"She was leaving the home that was so dear to her, and something told her that she was leaving it forever, save as a holiday refuge. Things would never be the same again; coming back for vacations would not be living there. And oh, how dear and beloved everything was... all the thousand and one dear spots where memories of the old years bided. Could she ever be really happy anywhere else?"
Ah, so true. So true. It's my third summer back home and I actually feel like that statement is true. I only come back for holidays. And it's not the same as really living here like I used to. I don't know the new places, or the new restaurants, or the new hangouts. My friends who still live here are so busy with their lives... sometimes I just feel like I'm intruding on theirs.
Still, home is as great as ever. No matter that I haven't seen my close friends as of yet. But I'm glad to say that I still remember how to drive to the places I usually frequent. Yay! Still not that fail as a Malaysian yet. haha. When using the back way (Aman Suria) to drive back to my house, I am greeted with my new sights as well as many old familiar sights. There are new shops and new office buildings that have been built within the one year that I haven't been home. But then there are so many other things that are so familiar that offer me endless comfort. There are still the same amount of road bumps. And the same sized and shaped potholes are still around. Like before, I know that they're there and maneuvere around them without thinking just like everyone else. When I brake to slow down to go across the bumps, I look down and see the same types of scratches on those bumps, and the same faded paint smatters just like before.
Some would say that this means a lack of progress and care by MPPJ. Which is undeniably true. But it still makes me smile when I drive through the same roads to get back home. It's like as though no matter how different I am, how much I have gone through or seen, those roads still remain the same. Have to admit though, that a lot has changed since my last time back home. My mum is making me paranoid about my safety at home. I know she does it for my own good, but ugh... and so many of my friends at home have now stepped foot into the working world. It is only me, coming home to 'visit'... while everyone else has their own lives to get on with.
But it's okay. I'm still happy to be home. And wouldn't wish to be anywhere else.
I was looking through my China pictures and thought I'd put up some pictures of the Summer Palace 颐和园。 It really was beautiful. And a beautiful day as well.
The first scenery that greeted us the minute we walked into the gates.
Walking through, and exploring the grounds.. we came across all these old buildings with mighty high walls surrounding them.
After climbing some perilous rock-hill.. we managed to catch a glimpse of what lied beyond those walls.
Isnt this beautiful!
The group of us that scored the grounds of the Summer Palace.
We even put down a 400 kuai deposit to go pedal boating on the famous lake.
The view from the lake.
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