After all the tedious preparation, we were finally ready to set off to our destination, Nei Jiang, China! The team reported at 6.30am at Changi Airport for the 8.20am flight. Upon the arrival of all members, the assistant team leader, Yuli helped us to check in at the designated counter. Before we entered the security gate, a photo session was held to mark down our departure from Singapore. “Goodbye, I’m leaving!” was what everyone said to their loved ones who came to send them off.
We then proceeded to the departure hall, here we waited to board the airbus! For some of us, it was our first time boarding a plane. It was exciting yet at the same time, apprehensive as we do not know how it felt like to be flying on a plane. Soon, the plane took off from the Singapore soil and off to Chengdu’s airport!
We were welcomed by the chilly weather (roughly at 8 deg) when we alighted from the plane as well as the local officers who liaised with us for Project L.O.V.E. We were treated to a nian yu meal for lunch. We had a shock! 8 big plates of sliced fish were served in front of us. Although stuffed, we tried our very best to finish the food as an act of courtesy. With the completion of a hearty meal, we continued with our journey to Nei Jiang.
We were sent to the hostel (they called it – 招待所) where we spent our next exciting 1 week! After settling down, the assistant team leader, Yuli took us to have a delicious Sichuan steamboat dinner with the officers and his parents. During our stay in Nei Jiang, Yuli’s parents took care of us as well as the officers. Being a native of Nei Jiang, Yuli naturally became the native guide to us.
We were also treated the Sichuan spicy steamboat. I must say that the Sichuan spicy steamboat we had was very different from the ones we have in Singapore. To start, the raw food items were first thrown into the hot boiling soup. Once the food items were cooked, we dipped them in the sesame oil. This way, it brought down the hotness and the spiciness of the cooked food which was then suitable to be sent into our mouths. There were two pots containing two different soup flavours – spicy and non-spicy. The non-spicy pot was surrounded by the spicy pot.
The steamboat food items varied from Singapore; we usually have the common food like sausages, crabmeat, fishballs… Over at China, they prefer the internal organs like Pig’s intestines and different types of fish. They usually serve rice after main course and followed by desserts.
Finishing our dinner, Yuli brought us around the Nei Jiang City to admire the night sceneries. To our surprise, the locals were doing exercises in the late night at the Nei Jiang Square (广场)!
~ Sherri
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