China Day 14: The First Day of Chinese New Year...

~ 8th February 2016 ~

I waited till 12 midnight to catch the fireworks. The best place to catch the fireworks was from my room. The balcony could not capture much. So, in the comfort of my Pinky's old room, I got to see fireworks. If I was home in Penang, I would not be bothered as there would be mosquitoes if I stand at the field to see the fireworks from all around. 

I just want to catch a glimpse of the fireworks from afar. If you're standing below the fireworks, you could see nothing. When you released fireworks, it's for others to enjoy. After sleeping for many hours, the first day of Chinese New Year was a quiet one. We had reunion lunch on the eve so that was it. Nobody came to visit because visitations by others were done a week before. It's a different culture from what Malaysians do. In my opinion, Chinese New Year celebration in Malaysia is more lively with visits from one house to another.

Most people who could afford to travel abroad flew out on the first day of Chinese New Year. That was the only time they get to have their long holidays other than on National Day. Even second aunt and family went travelling. They traveled to other parts of China. In conclusion, Chinese New Year is one lonely celebration no matter how big the family is. The youngsters spent their time at Happy Valley the whole day. There were so many people at Happy Valley, but I do not feel happy looking at them screaming their lungs out when they should be at home spending time together. China has moved on, the traditional value was no longer observed by those living in big cities what more Shenzhen who has no history of itself.

First uncle and whole family has left for Hong Kong after reunion lunch. It's quiet. I think for the whole day I was in my pyjamas only to be entertained with my camera. I was out at the balcony again. The weather was good. I could see the sun after being here for two weeks. I planned to wait for sunset because I have all the time in the world to wait for sunset. I have so much time in hand, I just sat idle not thinking of anything. It was a really good holiday that was why Shenzhen is my second home away from home.

While waiting for sunset, let's have an ice-cream. The ice-cream was nice and play around a bit. Waiting for sunset was worse than seeing sunrise. It requires patience only a saint has. 

Then it was dinner time. How interesting my first day of Chinese New Year was... I don't like visitors actually. I like nua-ing around in the house. If visitors come, I'll have to clean the house and put on nice clothes, be mindful of the tongue and lots more.

Let's talk about pork trotter. Why was it so different compared to Malaysian pork? I think it's because the feeds. Piggies in China feed on leftover food from restaurants mixed together in big tubs transported by trucks. The trucks also collected rotten vegetables from the wet market. The Malaysian pigs feed on expensive oats. The taste was really different where if you have too much of the skin, you felt like giving up on eating pork. That's what I did after that. Even the texture of the pork belly was different. Porky over here has higher grade.