Guangzhou (II) - Hailufeng, the place where my ancestors came from

Meh... I was pretty lazy to update this but then I don't want to disappoint you guys. Flunyway, like I said, I went to my hometown. Don't know to type "went BACK to my hometown" or "went to my hometown", because obviously, I've never went there before but then again, that's where my ancestors are from.. T.T


It was about 4 hours drive away from Guangzhou, in Hailufeng (don't know how to write in Chinese because I'm a banana like that but you can read the pinyin la, so no need to trouble me go find the Chinese words).

 The car's Audi and I'm so excited like that.. so nais, first time ride in an Audi car.

Their highways are nothing special. They have trees too (like, duh!) like us, except that ours are full of oil palm trees whereas theirs are just trees and jungles.

And you know, these Chinese, some of them are so funny. I saw a couple of cars where their car plate numbers are covered with a piece of cloth. I asked my relatives and apparently, the drivers did this so that the police can't copy down the numbers and hence, can't catch them. The funny thing is that, a lot of cars use the same kind and pattern of cloths and this is so that it's even more difficult to recognise their cars! Breaking the law like a boss. I wish I have pictures for you but I forgot to take one of it. :(

As we reached Hailufeng, there were more buildings. It's not as city-like as Guangzhou (so obvious from the pictures) and as we went on, there were quite a lot of sand and sometimes, we can hardly see the front.

There're more old buildings as it's an older place. Not as lively as Guangzhou, just kinda like a quiet town like that. Some quality of the pictures are not superb because I zoomed in as I took it inside the car. Trust me, without the zoom, the pictures look so much better.

 Nah, give you see more pictures on the way to my kampung.

And then after we passed through the rows of buildings and old shops, nature takes over. The road got more rocky, smaller and more difficult to drive. But my China relatives still drove like a boss. T.T

The road going up the hill like that one. That's why I say when they drive like a boss, they DO!

It's like going back to ancient civilization like that, I tell you. So quiet, so old and full of trees.

 

  Once we reached our kampung, we were brought to this house, this one's built by my relatives cos he said during the Chinese New Year or any major events, the entire family will be back and he prepared this house so that everyone could gather here. :D

 And this is how the living room looks like, not much different from Malaysians. Maybe a little different, more Chinese but not really shockingly different like that. Guess we're all Asians after all, bound to have some similarities.

 The scenery so serene like that. So calming. Next time when I break up with my boyfriend (if I ever gonna have one, and then break up), then I will cry 24/7 then I probably will impulsively buy a flight ticket to Shenzhen (it's actually nearer to Hailufeng compared to Guangzhou) then sit bus or train come here until I fully recover. 

And I found this hut! Wonder how long it is already, probably hundred years old!

 The buildings there so old like that. My old house used to be almost like that too, except that mine didn't have a village like this. So naise, so many kids play together. My old house used to be wooden house too, with a big compound but we were the only wooden house, not a village. My grandpa was a farmer and we had orchard. We even had ducks and ponds in my house. I guess my house is not much different from the houses here too. After all, my grandpa maintained some Guangzhou lifestyle even in Malaysia.

The houses all so near to each other, it's so easy and free to roam around the entire village.

And then we got out of the house and went for a walk. The houses there are so old that some are ruined. When I think about it, these old houses, once hold a lot of memories. Memories of actual people in the 18th and 19th centuries (I think so) living in it. Imagine people in the past, actually sleeping, cooking, kids playing and things happened here. And now, the ruined houses are just ruined. The dead ones are dead. Wonder where their children and grandchildren and even great-grandchildren went to.

By the way, the two women in the second picture are my aunts. :D

 Their roads are like that too. Rocky roads and pathways.

And this is a very spot where I'm posing! You know why?!

Because it's exactly where MY GRANDPA WAS BORN! So the fact that I exist today, it all comes from this spot! If you look at it clearly, behind the bushes, lies a ruined house and that's where my grandpa lived in! Amazing, isn't it? To be able to see where my grandpa was born with my own naked eyes!

 I so sampat go capture children's photo. This kid so cute like that. We kept asking him to come take pictures with us, then he like want but dowan like that.. haha. Flunyway, that's how a typical Chinese kid looks like.

Some pictures for you guys see again. The girl is my cousin on Malaysia (which was on previous post) and the guy, he's my cousin in China. He's the youngest of our generation in China so when he knew that he still has younger cousins in Malaysia, he so happy like that. :D

Flunyway, after that, we went to visit other relatives houses in the kampung. Turns out, they still kept a lot of things belonging to my aunts and uncles even though they've never met us before. Talk about blood thicker than distance.

 I still remember this! It's the family portrait! Another copy is still with us in Malaysia. Used to be hanged in my old house. :D

 And these are pictures of my grandma and grandpa!

Their compounds look somewhat like that. Some houses are bigger, so are so small that I see already also want to cry.

 Then, at night, we drove down the hill and when to this quiet place for dinner. I was a really cold night.







I even uploaded a video for you to see the road condition at night! Can't see a thing in the front. So you think it's hard to drive in Malaysia? Wait till you come here! The camera keeps shaking because it's so bloody rocky. Our head keep spnning like that.

Then we went back the house at night and it was so cold that we had to wear our jacekts and scarfs even when brushing teeth. T.T

And the next day, we woke up and then went to another relative's house. Don't ask me who. I got so messed up with who's my who. Don't wanna think about it anymore. My head will explode. And they cooked us porridge. And according to both my aunts, it was the same taste as the porridge that my grandma cooked for them in the past! Even food tastes lingers to Malaysia!

 Another random shot of Chinese children. Aww... reminds me of the days when I used to play with my brothers, sisters and cousins.

... and random pictures of ducks and the puppy. The puppy so cute and so small like that!

 A woman taking that balance thingy.

 And oldddddd antique bed. My cousin said it's a really special thing because it's really really old. Like in the dramas like that. :)

 We grabbed random kids and took pictures of them. So funny, as soon as we saw kids, we kept asking them come (mostly shy, didn't dare) to take pictures with us.

And because my cousin and I were busy taking pictures, we ended up getting lost. T.T So we kept searching for other relatives and came  across strangers we don't know. They don't speak Chinese, Cantonese and Hokkien so we couldn't ask them for directions. Ended up, we walked randomly until we met up with other relatives.

This is one camwhoring picture when we get lost. My face so big, so ugly like that (I'm not saying that just so you can say otherwise... T.T) cos I push back all my hair and tie like that. Had to cos' last night didn't wash my hair. Cannot tahan see it flying around.

We got lost and still so relax like that, still can take pictures around..

Flunyway, while we were lost, we actually stumbled upon the Ong family community hall. In China, our surnames are spelled with "Wang" (王） instead of "Ong"（err... also 王 la, obviously...) cos' they follow the pinyin. I didn't have a picture of our community, only the video but my cousin was in it, and I don't think she'd want me to put it here, so... don't have anything for you guys to see.

 Meh... trying to capture artistic close-up picture with my camera like a boss. My cousin (in China one) tried to but phailed but then later i succeeded. We like noob like that, keep adjusting the camera, pretend like very professional but dunno anything, just depend on a good naise camera.

 See? It's an amazing picture of the reflection of the water in the well. We aren't supposed to look at it, frankly speaking. We later just knew that it's kinda like a kind of like a pantang. Because people used to fall into the wells and then die, so you know.. it's kinda scary. I was supposed to delete this picture but than I so suey like that.. still ngeh ngeh want to maintain *praytoBuddhadon'tletanythinghappentome*

Finally found a couple of pictures of my family's community hall! It's not exactly a big hall, just a small one with the ancestors' altar inside. :D

 This one's our ancestors' board (is that what it's called in English?) at our altar. You know in movies and dramas where each person has their own board? Ours is all cramped into one. Because apparently, the kind in drama is only found in rich families and since we're not that kind,we have all cramped in one. So cute like that.

And while the older ones are talking and chatting about my grandpa, great-grandpa and great great great grandpa, we're wondering around, taking photos. This thing that we're pointing at, is a machine they used for farming in the past. Aiya, my cousin blocked it, can't give you see the full view. 

Then, we headed back the house and rested there for a moment before driving back to Guangzhou. 

Wtf, I hate Mozilla now (and I don't even use wtf). So slow, just now had to restart, now using Google Chrome. To think that I still pledge my loyalty to Mozilla and this is how it treats me.. 

Flunyway, that's all for this post, it's really late already, 3 in the morning. Purposely stayed up late just for this post, see, I so good. So many things I want to express but I guess I'll just leave it for now. The next post, is about Guangzhou city. But not really much because we've only got half a day there. Just you know, stay tuned!