Missing the place..

It was an uneventful night.. Not that i am keen on much sleep, but En has been exceptionally difficult and he kept waking up a night, moaning and whining...

A first Saturday without hubby is strange... no one asked me what we are gonna do today..
No one to suggest lunch places or things to do..
I am alone. Reality bites. It feels unreal to be alone..

Of course the 2 boys kept me busy enough.. from breaking up fights, to distracting them from dangerous or irritating deeds..

And I have time to edit the photos we took in BJ.. I did not take a lot of photos.. it was not so much a sight seeing trip.. Most of the pictures I took are about our new place, to show the kids, to reassure our parents that the place we are bringing the baby and the tods is decent and very civilised.

Here it is.. NJ's new home from today, and our home to be in 6 mths time.. 中关村 - 大河庄苑
The neighborhood is 中关村 much like an IT SOHO hub, and the estate is called 大河庄苑.

Here is the estate picture.. We moved to a nearby hotel in day 2 so that we are able to view more units within the estate more intensively. And also to know the neighborhood better.
Manage to find this write up about the area and estate from the net to go with it..

"关村商务精英生活特区"

“紫金长河”位于北京市海淀区苏州街3号中关村科技园区核心位置，上风上水，资源丰沛；项目北临北京大学、清华大学、圆明园，东为苏州街临中 国科学院，与海淀图书城隔街相望，西与颐和园、北京西山风景区遥遥相对。具有良好的人文环境，是工作和生活的理想场所。信步向南，只近千米的位置便是百年 名人辈出的中国最高学府— 北京大学，四季清风，洗去喧嚣污浊。
　　

大河庄苑项目是集居住和办公于一起的综合性小区，整体功能划分合理，包括八栋住宅楼、一栋办公楼。居住区建筑容积率为2.92，小区地下车库为连通形式，地上地下共有停车位千余个。
　　

公寓部分为地下二层，地上十八层，局部为十六层的“城市景观公寓”。首层地下一层为商业、会所部分。面积集中在45平米—70多平米之间，共计503套的精致户型为追求完美的您，提供一个可完全舒展人性与灵魂的舒适空间。　　
　　

本项目周边区域生活配套非常完善，银行、邮局、医院、幼儿园、多所知名大学、家乐福超市等生活必需配套也一应俱全。

The views from the room, and within the estate..
I love the willow trees.. the lush greens is a good contrast with the bright yellow facade..





























There is a bilingual kindergarten within the estate (in faint orange circle in the left), which is really convenient. NJ's peer, who came with his son and wife, has already enrolled his son here to start on Monday. The fees are reasonable (cheaper than what we are paying in Singapore - about SGD 400 for half da school), and they offer both international classes (where the native English teacher teach for more hours) or the bilingual classes (where the native English teacher only teach for 1 hour and the rest but local teachers). I learnt from NJ's friend that the son's curriculum is focused on music, which please them very much. Seems like a good school to immerse the boys in for 6 mths for half a day.

Finally, the apartment... this is the apartment we rented..

Presenting the floor plan.. (the internet is amazing!)



















And some pictures I took..

The spacious living room, with a huge balcony that overlooks the 四合院 （those old old buildings left in China, though they are not hutong.. so I also need to check out what's the difference..)
















The view from the master bedroom, to the walkway connecting the other 2 rooms, kitchen and the other bathroom



















The kids' room.. I love the bay window.. which makes for a nice reading corner, or a jumping corner for Xuan.. The lime green wall paper and the parquet floor makes it cosy and warm for the kids..



















View from the kids's room of the estate..


















A decent, albeit dirty toilet that only need some polishing.



















A quaint kitchen that is clean and with a 3 ring stove. Best part, the cabinets are designed like our previous apartment with smart storage space..



















NJ's friend rented another unit in the same estate as well, so our kids can go to the same school, and they have playmates...

Now, you can probably understand why I am reluctant to come back?

I just need to survive through these months, take good care of my baby to make sure he is a strong and healthy baby, and we will be able to join Papa in our new home soon..

Frankly, I never thought it is easy to survive in china, esp. with kids.
But after this trip, I have hopes that I will cope..
After all, with a very live-able environment, it takes a big load of worry off my mind..

Friends.. You are welcome to visit..
We have 3 rooms, enough to cater for visitors.
We are close by to the train, 20 mins taxi ride from city centre, 40 mins ride by train from city centre, but if you want to visit the summer palace and all, then it is reachable on foot or a very short distance by train. Going to the great wall etc from our location will also half the distance there from the city, I think, if my orientation is not too far off...

I wonder what hubby is doing now..
I miss him..
You know the strangest thing..
I sometimes feel that I am like a visitor in SG, only wanting to go back to BJ with hubby.
It is ridiculous when you articulate it, but it is true.. because
Home is where the heart is.

P/S: For those who want updates from hubby, his blog is beginning to be active again. You can check him out there..