Blow by Blow- 27 march

Scream and say cheese!

27/3/2011
After camping in study town for quite a long stretch, I decided to break out of my “jail cell” and get on with a walking trip with my buddy in the 5 streets area.
We took a public bus to the area, and the bus route was right in the middle of the district. We got off, unsure which direction to start walking from. To make things better (or worse), there were black plagues of stone placed about 15m away from each other,

A statue outside some place. I forgot where this is,but it must be pretty important, so they erected a statue outside the front door. I really forgot what this is for-.-

I have a great fondness of taking street level photos, like the ones on Google maps. I can't remember the exact street name, and each street is very very very long. Highly recommended to bring a camera, sunglasses/cap (it can get pretty bright), a pair of walking shoes if you plan to explore by foot. Plenty of small shops around, so you can get a ice cream or drink when you're thirsty. Perfect for the traveler who doesn't like crowded tourists sights. There are tourist buses around, but walking around by yourself is fun to the max.

showing the different postal codes and the rank of protection authorized by the district government (general protection for normal houses, very special protection for residences of key historical figures),

A regular protection house, postal code 0130156. I forgot what's in the compound.

An example of the "special protection" houses.Postal code: 0110033. Former residence of Nathan. I don't know who's that. Besides, the lady stopping to look at the plagues makes an interesting people. For once, there are people who read the plagues (me included). Can you believe that you can actually stay in one of the houses in the district? Dang, I'm moving. 

and we had fun walking down the street, trying to get the postal codes in order. I must say being a postman in the past isn’t the best job around. The codes were arranged in such a way it was hard to get the running order. Even if you did, it was gone whenever there was a turn. After getting horribly lost in the area, we decided to stop for lunch in a small “district” called 安乐村 for a bite.

Luckily I took a photo of the plague. The village has a "Important Protection" ranking as it was designed by a foreign architect, which was a very big deal in the past. Famous architects didn't come and go as they pleased.

Inside the 安乐村, it's a modern village in the middle of the city.  I love this place, just that I couldn't find it during the 2nd visit. It's very quiet, so coming across it feels like a breath of fresh air from everything. 

We stumbled across a small eatery and experienced a very different kind of customer service.
When we walked in, the place felt as though it had closed for a nap. The television was on, and the boss and his assistant seemed like in the middle of their lunch (which looked rather nice, with a number of side vegetables) and the boss proceeded to let us take our order. The eatery felt like a eating area of a house kitchen and the pace was rather relaxed and easygoing, unlike in Singapore restaurants where everything is about “chop chop”, “fast fast” and “hurry up”.

Outside the eatery once again. Telephone wires still hang from poles at ground level, and as the number of residence lines increases, the wires just add up.

Inside the eatery, but at the kitchen. You enter the eatery by walking through the kitchen, probably the entrance has the best ventilation, and the smells of food coming in from the kitchen would probably draw more customers as well. That's advertising.

Think this was outside the village. Cars were parked on the pavement (hence the lack of carparks) all about Tianjin, and I came back expecting to see cars in Singapore the same way as well. Then I remembered that life doesn't work that way.

He took his own time to prepare the food, letting the food take its own time to cook, and then served it to us, no trouble at all. I think that should be the way we should be cooking; we cook for the taste and heat, and not as a necessity to fill the stomach. Nevertheless, I managed to finish what looked like a giant bowl of noodles, and I think that was another good meal in a long while.

 You could actually hire one of the horse drawn carriages to take you around the 5 streets, just like those rich people at that time. There are many tourists who try it, but I say I pity them horses. Walking on foot has its benefits.

 Outside the stadium, where the foreigners used to race horses in. The stadium was closed, so this is the best picture I could take of it. Tall pillars remind me of the Grecian temples.  

 A caged bird hanging from the tree outside a house. Nice place for your pets to get sunlight. Birds need to be sunned, that's what I'm told.

 I don't remember what this guy was doing, but he looks like the locksmith.

 Photography clubs are a common sight in the area, because of the presence of many interesting things in the area. Why did they bring in the model for?

Life goes on the district. 2 people returning from their errands

Talk about swinging to the other side,
After lunch, we proceeded to the Italian food street.

No explanation necessary.

The Italian food street had cobbled line roads and eateries along the way, and it was streamed with tourists. Seeing a desert shop, we went in, eager to try the cakes. The waitress at the counter showed us to the counter with different deserts on display. Before we could decide fully on what we wanted, she was already staring at us, with her pen poised on the paper, eager to catch my order. I was taken aback by her impatience. Upon placing our order (1 cheesecake slice to be shared),

Picture of our cheesecake. 

Display cabinets of the desert. I feel so cheated after looking through this photo again. There isn't very much to choose from.

she asked us whether we would be eating it in the shop or outside. Seeing the look on her face, I quickly decided to take it outside and dragged my buddy out of the shop. Even when I paused to take a photo of the interior, I felt as though we were being chased out by the waitress for bringing in a little business. The worst was when we stepped out on the street; my buddy overheard someone saying to another, “That desert shop? Don’t go in.”
Maybe that explains the poor business the shop has. Even if their cakes are good, I would not come back, given a choice. I don’t feel welcome inside it, like a stranger. 

 Ha! A 4 people bike which you could rent to see the streets in. Tip: Everybody cycles at the same pace.


Can you believe it? Nobody seems interested in this place except me!