0730hr. A busy day lies ahead of us as we drove off to 绵阳市. 北川中学 was one of the schools that was totally destroyed in the earthquake and the students were now relocated to its temporarily premises at 长虹培训中心, a training centre.
This school had a number of volunteering groups working with them before, and the students now are able to resume back their studying life, even with online lectures via Internet. On the surface, this school seemed to be on track back to recovery stage, but of course there would be many untold stories from the individuals that we may never hear.
After visiting the school, we had lunch at 绵阳市 famous for its 粉.. or noodles.
Along the way to 汉旺镇, I had the scared of my life as my driver nearly had an accident with a bicycle who shoved his bicycle out onto the expressway just like that. I SHOUTED AHHH!!!!! But luckily my driver managed to avoid the bicycle driving with this superb driving skill, missing him by maybe 10cm?
Driving in China is really something very unique. First thing is, they are left wheel drive. Secondly, people cross the road like nobody’s business. The driver has to be very vigilant on the road to beware of these reckless pedestrians, cyclists, or drivers, yet fierce enough to be able to maneuver on the China roads. Thirdly, the design of the road is bad. U-turn was done in the overtaking lane without extra spacing. There are many ‘slots’ in the expressway that allowed pedestrian/cyclist to cross and there are many blinds spots that can be so dangerous!
周大哥 explained that some of the countryside people anyhow walk before it’s like crossing their own paddy fields. They do not understand lines, or directions on the roads….. oh well….
1400hr. 汉旺极重灾区. This town has became a deserted town with many buildings in half-collapsed shape. Rubbles everywhere with signs of people having no chance of escape at all. Sights of clothes, shoes, prams, mops, doors… give you the creep of what is it felt to be caught in the middle of an earthquake with nowhere to run. It was explained by周大哥 that many bodies were left to rot in the debris as it’s almost impossible to dig out this mess.
The infamous clock showed 2.28pm, the time where the 512 earthquake played a major prank on the Sichuan people.
These were so-called ‘familiar sights’ that I saw in Banda Aceh. I called it a total wipeout. It teaches me not to take safety for granted, but Singaporeans are just too fortunate to understand the perils of a natural disaster.1500hr. 汉旺板房. They claimed it to be the world’s largest temporary residential site for the earthquake affected victims, which is something not to be proud off. This place is really, really huge and I can’t see the beginning or the end of it. This 板房 is special in a sense that the volunteers’ group are very well organized. We talked to the person-in-charge who explained to us how the volunteering system works. For e.g. anyone who comes in to volunteer at this campsite must go through one week of strict training like sweeping the floor, plucking the weeds, etc, to make sure he can survive the harsh living conditions here. From there, he/she will proceed on to help the victims in whatever skills they have.
We also met up with volunteers from Shanghai, Beijing, who selflessly sacrificed their personal time to spend their time serving the people here like opening a barber shop, setting up a library, teaching classes, etc.
1700hr. We headed back to Chengdu but were stuck in a very bad traffic condition due to repair of road. It took us almost 3hrs to get back to Chengdu city where we were treated to a good feast of 益洲烧鸡公. Yummy! I also drank a bottle of 雪花啤酒 to end the day with.
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