Jiangnan-Shanghai.

Through my looking glass
I peered through Jiangnan-Shanghai from 9th-17th May
and that includes Hangzhou, Nanjing, Wuxi, Suzhou & of cuz Shanghai.
I wouldn't say I came back recharged and energized
it was more of a insightful trip that brought me closer to my heart.
I believed I returned with more thoughts than before
perhaps with greater clarity, some reluctance, a little bitterness and daps of knowingness.
And of cuz, China trips nv fail to widen my horizon
the lingering legacy, the artifacts of history, the stories that bind the people...
the very existence of life at another corner of the world
a life so different yet similar.

One aspect that sets this trip distinctly different from the rest
I often found myself in introspection & whirling sentiments...
as I sat myself admist the Shanghai bright lights
as I stood before a random agri field
as I watched the people cross the arc bridge in Suzhou
as I breathe the breeze that teases the willows in Hanzhou
as I feel the scars of the Nanjing massacre
as I realized I'm visiting history while at the standing 1000yrs fortress
as I embrace the cold wind in solitude while sailing along Huang Pu Jiang
as I hear the legacy of the Chinese people
as I feel the pride & suppression
.
.
.
these crystallized emotions were beyond words
almost priceless
passing moments that can never be relived.
not you
not even myself
not in the present
not in the future

Only then
a passing moment crystallized in time
which can only be truly felt once in a lifetime.

----------------------------------------------------

(PS: Not forgetting my local tourguide, Lu Min Ming
till date I still can't account for the sense of loss, slight depression on the night he left.
A brief exchange in life
yet long enough for the built-up of attachment
& embossment of a person who left his footprints behind.)