putian - back to the future ...

so, i have never put a period to my 2007/2008 adventure. i guess i owe it to myself to finish it prior to starting another big adventure. lets see where i last left off ....

putian, china

thursday 7th febuary - tuesday 12th feb 2008

day 147 - 152

when mom asked if i wanted to go with all me uncles and aunties back to my grandfathers village, i immediately said YES ! there's no better way to learn about my family history than to visit the place of origin. apparently grandfather came from a little village not far from 'xia men' called 'pu tian'.

(putian: dawn of a new age)

'xia men' is a typical china city with everything. however, an hour drive away, 'pu tian' is still a village but on the verge of becoming a town. apparently, most people from this village has found wealth in other parts of china and it is customary to come back to the village and build 5-6 storey horrible looking houses, just to show off their wealth and success, eventhough, no one will ever live in it. it's like a daisy chain, someone would first build a 5 storey house next to a hut, and the next door neighbor sees it and goes, "i want one of that too but i will build a 6 storey house with more expensive (not necessarily better looking) materials".

(putian: me @ public toilet, plateless cars, sidewalk farming)

we stayed in one of those. there are a total of 12 of is on this trip and we only took up all the rooms in 2 levels. the other 3 were deserted. the house were not environmentally designed at all. we were there in winter but even though it was only about 8 - 12 degress C, it felt like walking the brooklyn bridge all over again but this time for 5 continuous days. there were no heating or air conditioning. the warmest place, also the best hang out is in the kitchen because they cook using firewood !

(putian: the old vs the new, the homes are as unkept as the streets)

again, all of them don't live there anymore. they are back only once every year to celebrate the new year. we had exceptionally great hospitality. our relatives were really kind. there were hundreds of them. we were constantly being introduced to one another and even after 5 days, most of us were still very confused. what's even more funny was occasionally, i would ask this 'relative' who this 'other relative is' and the most common answer i got was 'i don't know but he or she is related to us some how'. hah.

(putian: great selection of seafood cooked the traditional way)

we had 5 days of high quality selection of home cooked seafood. anything from fish to snails. everything was steamed. nothing was fried. very healthy diet. everyone had a huge backyard with endless plantations. all greens we ate were freshly picked from the backyard of sometime front yard. literally, anywhere u find dirt, u find some kind of plantation.

(putian: town center 30 minutes from the village)

(putian: boat ride to mazu)

(mazu: apparently one can see across to taiwan on a clear day'

i thought europe opened my senses to a whole new world but this trip definitely defies all possible senses. i probably won't post any details because even if i do, no one would believe me but there were cousins being matched make and also the paranormal. i learned alot about my past and immediate uncles and aunties.

definitely a trip to remember. it is still so vivid even though i am posting this a year later ...

xxx. j.