem: You’re trying to hold on and let go at the same time.
P.s.: Picture taken in Zhangjiajie, Hunan, China in 2019.
This was the last day of my trip. I visited three sites of Wuhan called Yellow Crane Tower (which was made famous by poetry), Hubei Provincial Museum, and East Lake.
Two hours at Yellow Crane Tower seemed like a waste of time. I’d prefer more time at Wulingyuan or Fenghuang Old Town.
I liked the visit to the museum which made me understand more about the Chinese culture. Though I saw so many Chinese students around the beverage vending machines than in the showrooms.
After that, I had a chance to go around East Lake. Unlike Jingzhou, the minibus took all of us around the lake for 30 mins. As I thought out loud that the driver was handsome, my tour group kept joking about me and him. Though he was 9 years younger, he said I looked like 27 haha. We talked a bit. He asked if I was a Malaysian (?) And after a stop, when I switched to the seat next to him, he nicely started a small conversation with me. He asked which city I was from and if it was near the beach. Ashin said that 521 was better than 520. I couldn’t agree more.
After 3 flights with China Southern Airlines this time, I somehow felt that their service was worse than 10 years ago. We had to wait for a while on board and they didn’t give us any water to drink. I even had a meal before the plane departed 10 years ago.
After midnight, I’d be home safe and sound.
We departed Changde, Hunan for Jingzhou, Hubei in the morning. In this historical city, we had a chance to go around the wall on an electric car and it was a great ride even though some of us disliked it.
Two members of our group decided that they would do some cosplaying. One dressed as an ancient girl, and one dressed as an ancient general.
The the tour bus took us to Wuhan. After dinner, we walked to see the busiest district called Jianghan. The walking street was filled with branded stores and even a night market. We had some fun here. I also tried the fruit tea of a chain milk tea store called Idrink.
I found that today was May 20 which was kind of a Valentine’s Day in China because 520 in Chinese sounded like ‘I love you.’ Today would have been worse if my friend and I hadn’t made fun of the day. We even took a sweet picture with the Chinese intern guide.
What I feared the most was the weather as forecast. It rained in the morning again today, and my exploration of Fenghuang Old Town was disrupted somehow. Because I wore the Thai flip flop, I walked slowly and slipped when I got off a boat. I borrowed an umbrella because my jacket wasn’t completely waterproof.
The stoned bridge, the most famous part of the town, was wet so I only stepped on several stones and didn’t get to the middle. However, the boat trip was quite good.
I tried a boba milk tea and thought it was as good as the Vietnamese one.
After lunch, we departed Fenghuang for Changde. After checking in, all of us (except 1) walked to the supermarket called Lian Hua. It was quite big. I bought some gifts for my family and friends. What I loved about China’s summer is the peach season. I’d buy some on the last day to bring back to Vietnam.