DimSumDolly* - the different morsels of the life of a foodie

木綿洞 Mok Min Cave

Being the avid hiker that I was in Hong Kong, it was only fitting that my last Sunday there was spent in my favourite spot - Sai Kung (西貢). Writing this blog entry now and looking at the pictures brings back such fond memories of Hong Kong that it makes me want to go back right away!

We started our coastal trek (泳涃) at Pak Lap Chai (白腊仔). This shows us moments before we went into the water. There's me in red with my yellow float.

The winds were really strong that day, resulting in large wave action as seen from all that froth in the sea. If you look carefully, you can see some of my friends still bobbing in the water. We couldn't get onto shore at those parts as the waves were too strong and we were carried back and forth by the waves when we attempted to climb onto the rocks. It was impossible and at one point I was seriously scared.

Thankfully after a while all of us managed to swim into this little cove where the waves weren't so strong. It was there that we all managed to climb onto the rocks. Upon assessing the strength of the waves, we decided to abort the rest of the coastal trek as it was too dangerous to go into the water. Two of my friends had to be rescued by two of the guys as the two weaker ones weren't able to swim into the cove.

I LOVE SAI KUNG!!!!

Mok Min Cave (木綿洞), one of the famous landmarks in Sai Kung.

Waves crashing onto shore - we certainly didn't want to be in the water at that spot!

I can't say it enough - I love the beauty of this place.

I look like a 傻婆 (meaning crazy woman in Cantonese) with my hair flying in all directions, but this was taken when we were standing on the other side of Mok Min Cave.

An unusally quiet Pak Lap Wan (白腊灣) on a sunny Sunday. Usually the bay is dotted with yachts.

We then made our way to 沙橋 where's there's a beach and seafood restaurant. It takes about 20 minutes to walk there from Pak Lap Wan (白腊灣).

Close to shore, we could see lots of sea urchins! There were many fishes too. It was just a bit difficult catching them on camera.

Our contingent of eight who braved the choppy waters. Later that evening, we all sat down to a delicious seafood dinner at the Sai Kung town centre. My friends very generously treated me to the meal as a farewell dinner for me. It's fantastic that I got to know this group of local hikers who go on such interesting coastal treks. Being all locals, they all naturally spoke Cantonese among themselves and this gave me a chance to practise speaking Cantonese. In the year that I was in Hong Kong, my Cantonese improved a lot and I'm a little sad that I don't get to use the language as much back in Singapore.

I need to find a way to get back to Hong Kong to live!!! Ideas anyone????

Getting to Pak Lap Chai: From Sai Kung town centre, take a taxi and tell the taxi driver you want to go to Pak Lap. You'll be dropped along the road and there'll be a sign pointing down to Pak Lap Wan. You'll have to take a 10 to 15-minute walk down. Pak Lap Chai is a small beach next to Pak Lap Wan and you can get there by walking through a path at the back and then leading left of Pak Lap Wan. The taxi fare will cost about HKD90 from Sai Kung town centre.

Ping Nam Stream 屏南石澗

Ping Nam Stream 屏南石澗 is located in Fanling and is considered one of the most beautiful streams in Hong Kong.

The trail head starts in Nam Chung 南涌.

Crossing the stream

草裙瀑布 literally translates to hula skirt falls.

Standing beneath the falls

Pothole

The next pool we swam in

Fish in the pool

Me standing at the side wondering or not whether I should make a jump for it

Wweeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!

Our final pool stop

Going down my water slide

The skyscrapers of Shenzhen are visible in the distance

Becoming a Kid Again

A preview of what I got up to on Saturday - we couldn't resist playing on this water slide at one of the rock pools we passed along Ping Nam Stream. I have to add that I was the brave one to test it out first - the others were too scared that the pool at the bottom wasn't deep enough. Of course before I tried it I had a look at the how deep the pool was and decided it was safe enough before testing out the natural water slide. After seeing what fun I had on it, the others followed suit. What great fun we had! :)

Wang Chau 橫洲

In summer, some local tour groups organise hikes in some offshore islands and I joined one several Sundays ago for a trip to Wang Chau 橫洲, an island in the Sai Kung geopark.

The meeting point was at the Tsim Sha Tsui ferry pier and the ferry left from there. From there, the boat made its way up north.

The little rock on the left is one of the most famous rocks in Hong Kong and its Chinese name is literally translated 'Chopping board rock' because of its flat top.

The rock face on the left side of this photo is said to resemble an elephant drinking with its trunk in the water.

The Nine Pins

Basalt Island's sea arch

The back of Wang Chau has lovely volcanic rock columns that resemble the pipe organ in a cathedral.

Wang Chau's sea arch on its north face

There were about 60 people on the tour and we had to take turns to transfer to a small boat in order to sail under the sea arch.

Going towards the arch

Directly under the arch

Volcanic rock window frame

After everyone had a chance to sail under the sea arch, most of the people were dropped off in Wang Chau island to go on a three-hour hike on the island. However, I chose to go swimming instead at Pak Lap Wan beach which is a beach just across Wang Chau on the mainland. It was so hot that I wanted to swim instead of hike. Pak Lap Wan beach was filled with people who got there on their junks. The bay was filled with junks! Near the shore as I stepped into the water, I saw two fishes about 20cm in length! The water that day was simply amazing.

After three hours, the hikers in Wang Chau are picked up by the boat for the journey back to Tsim Sha Tsui.

I'm a sea farer! :)

The tour group I went with is called Yau Shing Travel. The tour costs HKD160 per person and it's a small amount to pay for a fun day outdoors. These tours are conducted in summer only as the winds blowing from the northeast in winter make the waters too rough to head out.

Exploring Sai Kung Peninsula

The Sai Kung Peninsula has many islands within it and these islands are part of Hong Kong's geoparks. The landscape in Sai Kung has been formed from millions of years of volcanic action and the islands that you see now are a result of the rise in water levels from the end of the last Ice age about 6,000 years ago. The Sai Kung geopark features many beautiful rock formations that have come about as a result all these volcanic activity. It is worth going on a boat ride to admire these amazing works of nature. All you have to do is turn up at Sai Kung ferry pier and hire a boat. There are usually many available for rent.

I had been wanting to go to the geoparks so I organised an outing with some friends and colleagues two weekends ago. Some of them couldn't make it at the last minute, so it ended up being only six of us. We hired a boat for four hours for HKD1700 - very affordable. Here are the pics!

C and I decided to go for a swim at a cove in Sharp Island, while the other four remained on the boat as they didn't want to go swimming for one reason or another. But me? I'm a total water baby and I couldn't resist the call of the water. The water was also too inviting to resist.

Nothing like a lazy boat ride admiring such lovely scenery on a sunny Saturday afternoon.

Spot beaches, waterfalls and sea caves as you sail along.

You'll be able to see many sea caves formed by thousands of years of erosion as you sail around the islands.

The Nine Pins group of islands (果洲) on the left. It was named the Nine Pins by the British because the islands looked like bowling pins to them. The Chinese, on the other hand, name them 果洲 (literally translated 'Fruits Islands') because the islands looked like they were a platter of fruits that had scattered down from heaven.

Town Island has a white cross at the top of one of its hills and the island houses a drug rehabilitation centre.

At Leung Shuen Wan (糧船灣), we stopped to buy a drink. Those who are hungry can also grab a bite at the small seafood restaurant there. During winter, it's the place to go to have raw sea urchin. The place is actually a sea urchin farm!

Having a quiet, pensive moment to myself at the bow. My colleague took this shot of me without me knowing. I like it - good for Facebook profile pic. Haha.

When we got back to Sai Kung ferry pier, the pier was buzzing with fishermen selling live seafood from their boats and customers looking to buy at the jetty. We had a wonderful and relaxing day out and this is only something you can do in summer as in winter the wind direction changes and the waters become too rough to go out to sea during that time. So grab the chance to get out in the sun while summer's here!

Coastal Trek: Po Pin Chau (破邊洲) to Pak Lap Wan (白腊灣)

Reunification Day on 1 July was a perfect summer's day in Hong Kong and it being a public holiday, I spent the day outdoors in my favourite place in Hong Kong - Sai Kung. I joined a local group of outdoor enthusiasts in their coastal trek adventure that started from the eastern end of High Island Reservoir (萬宜水庫) over to a small island called Po Pin Chau (破邊洲) and then back to the main land to Pak Lap Wan (白腊灣). Here are the pics!

Our starting point. See that small island in the picture? That's Po Pin Chau - in Chinese its name translates literally to 'broken sided island' - it's broken away from the main land due to thousands of years of erosion of the volcanic rock. We were going to head towards it to scale it.

And off we go!

You can see I'm absolutely happy being in the outdoors!!!

We trekked along the coast and where we couldn't walk across, we swam!

And in I go! Woohoo!

Upon reaching Po Pin Chau, we climbed up to the top ...

... and were rewarded with some gorgeous views

Our party of 15 going over the top of Po Pin Chau to head down to the shore for us to swim back to the main land and continue trekking along the coast.

We then swam across to this rock where there were many small oysters stuck to it.

Some of the guys decided to have some seafood :)

We then swam towards this rock with two sea caves next to it. We had wanted to go into the sea caves but the waves were too strong so decided that it'd be too dangerous to do so.

We trekked past these amazing hexagonal basalt columns which the Chinese call 六角竹, literally translated to 'six-sided bamboo'. These big columns are about 70m and really impressive looking.

A massive bamboo screen

I look incredibly tiny at the bottom!

At this little pool of water, we rested and the guys went fishing for sea urchins in the pool. They found quite a few and put them in the blue basket we had found along the way.

Of course we opened some to eat it fresh!!! Is this cool or what??? I've never had so much fun I tell you!

The sea urchin loot. It's not the season for sea urchin though - there are more of them in winter. It's just that where we were, the waters are a bit cooler so the sea urchins can survive.

Us adventure seekers loving the trekking, rock climbing and swimming! There's me in front with that funny green float that was found along the way.

Came across a stream along the way and we sat there for awhile to sit in some fresh water and freshen up with the cool stream water. Heavenly.

We passed another pool of water and the guys went in search for sea urchins again.

Final destination - we ended at this beach and then walked a short way, through some bushes, to Pak Lap Wan where we took taxis back to Sai Kung town centre.

Part of the coastline we trekked along. This was such an awesome day out that it'll rank as one of my best memories and adventures in Hong Kong! Sai Kung is absolutely beautiful and is my favourite spot in Hong Kong. I'm going to miss all of these ssssooooooo much!!! I haven't even left Hong Kong and I'm missing it already. Why must good things always come to an end?

Wishing Tree 許願樹

Many of us who have been watching TVB dramas for years would have heard of the Wishing Tree (許願樹) as it was an oft-used location for shoots before the authorities banned people from throwing oranges on its branches. It's a short mini-bus ride away from Tai Wo so I decided to head there to have a look at this tree that's famous among locals.

Take mini bus No. 25K from Tai Wo. The bus stop to get on is not too far from Fu Shin Street. The trip costs HKD5.10. Tell the bus driver that you want to go to Wishing Tree so he'll know when to let you alight. The tree is in Lam Tsuem (林村) and you'll see it on your right side of the road as the mini bus passes it.

The Wishing Tree is now supported by many wooden beams because it's now very weak due to years of people burning incense below it. Its leaves' pores are probably choked from smoke! Its branches are also weak from the weight of oranges that people hurled onto it over the years. So now the tree is only a display piece.

To make a wish, buy one of these papers for HKD10, write your wish on it and hang it on this board. You have to hang it below the column which corresponds to your Chinese zodiac sign.

There's also the Tin Hau temple nearby where you can offer some prayers.

About 15 metres away from the real wishing tree is this fake one. You can buy fake oranges to tie to your wish that you've written on paper and throw it up onto the tree. I thought throwing would be easy, but it didn't seem so when this girl on the right (in black) tried it about 7-8 times. She did get it up eventually.

After having a look at the tree, go to one of the stalls nearby to have some dessert soup (糖水). I had this very refreshing lily bulb with snow fungus and egg soup.

The Wishing Tree is nothing exciting but I thought it'd be nice to have a look since I saw it so often in the TVB dramas I watched when growing up. Am glad I've seen it, so now it's one more item checked off my to-do list in Hong Kong before I leave in August.

Exploring Tai Wo (太和)

As part of my playing-tourist-in-Hong Kong plan, I've been visiting some old neighbourhoods in order to know another side of Hong Kong. On 29 May, I made my way to Tai Wo, an old neighbourhood in the New Territories. Tai Wo used to be one of the old market towns in Tai Po Town.

Another dimsumdolly and her ramen-loving friend - I found them in the shopping centre next to Tai Wo train station.

Tai Po Railway Museum - just about seven minutes' walk from Tai Wo MTR station

Love these old light switches in the museum

Old signalling devices for the trains

Tunnelling back in time by sitting in an old train carriage. I should be wearing a cheongsam and I'd fit right into the setting!

The neighbourhood barber - many things still seem to have remained the same as they were decades ago.

The Fu Shin street market along Fu Shin street (富善街) - a street full of stalls selling food and other household items.

Old-style pyjamas and grannies panties. Heehee.

Coils of incense hang in the Man Mo Temple along Fu Shin street. From Wikipedia:

'A Man Mo Temple or Man Mo Miu (文武廟) is a temple for the worship of the civil or literature god Man Tai (文帝) / Man Cheong （文昌） and the martial god Mo Tai (武帝) / Kwan Tai (關帝). The two gods were popularly patronised by scholars and students seeking progress in their study or ranking in the civil examinations in the Ming and Qing dynasties.'

A shop specialising in clothing and accessories used in belly dancing (肚皮舞) - what are the odds of finding such a shop in such an obscure place???

Getting to Tai Wo: Take the East Rail Line (東鐵綫) - the line is coloured light blue on the Hong Kong MTR map.

Ng Tung Chai (梧桐寨 ) Waterfall & Kadoorie Farm

Hike on 6th June, trail head - Ng Tung Chai village, which is a 10-min taxi ride from Tai Po MTR station.

Subsistence farming in Hong Kong, certainly an alternative lifestyle. A stream runs beside the farm and it's so lovely to have the hills behind and to hear the constant sound of flowing water. There's something so soothing about that sound.

The highlights to await us

But not without walking flights and flights of stairs first

Middle Falls (I missed out Bottom Falls as I was at the back of the pack and I thought everyone had gone past Bottom Falls so I didn't stop to look if they were there or not. In the end, I went ahead of everyone. How silly.)

Main Fall

Our last waterfall of the day - this one didn't have a name

After the hike, we made our way to Kadoorie Farm & Botanic Garden which was just a 15-min walk away from the trail end.

The farm practises organic farming and has a few pigs, some chickens, rescued wildlife like exotic parrots, eagles, monkeys etc. It also grows plants such as herbs, maize, vegetables among others. It's a huge place and it's a good place for the family to spend the weekend in such tranquil surroundings. And look at this sow - seriously, can she get any bigger???? How many piglets do you think are in there??

The vegetables being grown along the terraces of Kadoorie Farm.

There's also a small farmers' market where farmers from the nearby farms come and sell their produce. I bought some cherry tomatoes and lychees and they were delicious! Us hikers couldn't resist not getting these local produce. There is also a shop selling organic dried food stuff just next to this farmers' market.

The Ng Tung Chai Waterfalls are really easy to get to and it's another gem of a place I've discovered in Hong Kong. To get to the Main Falls, it's basically climbing a long flight of stairs for about 1.5 hours and it's definitely worth the climb! The little trip to Kadoorie Farm was a great way to end the day out. :)

Shui Lo Cho (水澇漕) & Man Cheung Po (萬丈布) Stream Trekking

As most of my friends know, I LOVE being in the water. As such, I couldn't miss out on the chance to go stream trekking when it was organised last Saturday by the hiking group I usually hike with. We went to Lantau and trekked along Shui Lo Cho (水澇漕) & Man Cheung Po (萬丈布). The aim was to get to this pool so that we could go swimming. To get to the trail head, we first had to take Bus 11 from Tung Chung to get to Tai O, the fishing village.

First we had to dodge many spiders .... eeeekkksss!!!

The first of many rock pools

We make our way across the first waterfall and dip our feet in for the first time. It had rained earlier in the week so there was more water in the stream that day. The cool, clear water was so refreshing!

Turn back and you get a lovely view of the mountains.

That's me being helped across the stream.

Let's pause for a picture before scaling the next waterfall!

We finally reach our rest stop where we were to have a 1.5 hour break to have lunch and swim!

Yes, the sign does say 'NO SWIMMING' and 'DANGER' ...

But we swam anyway! :) Who could resist not swimming in the world's best infinity pool (to me anyway)???? I'm somewhere swimming ... most likely at the edge admiring the gorgeous view of the mountains.

There's me bobbing in the middle of the photo. :p

We also went to the other rock pool where it proved a good spot for a natural jacuzzi.

On the way back to Tai O, we passed this abandoned villa that used to belong to a government official.

The lily pond that sits in front of the abandoned villa. All these hidden spots in Hong Kong! Who'd have known??

This stream trek and the swimming in the pool in that gorgeous infinity pool has to go down as my top ten moments in HK. I love being in the outdoors and I'm still constantly in awe by HK's natural terrain and all the outdoor activities it has to offer. I know I'm going to miss this so much when I leave!

MacLehose Trail Stages 1 & 2

The MacLehose Trail (麥理浩徑), named after Hong Kong's longest serving gonverner Crawford Murray MacLehose, is a 100km long trail that runs east to west across the New Territories, cutting across some of the finest natural scenery in Hong Kong. It was MacLehose who established the country parks - he was an enthusiastic hiker himself.

Every year in the third weekend of November, there is the Oxfam Trailwalker charity hike/run where 500 teams comprising of four members in each, hike/run the trail to raise funds for charity. For the event, the MacLehose Trail is divided into eight stages. All four members of the team are supposed to do the entire course together and support teams will be stationed at various points to give them food and water as refuel.

Initially I thought of doing it this year, but then decided that I couldn't risk destroying my already weak knees at this age. Moreover, my body type - fat - isn't really suitable for running. There'd be too much impact on my knees what with the undulating hills throughout the trail. So that thought was banished.

Instead I chose to do this trail in stages. On Saturday I hiked Stages 1 & 2 of the trail and with that I've done all eight stages of the trail on separate occasions. Hurray! Here are some snapshots from Saturday's hike.

The start of Stage 1 in Pak Tam Chung (北潭涌). You can get there by taking bus 94 from the Sai Kung bus terminus in the Sai Kung town centre. Or if you're in a group, just grab a taxi.

Stage 1 of the MacLehose Trail follows a road that runs along one side of the High Island Reservoir. You're walking on paved road all the time and the terrain of Stage 1 is very flat - not a very interesting part of the trail.

You might also come across free roaming cows. But don't worry, they're very tame and won't hurt you. Just be careful of the large mounds of turd they leave in their wake along roads and trails. Haha.

Basalt rock formations in their characteristic hexagonal columns.

Not far into the initial stages of Stage 2, you'll come across Long Ke Beach. It's a beautiful beach with soft clean sand and it's worth a trip if you'd like to go to an easily accessible beach. I loved the view of the water's azure and turquoise colours from the top! You just have to take a taxi and tell the driver to go to Long Ke Village (浪茄村). Bet you never thought such lovely beaches existed in Hong Kong, did you?

View from our lunch spot - the High Island Reservoir in view.

Sharp Peak in the distance

A cafe at Sai Wan (西灣), another beach along the trail. This is another popular beach in Sai Kung and also a nice one to head to for a day out. We stopped for a drink and I was so tempted to go swimming. But no, I had to focus on the mission at hand, i.e. to complete the first two stages of the MacLehose Trail - all 25km of it.

The trail runs along several types of terrain - beach, mud tracks, paved roads, dirt paths etc.

Ham Tin beach

Up for some surfing, anyone?

The end of Stage 2 at Pak Tam Au (北潭凹). No, I'm not heading back in that direction! Done for the day! I was completely exhausted by the time I reached Pak Tam Au. The last 5km seemed to go on forever! There is a bus stop just about 30 metres down the road and you can take bus 94 back to the Sai Kung bus terminus.

When we got back to the Sai Kung town centre where the Sai Kung Pier is, there was a floating fish market going on. The fishermen bring their catch to the pier and customers banter prices with them from the pier.

Live fish, crabs, lobsters, eels and a whole lot of other seafood for your picking. I love this floating fish market - really delightful!

The Sai Kung peninsula is one of the loveliest parts of Hong Kong and is definitely worth a trip out. You can hire a ferry from the pier and tour round some of the islands. Many of the islands are designated ecoparks with some spectacular rock formations. There are also many seafood restaurants at the pier, but these are generally expensive and tend to be tourist traps.

For information on getting to Sai Kung, click here.

Sunset Peak 大東山

About a month ago, I volunteered to be an assistant organiser in response to the hiking meetup group that I go hiking with, and my debut as assistant organise was supposedly a hike along the South Country Lantau Trail. But I had missed a turning at a fork not too far from the start of the trail and instead led the group up Sunset Peak (大東山) instead. So what was supposed to have been one of the easiest trails in Lantau became one of the hardest as we scaled Hong Kong's third highest peak at 869m by accident! This hike was done on 2 May before my bout of costochondritis, else I might not have survived it!

Sunset Peak is along Stage 2 of the Lantau Trail (鳳凰徑).

We started from Nam Shan (南山) where you can get to by bus (Bus No. 1 or 3M) from the bus terminal at Mui Wo (梅窩). Alternatively you can also walk to Nam Shan from Mui Wo. As you can see, it's a 2-km walk from Mui Wo. To get to Mui Wo, take a ferry from the Central Piers in Hong Kong Island.

You'll come across a helipad near the start of the trail.

Lovely views on a perfect spring day as we made our ascent. We could see the Macau ferries speeding to and from Macau on the south side of Lantau.

A little stream along the way. I scooped up some water to freshen up as it was getting pretty warm.

Fog and cloud surround us as we get to the top of Sunset Peak and the temperature drops to the low 20s. And what are those weird houses? From what I've found out online, these were 'resorts' built by British missionaries in the 1930s for them to get away from the hot and humid weather in summer. There are 20 of these 'resorts' on Sunset Peak. It was an interesting discovery for us and none of us in the group knew of their existence before that.

We leave the 'resorts' behind as we make our way down Sunset Peak.

Lantau Peak (鳳凰山), Hong Kong's second highest peak at 934m, is shrouded in clouds and looms in the distance. It is along Stage 3 of the Lantau Trail, and no, I did not attempt it that day. Next time! We ended our hike at Pak Kung Au (伯公坳). It is located at the end of Stage 2 and the start of Stage 3 of the Lantau Trail, between Sunset Peak and Lantau Peak. There is a bus stop along the road at Pak Kung Au and most of the buses that pass by will take you back to Tung Chung Town Centre where the MTR station is.

This hike is a lovely and picturesque one but be prepared for a long uphill climb - the views are worth all the hard work though!

Cheung Chau Bun Festival 長洲太平清醮

It was a public holiday in Hong Kong yesterday due to the celebration of Buddha's Birthday which falls on the 8th day of the 4th month of the Chinese lunar calendar. A special celebration - the Cheung Chau Bun Festival - goes on in Cheung Chau island on this day and I decided to brave the crowds to take a peek at the festivities. Stupidly, I forgot to bring my camera and so I had to use my mobile phone to take photos, hence the really bad quality of the photos below.

The normally sleepy island is bombarded with visitors on this day. The only way to get there is by ferry from the Central Piers and people start going to Cheung Chau really early.

Lots of bun paraphernalia are sold on the island. They are so cute that I couldn't help but buy some of these touristy things. I bought a bun-shaped cushion, two bun magnets, two phone charms, and a postcard. I know, I know, I'm such a typical tourist!

I love this T-shirt with all the different Chinese characters that have the word 包 as a radical. On its own, the word 包 means bun.

The 平安 (meaning safe and well) buns have different fillings like lotus paste, red bean, and corn. They are sold for HKD6 each.

Snacks made from glutinous rice flour.

All the restaurants on the island will have vegetarian fare on their menu on this particular day and even McDonald's goes vegetarian by having a veggie burger.

At midnight, 12 men will scale this bun tower and they will have a basket strapped to them. They have to collect as many buns as they can as they scale up the tower. The ones at the top are considered the luckiest so it's a competition to see who gets to the top fastest. These buns are not real ones, but rather ones made of spongy plastic.

The Pak Tai Temple is flooded with people going to pray.

Three big bun towers placed in front of the Pak Tai Temple. The paragraph below is taken from Wikipedia:

'One story of the origin of the festival is that in the 18th Century the island of Cheung Chau was devastated by a plague and infiltrated by pirates until local fishermen brought an image of the god Pak Tai to the island. Paraded through the village lanes, the deity drove away evil spirits. Villagers also disguised themselves as different deities and walked around the island to drive away the evil spirits.'

Mini bun towers

There is a parade that goes through the main street to Pak Tai Temple and there are children dressed in costume as part of the tradition.

These two kids are dressed as an ancient king and queen.

School bands take part in the festivities as well, adding to the convival mood.

Lion dance performances with gongs and cymbals banging away are also an integral part of the celebrations. The parade ends in front of Pak Tai Temple, but we didn't want to wait at the temple for three hours to see it.

My friends and I didn't stay till midnight to watch the bun snatching competition as we didn't want to spend the whole day in Cheung Chau. Moreover, the island was getting too crowded and we were feeling hot and sticky, so we decided to leave the island after we had seen part of the parade.

If you haven't been to the Cheung Chau Bun Festival before, I think it's worth braving the crowds to have a look around the island. It's a very unique festival that's integral to the history and culture of Cheung Chau and Hong Kong as a whole. One can sense a strong sense of community from the locals who take part in the parade and I love how tradition is upheld with this festival.

Nagasaki 長崎

The last major city my mum and I visited in Kyushu was Nagasaki (長崎), the capital of Nagasaki Prefecture. With only a population of about 500,000 people, I found Nagasaki a very pleasant city - not too crowded but yet has all the mod cons like any top tier city in Japan. The city is also very picturesque with its undulating hills and mix of Western and Japanese architecture due to its historical significance as being the only city in Japan that foreigners could trade in before Japan opened its doors once again to foreign trade in 1859.

A view of Nagasaki city from Mount Inasa, a 333-metre tall hill situated west of the city. You can take a cable car to the top and there's an observation deck there that offers spectacular views of the city on a clear day like this. The hills and bays in the far back of the photo belong to Kumamoto Prefecture.

On the other side of the observation deck you can see the offshore islands and the beautiful bay. Ah, I just love cities that are surrounded by water!

Sushi platter for dinner! I was sushi-ed out by the time I left Japan.

At the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Musesum, thousands of cranes are strung together in a common wish for world peace. While it's indeed sad that the people of Nagasaki had to endure immense suffering for the sake of having World War II come to an end, hardly anything is said of the atrocities committed by the invading Japanese Army in other parts of Asia. I would say it's a very skewed picture of World War II that's presented. Nonetheless, it's a museum worth going to, if only to remind humanity of the terrible consequences of nuclear warfare and the need to not repeat history.

Glover Garden is a park that has many old, Western-style houses of historical significance. The park sits on a hill that overlooks Nagasaki harbour. The rich Western businessmen who contributed greatly to Nagasaki's economic prosperity lived in luxurious houses in this area. Visitors are allowed to go into these houses to see what life was like in the 19th century.

I was hungry while walking around, so I picked up a yakitori stick from one of the street stalls. Yummy.

If you're travelling in Kyushu, I'd say Nagasaki city is definitely worth stopping over for a few days. From Fukuoka, it takes only 1 hour 50 minutes to get there by train. It's a relatively compact city and it's easy to walk from one tourist attraction to the next. The narrow streets are also a delight to wander around. There are many historical buildings around the city that offer an insight into Nagasaki's role as once being the only window to the West in Japan.

Kagoshima 鹿児島

I liked the calligraphy on the placemat of the restaurant I had dinner at the first evening I spent in Kagoshima. I don't know what it says exactly, but I know it's something to do with friendship. Maybe someone who knows Japanese can enlighten me??

Wafer-thin slices of black pork (kurobuta) to be cooked shabu-shabu style. It was delicious!

Sakura-flavoured ice cream with its pale pink colour and faint aromas of sakura was a lovely way to end the meal.

Sakurajima (桜島), the former volcanic island which still has one of the world's most active volcanoes, imposes a grand presence on the city of Kagoshima. From Kagoshima's ferry port, it's a 15-min ride to get to Sakurajima. While in Kagoshima, my mum and I went to an outdoor onsen (known as an rotenburo) that had a view of Sakurajima. It was a great experience to soak in the hot water and be able to enjoy the beautiful view of this volcano.

The world's largest radishes (daikon 大根) are grown in Sakurajima.

The best tonkatsu I've had so far - crisp light batter encasing succulent black pork and paired with mustard. I had this at this restaurant called One Two Three which is located on the 5th floor of the shopping complex called Amu Plaza, next to Kagoshima-Chuo train station. One Two Three specialises in black pork dishes and you can eat practically every part of the pig there.

At One Two Three, I also had this dish where a mixture of vegetables and thin slices of pork were served with dashi soup and you had to add rice into the soup mixture before eating everything together. The soup was light yet tasty and the vegetables and pork added texture and flavours.

Another recommended dish at One Two Three is also their braised spare ribs with burdock. The pork was extremely tender and it, together with the burdock, were bursting with flavour.

Thanks to my curiosity and my constant questioning of the chef at the counter (we were sitting at the counter) on the food he was preparing, we got rather chummy and he offered this dish to me on the house! This has spinach sandwiched in between rolls of pork which is then deep-fried. Yum yum. If you like yaki tori, you can also have grilled liver, tongue, intestines etc.

Apart from black pork, Kagoshima is also famous for its sweet potato. Shochu, which is distilled from sweet potato, is also one of the prefecture's specialities. Anyway, I love sweet potato, and couldn't leave without buying these cute pig-shaped sweet potato cakes. These cakes can be bought at any department store in Kagoshima and also at the food souvenir shops at Kagoshima-Chuo train station.

I really enjoyed Kagoshima as the city has a rather relaxed feel. The streets are spacious enough for people to cycle around the city and I've always loved cities where people can get around on bicycles. Kagoshima's beauty is also greatly enhanced by the grand presence of Sakurajima that seems to stand guard over the city. Definitely worth a visit!

Around Beppu

If you're in Beppu, I'd suggest making your way to the following places as well if
you have the time.

Getting up close and personal with Mount Naka, one of five peaks of Mount Aso (阿蘇山), the largest active volcano in Japan. It's about an hour's train ride from Beppu and from the train station you need to take a bus to get to Mount Naka's peak. I must say it is pretty cool to be able to come so close to an active volcano.

If you haven't seen a Japanese castle before, it's definitely worth going to Kumamoto (熊本) to have a look at the castle there. Kumamoto Castle is a reconstruction of the original that was completed in 1607. You can climb to the top floor of the tower to get a good view of the city. Kumamoto is only a short train ride away from Mount Aso and it's also linked to many major cities in Kyushu by express trains.

Usuki (臼杵市), a small town about an hour away from Beppu by a local train, is famous for its Stone Buddhas that are believed to be carved in the 12th century. There are 59 carved stone buddhas in the temple and the temple grounds are very peaceful and tranquil in a way that's beautifully subtle.

Me tying my written wish to a shrub, in the hope that the deities will grant my wishes one day. Still keeping my fingers crossed!

Yufuin 湯布院

Yufuin (湯布院) is a small town 25 km from Beppu (别府) that's worth a day-trip if you're spending a few days in Beppu. I found that Beppu wasn't actually that nice a city and preferred Yufuin instead. Here are some pictures to give an idea of what the town's like.

The twin peaks of Mount Yufu loom behind Yufuin.

Colourful koi lanterns and toys decorate this tree, adding some charm to the small street where it stands.

A mother and her son soaking their feet in the public foot bath that's just beside a car park. I love these public foot baths! Such a cool idea!

Afternoon tea - the swiss roll on the right is very popular with the Japanese for some reason. We saw many people eating it so we decided to try it. However we were very disappointed as it tasted really ordinary!

Eggs being cooked in water from the hot spring being sold for 100 yen each.

My favourite shop - a shop selling stuffed toys and other memorabilia of characters from famed director Hiyao Miyazaki's animated films. I love Totoro the most!!!

A shop specialising in different types of chilli and soy sauce.

I love this glass house which houses a shop selling pottery ware and a cafe.

For fans of Marc Chagall, there is a small musesum with some of his artworks inside. It's about a 20-minute walk away from the train station. Just follow the signs.

For die-hard Hello Kitty fans, there's a mini shrine next to the Hello Kitty shop.

Yufuin is somewhat touristy, but it's touristy in a pleasant way. Many Japanese people like to go there for a weekend getaway and it's also a place where there are many onsens (hot springs) you can visit.

Getting there: From Beppu take a train to Oita (大分). Then from Oita Station hop onto the Limited Express train on the JR Main Kyudai Line. The whole journey from Beppu to Yufuin will take about an hour.

Dazaifu 太宰府

While in Fukuoka, my mum and I also took a day-trip to Dazaifu (太宰府) which is famous for the Tenman-gu Shrine. People like to go to this shrine to pray for academic success as it enshrines Sugawara Michizane (845-903), the god of academic achievement.

The street leading to the shrine is lined with teahouses selling freshly made umegae-mochi, a specialty of Dazaifu that's a rice cake filled with red bean paste. Ume is the name for plum in Japanese - you'll see that there is a plum flower motif on the rice cake. The temple is supposedly famous for its plum trees.

Me performing Temizu (手水), a cleansing ritual to be performed in Shinto shrines before approaching the deity - a symbolic gesture to show you're free from impurities. You first rinse your left hand, then your right, and then the mouth is rinsed with water from the left hand. Not many people rinse their mouth these days, but if you do, don't spit the water back in!

You can also buy a wooden plaque and write your wishes on it. I didn't bother.

A couple in traditional Japanese wedding costume having their wedding photos taken.

Umegae-mochi and matcha - if you get the one-day Dazaifu pass which is specially for tourists, this set is included in the ticket that costs 1000 yen per person. The day pass includes a return ticket from Fukuoka, this set and it entitles you to discounts if you visit the different museums in Dazaifu.

Japan's fourth national museum, the Kyushu National Museum is nestled in a quiet spot near the shrine.

Dazaifu City used to be where the regional government was situated for the whole of Kyushu about 1,300 years ago. A two-kilometre walk from the shrine will take you to these government building ruins. The trees in the background are the sakura trees in all their blooming glory.

Getting there:
From Tenjin subway station, walk to Nishitetsu Fukuoka Station (2 min). From there, take a local train to Nishitetsu Dazaifu Station (43 min).

Some Scorn For You?

When visiting a non-English speaking country, one usually comes across some interesting English translations and spelling mistakes in signs, menus, notices etc. I couldn't resist taking a picture of this one.

Strawberry-flavoured scorn???

Alas, they're just scones in Delifrance, which by the way, had confectionary that looked better than the ones in Singapore and Hong Kong. There was also a bigger variety of bread and pastries sold. This Delifrance outlet is located at Hakata Station, Fukuoka.

Ichiran

Nothing gets more impersonal than eating at Ichiran, a ramen eatery in Fukuoka. Ramen is one of Fukuoka's specialties, so it goes without saying that I had to have it at least once.

There's a system guide to teach you how to order. Don't worry, it's in English!

First you go to the vending machine to select what you want to order. Each bowl of pork ramen costs 790 yen, but you have to pay more if you want to add more green onions, or more pork etc.

Take that voucher(s) to one of these booths.

Also take this order form and circle your choices.

These booths are so self-contained. There's a button to push to call one of the staff to your booth where you then hand over the voucher(s) and the form. You never see the staff member's face though. All you see are their hands. Chopsticks and spoons are tucked neatly at the side of the booth.

You can hang your coat at the back and there are even tissues provided.

Within a few minutes, this cute rectangular bowl arrives in front of you. After it's served to you, the waiter or waitress lowers the bamboo blind so that you can concentrate on your food and not be distracted.

Lift the lid and you get a steaming hot bowl of ramen. I liked their noodles and the broth was rich and tasty. They were also not too stingy with their pork slices.

The Japanese think of everything - there's a small sink for you to wash your hands as you leave.

Ichiran can be found at the basement of Canal City, Fukuoka. See how to get there from here.

Yanagibashi Market 柳橋連合市場

Yanagibashi Market in Fukuoka is no Tokyo's Tsukiji Market in its scale and the variety of fish available, but it's still interesting to have a look if you've never been to a market in Japan before.

Unlike Tsukiji Market which is more known for its fish, Yanagibashi Market sells other produce as well.

Fresh wasabi on the left

One of many shops selling seafood

We put a small box of uni (sea urchin) to eat - I love eating it and couldn't walk away without buying some.

Dried fish and bonito flakes

There were a few shops selling different sorts of fried fish cakes.

We had a bite at a small shop that had a sushi counter and a small seating space upstairs. This plate of maguro (tuna) sushi was delicious!

We also had this plate of assorted sushi which wasn't as good as the tuna unfortunately! Nonetheless, it was the first of many sushi meals we were to have in the next 11 days around Kyushu island.

Yanagibashi Market is a 15-minute walk from JR Hakata station (博多駅) which is the main train station in Fukuoka. Alternatively you can also hop on the Green City Loop bus and its one of the stops along the route that it plies.

Sakuras

One of the items on my life's to-do list is to see sakuras (aka cherry blossoms) bloom in Japan. Hanami is the Japanese term for referring to the Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the beauty of flowers. This flower is usually the sakura. In my recent trip to Kyushu (九洲), I had timed it in the hope of catching the blossoms. There also happened to be a five-day weekend in Hong Kong over Easter and the Ching Ming festival, so I decided many months ago to make this trip despite the exorbitant price of air tickets and the fact that the Japanese yen is so strong. But I decided that this was something I had to do at least once in my life time and thus decided to splurge on it. Thankfully, the weather and the blossoms played their part and were there to welcome me on my second visit to Japan.

Fukuoka

A darker pink variety of sakura which I saw less often than the pale pink variety

Every year hanami is a huge thing with the Japanese. There are predictions on when the blossoms will appear and when they do, there's huge news coverage on it every day. You also see the Japanese people having hanami parties by going to the parks and having picnics under the sakura trees.

Beppu

A white variety which is lesser seen

These delicate blossoms have been written about by Japanese poets for centuries, and were used as a metaphor for life - beautiful but transient in its beauty. Indeed, it's not hard to see why when you see the sakuras for yourself. When the wind blows through the trees, the petals fall like soft snow, fluttering down as they let the gentle breeze take them along. The trees are in bloom for only a short time and the flowers' petals are so fragile that a slight breeze will have some drizzling down - its subtle glory is so ephemeral. I've been lucky to be able to catch them in Kyushu and it's one of the most beautiful sights I've beheld. I'm glad I can now tick an item off my life's to-do list!

Dragon's Back and Cape D'Aguilar

I had to work the first half of Saturday over the weekend and was really bummed out that I couldn't go hiking because of it. Thankfully I managed to get my hiking fix on Sunday. The slightly warm weather was also perfect for hiking. I didn't have to go far to get to the meeting point for Sunday's hike - I only had to make my way to Chai Wan MTR station which is only a few stops away from where I live in HK Island.

From Chai Wan MTR station, we walked across to the cemeteries. There are several cemeteries for different religious groups in Chai Wan. There's a Buddhist, Muslim and Christian cemetery. This coming weekend is the Qing Ming Festival weekend but many people were already going to pay their respects to their ancestors a week before. There were traffic police around to marshall traffic because of the crowds. This particular cemetery in the photo above, though, was a picture of calm and serenity. Mainly because the people buried there were British soldiers who had died in World War II. They were all men who had their candle snuffed out too early.

From the back of the cemetery, we walked through the hills to get to the trail leading to Dragon's Back, one of Hong Kong Island's most popular hiking trails. The view from Dragon's Back is one that allows you to appreciate the beauty of Hong Kong Island's south side.

A paraglider hovering above Dragon's Back after taking off from there. I have never paraglided before but I'd imagine it's heaps of fun to be soaring above everyone else and having some quiet time to yourself.

From Dragon's Back, we made our way to Cape D'Aguilar. We hiked up to its peak and then made our way around it and landed back down at Shek O beach which was the end point of our hike. This is a shot taken by a fellow hiker and I'm the person on the left admiring the lovely view before me at a spot not far down from the peak, at about 300 metres above sea level.

Anyway, I'm off to the Land of the Rising Sun for a holiday!

Konnichiwa Nippon!

Strawberry Picking

The thing I love about Hong Kong is that it's easy to get away from the urban sprawl to get some air and space. I need to get out on the weekends as it's where I find my balance. When I don't get to do that on the weekends, I feel like something's wrong and that I've been deprived of my time outdoors. Seeing all the mountains and the greenery around me is so therapeutic and good for the soul.

Last Sunday I went strawberry picking with three other friends at Rainbow Organic Strawberry Farm, located in Fanling.

This sign warns you that if you're caught eating a strawberry without paying for it first, you'll be charged HKD60 for it, i.e. the same price as one pound (approx 450g) of strawberries.

Pick up a basket and a pair of scissors and you're set to go!

The strawberry fields nestled in front of the surrounding mountains in Fanling.

Strawberries waiting to be plucked.

My loot cost me HKD48. I ate two straight away and they were really sweet!

You can also pick the tomatoes which go for HKD20 per pound.

There are also vegetable plots where cabbage, lettuce, carrots and sweet corn are grown. However you aren't allowed to pick these.

The Rainbow Organic Strawberry Farm is located within Lavender Garden. You'll have to go through Lavender Garden to get to the strawberry farm. The entrance fee is HKD5 per person.

The lavender flowers that give the garden its name.

Lavender Garden is a good place for a family outing as the children can feed the few goats that are here.

Or they could feed the koi.

You can also book a pit for a BBQ.

Before reaching Lavender Garden, you'll see these letter boxes belonging to the villagers at the village entrance. Very cute, isn't it?

Getting there: From Fanling train station take the 52B (Hok Tau) minibus, which runs at 20 minute intervals. Alight the minibus before it turns right at the entry to Hok Tau Village. Walk straight along Hok Tau Road for a few minutes and you will see Lavender Garden on your left.

Lavender Garden
Tel: +852 2674 7822
Address: DD76 Lot 655 Hok Tau Road, Fanling, New T.
Opening hours : Monday-Friday 10 am - 6 pm
Sat,Sun & Holidays: 10 am - 10 pm

Tai O

One of my oldest and best gal pals, Des, came to visit a couple of weeks ago over the weekend. It's so nice to see a familiar face and great to be able to indulge in girly chat. One of the places we went to was Tai O, a fishing town in an obscure part of Lantau Island. The town is known as the 'Venice of Hong Kong' but trust me, it's a rather poor cousin of the Italian city.

Nonetheless, Tai O is not without its charm and tourists flock there despite the journey being quite a trudge from either Tung Chung MTR station or the Mui Wo ferry terminal. Here are some snapshots from Hong Kong's version of Venice.

Stilt houses all cramped next to each other.

Fish being dried and preserved

More dried fish, cuttlefish, prawn paste etc. Stuff I'm not very fond of!

Eeeks! Look at this stingray!

Vendors selling cuttlefish grilled over charcoal. Love that smoky charcoal flavour, but I'm not a fan of cuttlefish so I didn't buy any to munch on.

For some reason, every other eatery and street vendor was selling soya beancurd. I like the ones stored in wooden buckets like these. I love that traditional look.

A type of tea called 紫背天葵茶 that's produced in Tai O. Its English name is Matthiola incana R.Br, and I gather it's a type of herb. It's supposed to be good for quenching thirst, dispelling 'heat' from one's body, preventing high blood pressure and aiding digestion. The tea is a reddish-purplish colour and you can find the tea being sold in bottles all around the town centre.

Tangerine peel - used a lot in Cantonese soups and desserts (糖水)

Despite the not-so-pretty stilt houses, the backdrop of the hills makes the place look rather scenic.

I thought this was hilarious - "Snow White Spouse Wanted".

Cute round salted egg yolks

We were walking around the stilt houses and came across one that had old-fashioned stoves like these, still heated by charcoal and wood. Don't see much of this these days.

A calligraphy shop's grill has classical Chinese poems written on every panel of the grill. A common theme ran through the different poems - they all had to do with how time flies by so fast without us realising it and thus we have to treasure the little time we have in this life. How true.

Double Deer Stream Trek

I went stream trekking along Double Deer Stream in Sai Kung last Sunday. It was an awesome hike and I've concluded that Sai Kung is one of the most beautiful areas in Hong Kong. Here are some snapshots.

Campers at the beach where we started our hike

The first rock pool we came across along our trek

Two of the guys scaling the second rock pool along our way

If you look carefully you can see me making my way across the rocks in my red bikini towards the jumping spot

I can never back away from such challenges. So I stepped off the cliff that was about 10 metres in height without spending too much time up there thinking about it. The more you stand up there to ponder, the worse it becomes. So off I went and screamed my way down. But man, those few seconds were liberating!!!

Scaling up the rock wall. There's me in the black top carrying the orange backpack.

The easy part of the trek

Our lunch spot. Most of us couldn't resist taking a dip in the pool. I swam under the waterfall too and had a bit of a natural jacuzzi!

Scaling another rock wall with the stream to the right

And we are rewarded with a view after reaching the top

Making our way across a tricky part

This jump - only about 1.5 metre - was a piece of cake compared to the one I had done earlier!

Enjoying a bit of a massage by the cascading water

Ah, how nice...our very own private pool! We were sharing it with some fish as well!

The rolling green hills of Sai Kung and the sea beyond. Breathtaking.

Ah Por's Soya Bean Curd 建兴亚婆豆腐花

I was told that this soya bean curd stall is a must-try when one goes to Lamma Island. We passed it while on our walk along one of the trails.

Al fresco dining...enjoy the wild greenery around and get in touch with nature! OK, it was a tad hot and humid so maybe not for the faint-hearted.

The white and baby smooth soya bean curd. It slipped smoothly down the throat and it was good that it didn't have the plaster of paris taste of the coagulant that some soya bean curd have. I had it with ginger syrup, but you can also have it with palm sugar if you want.

The sugar that's in a box placed on the table.

Moi the dessert monster decides to try the sugar, as if the ginger syrup wasn't already enough! I liked it better with the sugar though, 'cos it added a bit of texture with the slight crunch.

Just next to the stall is a vegetable plot. It's so nice to be able to grow your own vegetables! A walk farther down to the right of the stall will lead you to a beach.

Bookworm Cafe

My first Saturday in Hong Kong was spent in Lamma Island going to an organic vegetarian cafe for brunch followed by an easy hike from Yung Shue Wan village to Sok Kwu Wan village. The hike was a scenic one that brought me and my companions up some hills that offered us lovely views of the hills and seas which make up Hong Kong.

Bookworm Cafe is about a seven-minute walk away from Yung Shue Wan pier. Arrive at the pier and then turn right towards the seafood restaurants and continue walking through the small lanes. You'll walk past a gourmet cheese shop before reaching Bookworm Cafe.

The cafe's interior is somewhat bohemian and it's very inviting with its cheery colours and stacks of books set along one side of the cafe. Most of the books and magazines are second-hand ones and are for sale.

The menu offers western vegetarian fare like lasagne, big breakfast, omelette, vegie burger, salads etc.

I like the cute toy at the counter. :)

I had the pumpkin soup served with toasted buttered bread. I felt it was a little bland and actually wasn't expecting it to be like that. I had thought it would come like a puree/cream soup. The bread was nicely toasted and buttered, and smelt as well as tasted good.

The Shepherdess Pie is the vegetarian take on the English pub grub stape, Shepherd's Pie. The Shepherdess Pie had peas, potato, carrots and a nicely baked cheese topping. The salad consisting of beetroot, carrots and lettuce was served with a light and refreshing balsamic dressing. I really liked this vegetarian version of the more hearty Shepherd's Pie.

The Big Breakfast that my friend had. I still think my Shepherdess Pie looks better.

The omelette that came with a filling made of mixed vegetables and slices of potato.

Bookworm cafe is a nice, cosy place to hang out but too bad it doesn't face the sea. Otherwise it'd have been the perfect place to chill out for the whole day. Vegetarians would love this cafe but the rest of us omnivores might think it's silly to go all the way to Lamma only to have vegetarian food. If I'm going to do this again, I'd go to Lamma in the mid-afternoon, go to Bookworm cafe for afternoon tea (the cakes look good), hike and then end the day with a seafood dinner. I won't leave Lamma without having seafood in future!

Bookworm Cafe
Mon~Fri: 10:00am to 9:00pm
Sat & Public Holidays: 9:00am to 10:00pm
Sunday: 9:00am to 9:00pm
G/F, 79, Yung Shue Wan Main Street,
Lamma Island, Hong Kong.
Tel : (852) 2982 4838

Bushwhacking at Razor Hill and Cheung Kung Shan

The view from the top of Razor Hill which is about 430m above sea level. The hike today involved a lot of bushwhacking and we even passed tombs perched high on the hill slopes. The long-sleeved hiking shirt and hiking shoes I bought came in very useful today. Anyway, am loving the wonderful views that can be seen from these hikes. Will definitely do more hiking in winter. Hiking in summer can be rather tough with the heat and humidity - my friends and colleagues think I'm mad to be doing it. But hey, it's just something to do and it's something I enjoy, plus I really need to get out and get some sun over the weekend.

Well, it's the start of another week in a few hours' time. Have a good one everyone.

Hike from Repulse Bay to Chai Wan

I haven't put up any photos of the food I've been eating in Hong Kong, but believe me, I HAVE been eating. A lot. I look everywhere and there's food. And I just want to eat everything. Hong Kong is truly a foodie's playground. With all that eating, I also need to keep healthy to enable myself to continue eating.

I joined California Fitness two weeks ago. I actually hate gyms as I find them to be such sterile environments. But for the sake of having something to do and also just to keep healthy, I decided to join one. However, I went to the branch in Causeway Bay (the usual one I go to) only to have a shower after paddling yesterday and today after my hike. Those are expensive showers I'm having. Haha. I was desperately in need of a shower and it was nearer to head to the gym rather than go home. I mean, why not, since I've already paid for my membership???

Anyway, I've decided that henceforth my Sunday activity will be hiking. I found a hiking group online that organises hikes every Saturday and Sunday. Today's hike was from Repulse Bay, through the back of it via Tai Tam Reservoir and then we ended up in Chai Wan. The 13km hike took us 3 hours in total and we had to walk up hills, cross streams, balance our footing on water pipes, toe our way through narrow paths lined with bushes, and walk up narrow stairs. For our efforts in the afternoon sun and humidity, we were rewarded with beautiful views of Hong Kong Island's south side, the sight of cool fresh spring water streaming down and circling their way around rocks, small waterfalls, lush greenery and the pleasure of being away from the hustle and bustle of the city. It was really nice just getting out to soak in some sun and meet new people. There were about 35 people who turned up for the hike and it was a 50-50 mix of locals and foreigners.

A fork in the road

A view of Tai Tam Reservoir

We walked across the bridge after that to get to the dam

The dam

One of several streams we came across

One of several uphill stretches of the hike

Fresh and cool water piped from the streams. Such a refreshing treat to splash the water on one's self to cool down in the heat!

I wore my TEVA sports sandals to the hike today but decided that this and my pair of New Balance running shoes wouldn't do for hikes as the soles and design of these two pairs of footwear aren't suitable for hiking terrain. Though nothing happened to me today, I figured I had to have proper hiking footwear to minimise my risk of injury. Hence I headed to Causeway Bay after the hike to look for some suitable hiking gear. My sporting pursuits are costing me a lot of money!!! Nonetheless I'm pleased with this pair of hiking shoes from Columbia that cost me HKD1000. I opted for this water-proof one rather than a normal one that would have cost me half the price as it was on sale. Figured it would be worthwhile to pay more for something that might come in useful. Having wet feet wrapped in wet socks is no fun!

People who visit Hong Kong seldom see this side of Hong Kong. Many are even unaware of it. But Hong Kong is truly beautiful and there are so many kinds of outdoor activities to do. I wished more people would explore this side of Hong Kong, instead of knowing Hong Kong only for shopping and bars in Lan Kwai Fong (*yawn*). Anyway, am looking forward to more hiking pursuits!

Tuna Heaven

This tuna sashimi meal I had in Seoul has to go down as the best meal I had there - and it was for a steal at 38,000 won, which works out to about SGD45. It's all thanks to my Korean friend, J, who brought me to this small sashimi place. Great to know local foodies, ya know? Unfortunately the name card is in Korean so I can't translate the address. The nearest subway station to this tuna sashimi place is Jamsil which is along Line 2 and 8, south of the Han River. Anyway, here's the spread that brought me to tuna heaven. I still dream of it. *sigh*

The chef at work

A small bowl of porridge that was really tasty and smooth

Don't ask me what cut of the tuna this came from - I lost track after awhile. But the tuna sashimi slices were served on a bed of radish, accompanied by some preserved ginger, preserved onions and fresh watercress.

A side plate of salad was included in the meal

Oops...forgot what this was! I only remember it tasted good!

Chives with bean paste

A bowl of miso soup

More tuna

And more!

Tuna sushi

The fatty bits!!!

Sanchon 山村

Having read about Sanchon in my guidebook and also based on a recommendation from fellow travellers, I decided to eat there even though I'm not a huge fan of vegetarian food. But I thought, hey, after all that crap I was eating up, some greens couldn't hurt.

The restaurant is located in a small lane that's branches off from Insadong-gil, the tourist-filled street. Sanchon serves Korean temple food and the food served is seasonal. The restaurant was started by a man named Kim Yon Shik who came to know the food during his years as a Buddhist monk.

You first step into the shop, selling dried goods like tea leaves and dried mushrooms. These are stuff that the restaurant uses in its food.

Sanchon's dining area is filled with low tables and lovely lotus-shaped lanterns.

For those who prefer sitting at tables, there are a few tables with chairs available. But I still think one should go the traditional Korean way, i.e sit on the floor, unless of course you can't sit on the floor for medical reasons!

My friend and I went for the lunch menu as it's better than going for dinner. The lunch set costs 22,000 won. I felt like a grazing cow throughout the meal 'cos there are so many types of greens served. I've never eaten so much vegetables in one sitting!

Here are some dishes we had:

Porridge of the Season

Watery plain kimchi

Such a pretty basket! But oh, notice those little dishes at the side of this basket.

Fried kelp

Jap-chae (Korean potato starch noodles)

Jelly

Dessert came in the form of the teok rice cakes and some sweet tea.

The food in Sanchon is healthy and tasty, though it was way too much for me and my friend - we only managed to eat about 2/3 of the food served. It's a great place to have a leisurely lunch without the guilt of having overindulged in unhealthy food!

Sanchon
Jongno-gu, Gwanhoon-dong 14, Seoul
Tel: 82 (0)2 735 0312 / (0)2 733 0709
Open: 12pm to 10pm
Subway: Anguk station (Line 3)

Hae Dup Bap (sashimi mixed rice)

One of my favourite dishes in Korea was Hae Dup Bap and I couldn't quite get enough of it while there. It's a pity that I haven't come across any Korean restaurant in Singapore that has it on their menu. I'm sure there are, but they are definitely few and far between.

I had the dish several times in Gangneung and the fish slices that were placed in my bowl that contained a mixture of rice, nori seasweed, julienned vegetables like cucumber and radish, couldn't get any fresher. I saw the fish being fished out of the tank and sliced immediately. Boy did those raw fish slices taste good. The red paste sauce that goes into the mixture is called choe-jang. It is made out of grounded red chilli pepper, bean paste, glutinous rice, salt, sugar and malt.

Hae Dup Bap is a really healthy one-meal dish and it's something that I definitely want to learn how to make for myself for those times I'm going to end up cooking for myself in Hong Kong. Here are some versions I had in Korea.

The rice is served separately in a silver bowl and you have to scoop the rice out of that bowl and place it in the bowl that the fish and vegetables are in. Until i went to Korea, I didn't realise that the Koreans actually ate a lot of fresh greens. The cuisine is really healthy and that's probably why everyone there is so slim!

I had this Hae Dup Bap one afternoon for lunch in Gangneung. I was the only customer there. Maybe they weren't even open for business, but the two middle-aged ladies who saw me looking rather lost beckoned me in when I asked them if I could eat there. Funnily enough, one of the women's niece was an English teacher and she had to call her niece to ask her to speak to me to ask what I wanted to eat. Thank god for mobile phones! And the best part about Korean meals is all the side dishes!

I was also given an extra bowl of clam soup which was delicious! The two ladies and two of their friends had it as part of their lunch which they had at the same time as me. They were having lunch and watching TV. I felt like I was intruding on a family lunch...rather surreal.

There is some slight variation in the vegetables used. In any case, I really liked the generous use of fresh greens in the dish. It made the dish a lot lighter in taste and that complemented the subtle taste of the sashimi.

Live Octopus

The most exotic thing I ate in Korea...

Nudge the ones that are lying still with your chopsticks and they'll start wriggling away. The octopus that my friends and I had was a small one so the tentacles were small and thus easier to swallow.

It is served with a small plate of sesame oil which helps add some flavour and also helps it to slip down the throat more easily. Wouldn't want it getting stuck in your throat! Actually the octopus itself doesn't have much taste, the fun is really in trying to wrestle that tentacles off the plate as its suction pads stick to the plate. It's a real test of one's chopstick skills! Takes quite a bit of strength!

The moment you get it off your plate, give it a quick dip either in the sesame oil or the red fermented bean paste sauce. Take care not to let it stick to the plate in which the sesame oil is in otherwise it's another wrestling match! You'll have to be really quick as the tentacle tends to also curl round the chopstick and not let go!

The moment you put it in your mouth, chew as fast as possible to try to break it down into as small a piece as possible so it can be easily swallowed. But really, there's only so much chewing you can do as being raw, it's rather difficult to break down. You might feel a suction pad or two sucking on your tongue or the side of your cheek. It's not painful but it's a weird sensation to have something sucking on the inside of your cheek. Haha. But really, chew and swallow fast enough and it'll be fine.

A very fun and interesting eating experience indeed...I'm definitely game for another round!

Gangneung - Part 2

A few more snapshots from Gangneung...

This is the touristy Seaside Train that runs along the coast for about 1 hour 20 minutes from Gangneung to Samcheok. The day that I took it was a lovely one so it was a scenic ride down the coast. Sometimes soldiers and students wave at you from along the road as the train chugs along the tracks. :)

The middle carriage with all the hearts is supposed to be the carriage for couples. Apparently men like to propose there. That's what I read on some website anyway.

Do you believe me now?

The seats are refitted so that they are face the side and the windows are made bigger so that people have an unobstructed view of the sea. How smart! There is a running commentary by a train staff but obviously I couldn't understand a single word.

The train journey is made interesting by making passengers wave at the cameras (and then you see yourself on the monitor perched in front) and there's also Bingo! Passengers are each given a Bingo card and numbers appear on the monitor. About 30 numbers are thrown up and there is a high chance of Bingo-ing. But I wasn't so lucky. A Korean lady in her 50s sitting three seats (the one on the right in the picture) from me Bingo-ed and her prize was a bag of snacks which she very generously shared with her two friends and me!

Jeongdongjin station where a hotel in the shape of a cruise ship sits atop a hill.

Barb wire fencing stretches along the coast to prevent North Korea defectors from entering South Korea. Gangneung is in the northeast of the Korean peninsula and is close to North Korea.

Rooftops of one of villages along the coast

Pine trees along the coast - Gangneung is an area in South Korea known for its pine trees that are unique to the region.

Gangneung - Part 1

The first three days of my trip to Korea was spent in Gangneung, a seaside city in Gangwan-do province in the north east of South Korea. Here are a few snapshots from the place.

The bed in the pension (similar to a motel but that's what they call it in Korea) I was staying at. I thought I had walked into a Strawberry Shortcake cartoon. WAY too pink for my liking.

Mirror image

The curtains were made from the same cloth as the bedsheet. Pink overkill. There's a small stove, sink, and mini fridge in the room as well. The balcony outside also comes with a small grill for those inclined towards a mini BBQ.

The pension faces Gyeongpo Beach, a popular beach that Koreans go to in summer to enjoy the sun and sea.

Market in the city centre

Grains and millet for sale

Women line the streets with their fresh produce. Many old ladies were selling fruits and vegetables by the small lanes. The men were the ones selling meats.

A truck full of garlic

Couldn't quite figure out what these were, but they looked like baby eels to me. Many stalls were selling them.

Different varieties of dried fish

It's almost as if these fish are singing in unison.

Why I'm not Korean

Hello! I'm writing from Seoul...am having a good time exploring the city, eating and doing touristy stuff. I'm staying in a traditional Korean house called a hanok near the area called Insa-dong. It's a lovely area filled with small shops...pictures to come after I return to Singapore.

Meanwhile, after some observation over the past week and a half, here's why you can tell I'm not Korean:

1) I don't have long hair - every Korean woman seems to have long hair. Very few have short cropped hair.

2) I'm not fair. All Korean women seem to be fair of skin. I think they must think I come from the countryside or something...I spend my days in the field farming hence I'm so tan!

3) I'm not thin nor skinny. I think all Korean women and men are born with a skinny gene. They can eat a lot (in fact I've noticed that most can really eat) and yet remain so thin! It's amazing...I'm jealous. Maybe it's all the chilli keeping their metabolic rate up.

4) I don't own or carry around a pocket mirror. It's bizarre...Korean women love checking themselves out in mirrors. The phenomenon is so prevalent that it is even mentioned in The Rough Guide edition for Korea. I've noticed that they all carry a pocket mirror in their bag and they take it out after a meal to check every corner of their face at the table. Even the subway stations have big mirrors along the pillars...I guess it's for people to check themselves out (and they actually do so) as they walk past! I think it's rather bizarre...this obsession with looks. But hey, this is the land of plastic surgery, so I guess i shouldn't be too surprised! I propose that the Korean Tourism Board make the mirror the quintessential Korean souvenir.

5) I don't dress girlishly...every woman is so feminine. I'm like a total tomboy. I hate all those frilly dresses and skirts that the women here are so fond of.

6) I don't put on a lot of make-up. Been noticing that many slap on lots of foundation, powder, mascara etc. But OK, still nothing compared to Japanese women!

7) Korean women love taking photos of themselves with, most commonly, their mobile phone. They are posing for pictures left, right and centre. According to a Korean friend, one of the most important features of a mobile phone is the camera feature. That's the first feature they test out when buying a phone. It's known as 'self-camera' but in Konglish, they call is 'cel-ka'.

Anyway, am enjoying the foreign-ness of the place and what the city has to offer. More when I'm back! ,

Phuket Eats

Well, of course there would be a bit of write-up on the food. Can't possibly go to a place without photographing some of the food!

On the first night, we went to a home-style eatery for dinner. We were the only customers and it was rather sweet that they made the effort to lay the red table cloth and put a small vase of flowers to make the spartan place look more pleasant.

It was interesting to see their use of the tree trunk to hang their pots and wares.

The chef for the night stir-frying my green curry fried rice which was stated on the menu as "Green Carry Fried Rice". Other misspellings we came across in other eateries were "French Fire", "French Fried", "Paper Steak" etc. Quite amusing.

Green curry fried rice with chicken

This budding young chef who was probably the lady's grandson later started cooking his own dinner. My friend and I were so impressed by him – he started moving around the kitchen like a pro, taking out the onions to chop and putting in spices and sauces into the wok. Later, I saw the lady dip her finger into the sauce and give him the thumbs up. Impressive!!!

A "chai peng" or economy rice stall at one of the local markets in Phuket Town. But frankly, I would think twice about buying anything from there because there were houseflies buzzing all around...

Don't know what these are, but they look like some kind of insect and it's something I don't think I could stomach. If anyone knows what this is, do enlighten me.

Chilli and spices

Tiny crabs and some water apples above

Prawn paste and some common herbs for sale

Stall selling preserved vegetables

A local child at a fruit stall at the local market

Pad Thai

We went for Japanese on the second night as my friend's friends said it was cheap and good in Phuket. I liked this unagi roll which had a small piece of cream cheese inside. It actually tasted really good with the unagi!

Bought this pack of durian chips at the airport to try. It costs THB 290, that's almost SGD12! But its taste is really disappointing! There's hardly any trace of durian. So DON'T BUY if you are ever tempted to do so.

Phuket Snapshots

Zipped off to Phuket with a friend over the Deepavali weekend. The place wasn't as great as I thought, but I did enjoy the resort we stayed in. When we arrived at Indigo Pearl resort, they gave us a room with a double bed. And I was like "Do you expect us two girls to share a bed??? We had asked for twin beds when we booked!"

OK, actually the specifying for a twin bedder might not have been correct 'cos the booking was made by my friend's friend who works in Phuket and could get a discount for us at Indigo Pearl. But anyway, I was feeling rather agitated already and just said so anyway. To not further incur the wrath of this flaring client, the manager told the receptionist who was talking to me on the phone that they would give us a free upgrade to a twin bedder with a private garden. Hurray! Sometimes it pays to be a bitch. Haha.

Our plush and comfy beds

Loved the bathroom too! It's so nice to have your own sink.

Private garden complete with deckchairs – we didn't make use of it though. Too many mozzies outside, and moreover it was nicer to lie by the pool and the beach.

Part of the private garden with a nice sofa and some cool-looking fans above for a nice afternoon read

There was even an outdoor bathtub!

Enjoying pre-dinner drinks and some snacks at REBAR, the nice bar at Indigo Pearl. Great place to sit around for some conversation. The dips were an olive dip and a wasabi mayo dip. I liked the latter a lot!

Nice swing to sit on at REBAR!

There's a small library with nicely wrapped up books which you can borrow. There are books in English, Japanese, Chinese, German, French etc. You can also borrow DVDs which they will deliver to you!

I really like the resort as there is a lot of lush greenery around and there is so much attention to the detail in the interior design, right down to the cutlery that is used in the hotel. The theme of the resort is supposed to take inspiration from a tin mine; Phuket was known for being a tin mining island before the mines were exhausted and tourism took over. Much thought has gone into the landscaping to make it look like a tropical paradise and you can call for a buggy service if you're too lazy to walk around the huge resort. The service at Indigo Pearl is impeccable and I highly recommend it.

Lying on the deckchair on Nai Yang beach and looking out to the Andaman Sea. It's the stretch of beach where Indigo Pearl is located; Nai Yang beach is on the northwest of Phuket and is very near the airport. It's much quieter compared to Patong Beach which is teeming with bars, clubs and tourists. I much prefer Nai Yang even though it is far from everything else. If you're not into clubbing, drinking and shopping, Nai Yang is a great place to chill.

Sunset at Nai Yang beach

Snapshots from Sydney

I love this window display

Fashion for the punk baby

Smart signage for a bed shop

A retro Singapore Airlines bag

It's hard to guess what this is and I couldn't quite make it out when I saw it, but it's soap! It reminded me of a cinnamon bun. Haha.

Horse riding at Glenworth Valley, a place 1.5 hours north from city centre. It's really fun to go on horse back and being at one with nature. My horse's name was Mandray, a brown stallion. Once while cantering, he tripped and lost his footing and for a split second, I was hurled forward and I feared that I was going to be thrown off! Thankfully regained his footing in time and I managed to stay on. Phew.

That's me in the foreground paddling towards the ANZAC Bridge and out into the Sydney Harbour during a guest paddle with the Pacific Dragons team one Sunday morning.

Kirribilli Market

If you, like me, are fond of going to weekend bazaars and markets, Kirribilli Market is one of the markets you can head to if you happen to be in Sydney on the fourth Saturday of the month. I love it because there are many homemade handicrafts and clothes, bags, and fashion accessories designed by budding designers, home-baked confectionary, second hand vintage clothes etc. Often, you can come across many great finds at such places!

Here are some snapshots of the market when I was there recently.

The market is situated at a scenic spot that overlooks the beautiful Sydney Harbour and has the Harbour Bridge looming just ahead.

Aprons for those who want to look pretty in the kitchen.

These puppets, toys, and accessories are handsewn from a very thick felt material. The stall also sold bags and clothes. The material used were ethically sourced and it's one of the burgeoning number of retailers advocating fair trade these days. Good on them!

Earrings galore!

I wished I could strut down the street carrying this bag in confidence. Unfortunately, I'm not blessed with a killer bod and looks to match!

Nice bags to use for a casual weekend

Rings made from bits of ceramic tiles

Various kinds of jams and dips. I liked the passionfruit butter.

Mini quiches and pecan nut pies

Whale Watching

I had never gone whale watching before so I decided I had to do it during this trip to Sydney. So I paid A$69 and booked myself on a whale watching trip for two Friday afternoons ago. On the way out of the Sydney Harbour, we spotted a pod of dolphins who eagerly swam alongside the bow of the boat as they enjoy riding in the wake. There were about 10 of them and it was so nice to see so much marine life in ths harbour which is shared by ferries, speed boats, jet boats, yachts, kayaks, surfskis, dragon boats, sculls, and outrigger canoes alike. It's just amazing, isn't it?

Often the first sign of a humpback whale's presence is its 'blow', a cloud of vapour that it shoots into the air when it breaks the water surface to breath.

The tour operator gives a 100% guarantee that you'll spot whales - it's the time of the year when the whales are migrating from the south to the warmer waters in the north. The boat headed towards the heads (i.e. North Head and South Head) and turned right to go along the south coast. We were about 2 to 3km from the coast when we saw the first whale coming towards us. We knew it was a humpback whale because of the dorsal fin at the top which is unique to humpback whales.

The bottom of the humpback whales' tails is white and they will often roll forward to dive until only the tail sticks out of the water. This is called a fluke-up dive. Humpback whales are 14m to 18m in length as adults and can weigh up to 50 tonnes.

Humpback whales have a dark grey or black body, with white patches on its belly, pectoral fins and underside of the tail flukes. These markings are like fingerprints with no two dolphins having the same black and white markings. This fingerprint, or fluke identification (ID), helps researchers to identify individuals as they migrate along the coast.

I just found it incredibly fascinating and was extremely in awe of being in such close proximity to these wonderful and immensely powerful mammals. We spotted about 15 in total during the 3.5 hours out at sea and some of them swam very close to (about a metre or two away) the boat. It was as if they were checking us out instead of the other way around!

It's so wonderful that these sights are so easily accessible in Sydney. I just love the fact that humans and animals can co-exist so harmoniously in this city. Whale watching is definitely something worth doing once and I can now check something off my life's to-do list!

Red Lantern

If you're looking for Vietnamese fine dining in Sydney, you definitely have to head to Red Lantern, which is located in Surry Hills, a stone's throw away from Central. I first came to know of this restaurant after coming across the cookbook written by its owners in a friend's place in London. Titled Secrets of the Red Lantern, it's one of the prettiest cookbooks I've ever come across. Apart from recipes, it contains the story of the main author's (Pauline Nguyen) family journey as Vietnamese war refugees in Australia.

The book chronicles her parents' decision to smuggle themselves out of Vietnam because of the Vietnam war in the 1970s. People like them were known as the 'Boat People'. Their struggle and resilience in surviving and adapting to a foreign land is well documented by Nguyen. She also writes about her growing up years and trying to find the balance between being ethnically Vietnamese and culturally Australian.

The well written and beautiful book with its fantastic graphics and well-designed layouts made me want to pay the restaurant a visit during my next visit to Sydney. And I'm glad to say I wasn't disappointed. I was there with two other friends and here's what we ate.

Entrance of Red Lantern

Red Lantern is housed in one of the charming rows of terrace houses in the suburb of Surry Hills. On foot, it's about a ten-minute walk from Central Station. Surry Hills is a very quaint and charming suburb with nice bars and restaurants along Crown Street and Cleveland Street.

Red Lantern interior

Warm, red tones dominate with dim lighting, reminiscent of the old Asia.

Mussels with glass noodles and clear broth

Our entree was delicious with the mussels being fresh and the broth absolutely flavourful.

Vietnamese pancake with seafood filling. Loved the grilled smoky flavour!

What I love about Vietnamese food is the raw vegetables that accompany many of the dishes. It's so refreshing to eat them!

Beef brisket with warm French baguette

The baguette had been put over a grill, thus it possessed that smoky flavour which made that just that bit more delicious in addition to it being fresh.

Grilled pork with preserved vegetables

This tasted delicious with the pork being well marinated and grilled to perfection with a smoky flavour.

If you have a group of four persons or more, I'd suggest going for the tasting menu as it is good value for the amount of food you get which, according to the waiter, is 'a lot'. The restaurant has two seatings - the first at 6pm and the second at 8pm. Service was good and expect to spend about A$40 per person.

Red Lantern
545 Crown Street
Surry Hills
NSW 2010
Phone: +61 (0)2 9698 4355
(Closed on Mondays)

Taking It Slow in Hong Kong

So I jetted off to Hong Kong with my cousin and sister on a last-minute whim and spent a good six days there relaxing and eating my way around the city.

To me, the best way to enjoy Hong Kong is to take it slow and do it at a relaxed pace. This sounds like an oxymoron when it comes to the high energy that characterises the place, but you CAN detach yourself from the buzz and take a backseat which would then make a visit to Hong Kong even more enjoyable. Not that I've ever had a bad time in Hong Kong during all my visits. Perhaps it's because I speak and read Cantonese pretty fluently, I feel really at home there.

If you're not that into shopping like me (really, there's only so much of Causeway Bay 銅鑼灣 and Central 中環 I can take), one of the best things to do is to go on a hike or go kayaking. I didn't manage to do any of these this time as I was busy going from place to place to meet up and have meals with friends. And on the day I was supposed to go hiking at Shek O 石澳, the weather didn't permit. So that was a real bummer. I've paddled on the south side of Hong Kong island at Deep Water Bay 深水灣 and Stanley 赤柱 and I've heard that you can also go paddling in Sai Kung 西貢. Hong Kong has some amazing and beautiful scenery which many tourists never discover because they're so caught up in Causeway and Central.

For the more adventurous, hop onto any bus and see where you end up. Explore the suburbs and really get a feel of how the locals live. This time I explored a bit of Tsuen Wan 荃灣 which you can get to by taking the Tsuen Wan line on the MTR (the red line). I went to the Sam Tung Uk Museum 三棟屋博物館 while there and it was interesting to learn about the history of the area and the Hakka people who lived there about 220 years ago.

It's good fun exploring Hong Kong by bus and the mini-bus and it's something I'd highly recommend to people who have already been and done that when it comes to the more touristy parts of the Hong Kong.

Love Stones in Kiyomizudera (清水寺）

Since it's Valentine's Day today, I thought it apt to put up this blog entry about two love stones in Kiyomizudera (清水寺), a temple which is a Unesco World Heritage listed site located in the eastern Kyoto region of Higashiyama. The temple sits on a hill and it offers a gorgeous view of the city from up there.

There are many shrines in the temple, one of which is the Jishu-jinja, dedicated to the Okuninushino-Mikoto, a god of love. At Jishu-jinja there is a pair of 'love stones' which are placed 18 metres apart. It is said that if you are able to walk from one to the other with your eyes close, you will be able to find love. If you're only able to reach the other stone with someone's help, it follows that you'll require some help in finding love.

I'm not a superstitious person, so I didn't even bother trying it (moreover it was raining and the ground was slippery). With my hitherto (bad) luck with men, I doubt crossing from one stone to the other would do much help when I've already traversed continents – all in vain may I add!

One of the love stones

Ladies, hidden under their umbrellas, praying for their Prince Charming to appear in their lives soon. Just awhile before this photo was taken, one of the ladies in this photo was jumping with excitement and delight as she had probably picked an amulet which had indicated that she would meet the man of her dreams soon.

The other love stone

Explanation of the love stone

Amulets for 'Good Marriage', 'Deepen Love', 'More Chance For Love', 'Find Love', 'Bind Your Love Tightly', and 'For Conception'.

Or you could buy one of these wooden plaques and write your wish for your love life behind. The person in green holding the white sack with the word 緣 (meaning 'fate') is the god of love and the rabbit is his messenger. Hence in Japanese culture, the rabbit is usually associated with love.

No, I didn't add to the hundreds of wooden plaques already hanging up there.

Had no idea what the words at the side of this plaque meant, but I thought the drawing was so cute that I couldn't resist taking a photo of it.

Happy Valentine's!

Nikishi Food Market 錦市場

For anyone who proclaims to be a foodie, a visit to Kyoto wouldn't be complete without popping by Nikishi Food Market.

The market sits in a narrow street in downtown Kyoto. The narrow street is lined by shops selling fresh seafood and traditional Japanese eats like pickled vegetables, barbecued unagi, sweets, sushi, sashimi, etc.

The market is very crowded so be prepared to be squashed as you weave your way through! After you're done with the food, walk around the shopping arcade which has more than enough shops to cure any shopaholic of his/her addiction. And if you still haven't had enough of good food, walk to the Daimaru (大丸) or Takashimaya (高島屋) department stores not far from Nikishi Food Market and head for the basement. The basements of Japanese department stores are like food meccas!

OK, enough words from me...let the pictures of Nikishi Food Market speak for themselves!

An endless stream of people

Only the Japanese can be bothered to make fish cake in such pretty shapes and colours

Take your pick of seafood

Care for a sushi bento?

A mountain of miso paste

Heaps of unborn fish lie in this bright orange mound

Adventurous eaters will love this stall selling fugu (puffer fish)

The Japanese version of 'chai peng' - a stall that sells different dishes where you can pick and choose from

Steaming hot food was just the thing for a cold winter's day

The most expensive strawberries I've ever come across - 600¥ (S$8) per strawberry!

The piece of unagi on the bottom left landed in my stomach

Pickled vegetables

Getting there: It's a five-minute walk from Shijo Station on the Karasuma Subway Line and Karasuma or Kawaramachi Stations on the Hankyu Line.

Asakusa 浅草

My friends and I had gone to Asakusa (浅草) to visit Sensoji, a popular Buddhist temple built in the 7th century in Tokyo.

While the temple was beautiful, what caught my interest was the shopping street around the temple.

I was walking around the rows of shops when I came across this stall selling mochi. They were also getting the crowd involved in the process of making mochi.

Mochi is a sticky rice cake that's an important food in Japanese culture. The Japanese people decorate their houses with a special type of mochi called kagamimochi and eat zoni (rice cake soup) during the Japanese New Year which falls on 1 Jan.

More information about mochi from About.com:
"Steamed mochi rice (glutinous rice) is pounded to make mochi. Traditionally, wooden mortars and pestles are used to pound mochi rice. Fresh mochi is soft, but it becomes hard soon. Prepacked mochi, which are flattened and cut into pieces or shaped into rounds are available at grocery stores. Mochi turns moldy easily, so it's best to cook soon."

The children were having a go at pounding the mochi and the adults standing around were cheering them on. They were clearing enjoying themselves and it certainly looked like good fun!

The freshly made mochi was then sold to the long queue of people who were all waiting to get their hands on this traditional snack.

There were also other interesting stalls. This one was selling freshly made Japanese rice crackers.

A stall specialising in beans.

Japanese footwear

Canine fashion

A curious boy watching how Japanese pancakes are made

Asakusa is served by the Ginza Subway Line, Asakusa Subway Line, Tsukuba Express and Tobu Railways.

Tsukiji Fish Market 築地市場

No visit to Tokyo is complete without dropping by Tsukiji Fish Market 築地市場. The hard-core foodies will get there in the wee hours of the morning to catch the tuna auction, but I decided that my beauty sleep was more important. I am a woman after all. :p

My friends and I got to the market at around 8.30am and the market was still bustling with activity. I had never seen so much fresh seafood in one place in my life. I was in sashimi heaven. Bliss.

All sorts of shellfish, including razor clams at the bottom right

Giant scallops

A stall specialising in eels

Giant cockles

Uni!!!! I love uni (sea urchin). It was so cheap compared to what one would pay in Singapore or London. I promptly bought a box and devoured it together with my friends. Fresh uni is so sweet and it just slithers down your throat. Divine.

Fishmongers slicing tuna with a very lethal looking knife which has a thin and long blade.

Rows and rows of stall line the big market. Be very careful of the small motorised carts that the fishermen drive around the market. They're zipping by so fast that you'd think these people have a go-kart track in the market!

The Tsukiji fish market is located near the Tsukijishijō Station on the Oedo subway line and Tsukiji Station on the Hibiya subway line.

Go here to read more about the market.

Shiseido Parlour

I discovered that a Shiseido 'cake' could take on two meanings in Japan. Before going to Tokyo, a Shiseido 'cake' would have just meant a two-way cake to me. Two-way cakes, by the way, are fantastic for a lazy person like me who's too lazy to slap on foundation and powder separately, if at all.

But ah, I was to discover that the Japanese cosmetic giant has something else up its sleeve in way of 'cakes'. At Shiseido Parlour, feast your eyes and stomach on the exquisitely made cakes and chocolates. I was on my way to a sushi dinner so I didn't actually sample any of the delights. Seriously, there is too much good food in Japan for my stomach to handle!

That Mille Feuille au Chocolat looks devilishly good.

You can browse and buy cookbooks. You can also dine in and the seating area is upstairs.

Shiseido Buildingg 4-5F, Ginza 8-8-3, Tokyo

Travel Woes

Backtracking a little, but just thought I'd share a tale of my travel woes...

I left Germany on the morning of 22 Dec whereupon I boarded a train at Würzburg early in the morning at 06.37. That was the beginning of a 10-hour train ride which saw me stop at Stuttgart and Zürich to change trains to get to Milan. I like German trains best and the way Deutsch Bahn runs trains is top-class. The ICE (Intercity Express) German trains are the best! Fast, comfortable, clean and it has power sockets where you can plug your laptop into. Someone told me it also has wifi...but I didn't try 'cos usually I just like to look out of the window or read a book.

By the time I reached Milan, it was 17.00 and my legs were screaming for a stretch. I had actually booked a room at a budget hotel which was quite far from the central station, but decided to forgo that for a hotel that was nearer the station as I had to have a early start the next morning. Feeling in need of some pampering, I decided to splurge on a nice hotel that was near the station. I went to one of the hotels and splurged on a 120 euros per night room. Yes, it was pricey, but it was what I needed - a little bit of luxury.

The next morning, I woke up at 05.15 to get ready to leave for Milan Malpensa airport. After having breakfast at the hotel, I checked out and was out of the hotel by 06.30 intending to walk to the bus stop just two minutes away to catch the 06.40 coach to the airport. In Milan, you can't take a train to the airport from the Central Stazione. It's ridiculous. So most people take a coach from the station. The journey takes about an hour. There are two operators and the coaches are supposed to depart every 20 minutes. I was intending to catch the 06.40 bus, but I was soon to learn that Italian time is always flexible time. Instead of leaving at 06.40 sharp, the bus driver kept waiting till the coach was full before he decided to leave. That really frustrated me as come on, I have a flight to catch! Eventually, at about 07.00 the driver decides to leave as the coach was almost full. I'm every sure that if that was in Germany, the bus would have left at 06.40 sharp even if there was only one person on board! That's what I love about German reliability and efficiency.

But that was just the start of my travel woes for the day.

When I arrived at Milano Malpensa airport, it was only to find a horrendously long queue at the check-in counters for the AlItalia flights. They seriously need to do something about their queue control. I ended up waiting close to an hour before I got to the counter. Then I'm told by the woman serving me that I don't have a reservation. And I'm like "What do you mean I don't have a reservation? My travel agent emailed me the confirmed itinerary."

I guess the screw-up occurred when there was a change in flight. Originally I was supposed to fly direct from Milan to Tokyo. Then a few days before I left London, I was emailed a new flight itinerary by my travel agent. Apparently AlItalia cancelled that direct flight and now I would have to transit in Rome to get to Tokyo. Somehow that change didn't make it into AlItalia's system and I was left with no reservation. I was horrified!!! In the end, after standing for about 45min at the counter, all I was given was a stand-by ticket as the flight was overbooked. Then I was told to go to another queue to wait and see whether I could get a seat.

When I got to the other queue, there were probably about 20 other people before me and the queue wasn't moving at all. A Japanese couple in front of me was in the same situation as I was, except that the woman had confirmed seats but her husband didn't . Instead of waiting around (there were many others in front of us), he went to buy two tickets from Swissair each costing 1000 euros. I wrote that option off the moment I heard the price.

My flight was scheduled at 10.30. At 09.55 I was still standing at the counter. I was never so stressed out in my entire life. I mean, missing a short-haul flight sucks, but it's still not ssoooo bad. But this is a long-haul flight we're talking about. I was on the verge of texting my friend to say that I probably won't be able to meet her in Tokyo!

Just as I was going to resign myself to the fact that I would miss my flight, a massive stroke of luck and alertness on my part saw me dashing to a member of the ground staff who was calling for people on stand-by to Rome. I know there were others in front of me but they probably thought it was safer to remain in the original queue. However I thought there was nothing to lose and so I dashed to her. And as if I had struck lottery, she gave me a boarding pass with a confirmed seat number!

With my boarding pass in hand, I sprinted to through the departure gates, only to find myself faced with a long security clearance queue. Thankfully it moved along pretty fast, but my watch was already showing 10.15. After I cleared security, I dashed to the boarding gate and for once, I was thankful for a flight delay!!! They were still boarding passengers and you can't imagine the relief I felt when I finally sank my ass into the plane seat. Seriously, I've never been more stressed out and traumatised!!!

But that's not the end of it. When I arrived in Tokyo, I saw my name being held up on a piece of paper by a member of the ground staff as I was exiting the plane. And I'm thinking, "What now??? I'm not expecting any limo service so this can't be anything good."

As expected, it wasn't.

My luggage didn't arrive on the same flight as me because I had checked in really late. In the end, they sent it to my hotel the next day but with my combination lock missing! As a security measure, they had asked for the code because I think customs must have wanted to check to make sure I had no drugs, weapons or banned substances in it. But they forgot to put the lock back!!! Pissed off.

Anyway, with this sort of crap service, it's no wonder AlItalia is now being bought out by Air France-KLM. If I can help it at all, I'm never flying with them again!

Christkindlmarkt Snapshots

It's a bit late, but I thought I'd just put up some shots I took of the Christmas markets in Germany. As far as Christmas markets go, I don't think anyone does it better than the Germans.

The stalls sell lovely handcrafted Christmas ornaments and mingling with all the people out doing their Christmas shopping is quite a joy. Typical food being sold at the Christmas markets are caramalised nuts, Glühwein (hot spiced wine) in special Christmas cups which you can keep if you don't want to get back your deposit of 2.50 euros, crepes (sweet and savoury), sausages, Christmas cookies and chocolate-coated fruits like strawberries, bananas and grapes.

I went to the Christkindlmarkts in München (Munich), Nürnberg, Rothenburg ob der Tauber and Würzburg. The one in Nürnberg is biggest and most famous, but seriously after you see one, you see all.

Cookies galore

Handcrafted wooden toys

A stall selling Christmas ornaments

More Christmas decorations

Bratapfels (roasted apples)

One of many creperies

The crowds at the Christkindlmarkt at the Marienplatz, München.

Ice Skating at Somerset House

The photo above is that of Somerset House in London. For Christmas, an ice skating rink has been set up in the courtyard and a big Christmas tree stands in front of it. It's very pretty! (As you probably do realise, I'm not writing in chronological order. I'm still in Munich at point of writing this post - am holing myself up in a cafe to get away from the cold and typing away on my laptop as there's wifi here. Thank god for wifi!)

I'm getting ready to get on the ice! I hadn't skated in probably about 15 years and I was really wondering if I could still skate!

There's a special area for kids who are learning how to skate and they have little penguins to help them. It's so cute!

I discover, to my delight, that I can still skate. I guess it's just like cycling...once you learn it you don't forget it. I went skating with my cousin and we had a really good time at Somerset House.

London Favourite Eats

1) Leather Lane – this lane near my office in Holborn has cheap eateries lining it to cater to the lunch-time office crowd. My favourite stall there is the Mediterranean salad stall Sunny’s Olive Tree. They have the best mixed salad box for a cheap £2.50. A bigger box costs £3.20 but the small one is more than enough to fill you up. It comes with a slice of foccacia too. I love their fresh cherry tomatoes, cous cous and mixed beans. You can also choose to buy a range of olives and nuts that they sell.

2) Food For Thought – A vegetarian organic café in 31 Neal Street, Covent Garden. I’m usually not big on vegetarian, but this one serves really yummy vegetarian food. Everything’s good, but I especially love their quiche and stews. For dessert, try their crumbles.

3) Churreria Espanola – This Spanish eatery at 177-179 Queensway W2 5HL (nearest Tube: Bayswater) has hearty Spanish food at reasonable prices. Try the pork knuckle and meat balls. And if you like thick molten hot chocolate (Spanish chocolate caliente), this is the place to head to. It’s the only one I’ve found in London!

4) Carluccio’s – It may be a chain, but it serves up affordable and pretty good quality Italian food. They have several branches around London in South Kensington, Canary Wharf, Spitalfields etc. They recently opened one in Covent Garden.

5) Masala Zone – Good Indian food at reasonable prices. The Thali set is good value for money. They have several branches, but I've only been to the one near Oxford Circus.

6) Harlem – The service is crappy and slow but the pancakes there are fantastic. It's a great place to go to for a lazy Sunday brunch. Just be really patient. On a nice day, you can walk over to Kensington Park after eating to lounge around some more! They're at 78 Westbourne Grove W2 5RT (nearest Tube: Bayswater).

7) Kowloon Bakery on Gerrard Street, Chinatown. I go there to get my fix of Chinese breads and pastries. My Polo bun, Lo Por Bang (Wife’s Biscuit), Malay Cake (a steamed cake), Char Siew Bao, egg tarts etc. It's not fantastic, but it's good enough to satisfy those cravings for something Asian.

8) Maison Bertaux – a charming French patisserie with rather retro and quirky interiors on 27 Greek Street in Cambridge Circus. Try the chocolate mousse cake, St Honore and raspberry slice with fresh cream. I don't really like the rest, so just give it a miss. It's a nice place to go for tea or dessert after dinner.

9) Marks & Spencer’s Food Hall – love all the ready-made meals. I take ages to decide what to get! M&S is ubiquitous in the UK and their Bureau de Change (in the bigger stores) offer good exchange rates to buy or sell foreign currency. Actually I think they offer the best rates. I've done my homework.

10) Waitrose – love all the ready-made meals. Like M&S, I can never decide what to get. I only wished they had more stores around London!

11) Cornish Pasties – workman’s food which is somewhat like the British version of the Italian calzone. Or you could say it's the British version of the curry puffs in Singapore, except it's not curry. Anyway, it's hearty fare which I love for a snack.

12) Borough Market – In my opinion, the best farmer’s market in London. It's both a visual and gastronomical feast. A must-go for foodies.

13) Duchy Originals – the line of food products endorsed by Prince Charles. Profits from sales of Duchy’s food go to charity. Good for people into ethical eating. The chocolate tart, lemon tart, biscuits, basically everything is really yummy! It’s not cheap compared to M&S but it’s worth the money.

14) Four Seasons Chinese Restaurant - the roast duck and char siew look the best amongst the eateries along Gerrard Street. I think it's kinda the best among the worst. The Chinese food in Chinatown is actually pretty crappy but Four Seasons isn't too bad. They have a branch in Bayswater too. The Chinatown outlet is at 12 Gerrard Street and the Bayswater one is at 84 Queensway W2 3RL.

15) Lisboa Patisserie - a Portuguese cafe at 57 Golborne Road W10 5NR serving fantastic Portguese egg tarts and other pastries. It's always crowded and I think it's best to do take-away. It's near Portobello Market so if you're around the famous flea market, take a short detour and head to this cafe for a snack if you're feeling peckish.

16) Ben's Cookies - Really yummy freshly baked cookies sold by weight. It's the same price across the board. So for example, if you buy a dark chocolate with nuts, it'll cost slightly more than one that's a lemon-flavoured one. On average, each cookie costs £1.35. It's a big cookie but still expensive nonetheless. But it's worth the money especially when eaten fresh!

Cotswold

I spent the weekend in Cotswold, an area in England which is really lovely what with the undulating fields and its Cotswold villages which are very quaint and seem to take you back in time.

The village I went to in Cotswold was called Northleach and I stayed two nights in a house built in the 1760s and some of the original wooden ceiling beams are still intact. The sleepy village is so nice and quiet compared to busy London.

The view of the village from the elevated fields just behind it. I love the autumn colours of different shades of red, gold, yellow and orange. It's absolutely beautiful.

Locals call this tree 'The Lightning Tree' because they believe it was struck down by lightning. The children in the village prefer, however, to call it 'The Whomping Willow' which is the tree that features in the Harry Potter books. Whatever it is, both are very delightful names! I love how the children play around it and I'm glad that I managed to capture such a natural shot of how the locals interact with the tree.

Just behind the line of trees lies Helen's Ditch, a road that was used by the locals in medieval times. I love the silhouette of the trees and I love how the trees look so rooted to the ground. It's as if they are shouting 'This is home!'

The local church in Northleach is called Wool Church, because it was built with money donated by wool merchants. In olden days, having sheep was equivalent to having gold in modern times.

Quintessential English countryside with birch, beech and oak trees and a tiny river running through.

Fancy some me-time? Then head to All Alone Lane. I just love the charming names of the roads in the villages.

Saturday night I went to Cirencester for bonfire night and the fireworks display which was really lovely. That was to celebrate Guy Fawkes day. I'm glad I got to experience a really traditional English festival!

Do-Re-Mi

This flight of steps in Salzburg is affectionately known as the 'Do-Re-Mi steps' because it was where the Von Trapp children and Maria sang the Do-Re-Mi song in the Sound of Music!

And the fountain which they ran around!

Hampton Court Palace

Some snapshots I took of Hampton Court Palace yesterday. Its most famous resident is King Henry VIII - yes the one who had six wives and who formed the Church of England just 'cos the Pope didn't grant him a divorce!

Whitstable

On Sunday, my flatmate and I decided to not to stay in Canterbury but chose to go to a seaside town after checking out of Chaucer Lodge. We took a bus there and it took about 30min to get there.

For some reason, the UK is having better weather in September than she had for the whole of summer. We're officially into autumn now. But I'm not complaining! So we were blessed with perfect weather to be visting the seaside. Whitstable beach was at low tide when we got there. So low that you could walk along the sandbank which stretched far into the sea.

Like many other visitors, we, too, had to walk along the sand bank just for the fun of it.

Turning round as I walked, I took a shot of the beach huts that faced the sea. I love these multicoloured huts. They're so cute. They're really tiny and people use them only for the day to put their things when they spend the day at the beach. People don't normally spend the night in it.

And farther along the sandbank, I took another shot. You almost feel like you're walking straight into the horizon.

We walked back to shore and did a long walk along the coast. Along the way, we came across a Sunday open market. There was an old wooden canoe being displayed. It was very nicely polished too! Makes for a good display piece.

There was also a fish market, but it was really tiny! I was expecting something like Sydney's fish market when I saw the sign, and was full on anticipation...

...but this was all there was to it! So pathetic! Seriously, forget about the notion of good seafood in the UK.

Some cooked shellfish for sale in tiny little bowls. It didn't look very appetising at all.

Fresh fish for sale.

Catamarans begging to be taken out to sea.

A row of seaside terrace houses at Whitstable.

Walked past this house whose owner must have great artistic talent and a quirky sense of humour. He/She painted the dull green rubbish bin (bottom left of pic) to what are suppose to be flowers to blend in with the rest of the real flowers. Brilliant idea!

The lanes of Whitstable.

Did you think I would go on with the day without ice cream? Such days are perfect days for ice cream and I bought a double scoop cone from this ice cream shop called Sundae Sundae. They make their own ice cream and I went for the Stem Ginger and Butterscotch & Toffee. I really liked the former. Ginger ice cream is always good!

We later made our way to Herne Bay, another seaside town. Herne Bay was smaller and a lot quieter. We hung around for a short while and then made our way back to Canterbury where we caught our train back to London's Waterloo East station. But of course, not before I bought another Belgian waffle from Cafe St Pierre to munch on the train!

Canterbury Part II

We stayed over in Canterbury on Saturday night. We were really lucky to find a room at the last minute as we were prepared to head back to London if we couldn't find one.

We thought that it wouldn't be too difficult to get a room in Canterbury 'cos we didn't think it was that popular a place! But we were wrong! The youth hostel was full and so were the other B&Bs within our budget. Thankfully, we managed to get a twin room in Chaucer Lodge (62 New Dover Road) and the proprietor told us that Chaucer Lodge was the last B&B on that road! Had we walked farther (and we had walked very far already!), we wouldn't have found anything. So really lucky indeed! And isn't it fitting to stay at Chaucer Lodge when Canterbury's the home of the Canterbury Tales?

The room was small but clean and comfortable. Very cosy. We paid £65 for the room.

The traditional English breakfast which was served the next morning.

The end of the dining room extended into the garden and it was really nice to have sunlight streaming in and a nice view of the well-pruned garden.

This was a gate I walked past in some small lane in Canterbury. I don't know why, but I just thought it was very pretty with the ivy blanketing it and weaving its vines over the iron-wrought gates. There's just something very English about it!

This postbox embedded in the wall that surrounds St Augustine's Abbey is pretty unique – you seldom see such embedded postboxes around.

A cup of hot chocolate was my Saturday afternoon indulgence together with a Belgian waffle which was so buttery and so divine. Of course, it was so divine that I sank my teeth right into it and forgot to take a photo of it.

Cafe St Pierre, along High Street, is the maker of the divine waffle. They serve baguette, paninis, cakes and pastries as well. Look out for their 50p specials for pastries and cakes they want to clear from the shelves. It's a very good bargain! Though of course it doesn't do anything for your waistline. But who cares.

Canterbury

Went to Canterbury over the weekend - yes, to the home of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. It was a nice little city, the old town centre was bustling with tourists on a Saturday afternoon. The city still has a long stretch of its old city wall still intact and it was built when the Romans first came in the first century AD! Pretty cool.

The famous Canterbury Cathedral is a World Heritage site. Apparently costs £12,000 daily to run. It costs £6.50 (adult price) to enter. This Anglican cathedral is huge and has lots of high gothic ceilings and many stain glass windows.

Walked past this small public library on High Street, the main shopping street in the town centre. Though small and old, it is very quaint and charming.

After having a late lunch, my friend and I decided to go for a river punt ride. Us two lazy girls just wanted to take it easy.

Our Scottish punter punted us down the River Stour on a slow, relaxing and sleep-inducing ride.

We passed other boats and went past hanging willows which added a somewhat poetic touch to the scene.

Along the way, we stopped to feed some wild Polish that were grazing in the field. Some nettle stung my hand as I was going to pick it up to feed, thinking those leaves were harmless! But boy, do these nettle sting! Ouch ouch ouch.

One of several lanes in the old town centre.

Devil's Dyke

On Sunday, we decided to take it a little easier by going up to Devil’s Dyke for a picnic. This time it was just Olduvai and myself as Yukiko had a lunch appointment. So us two gourmets trotted off to the supermarket and got some food for our picnic.

Then we took Bus 77, an open top bus, to our destination! The open top buses are used only in summer and what a treat it was! I felt like I was going on a tour! I love feeling the wind in my face and the sun on my skin in such glorious weather!

For our picnic, we had a baguette, Stilton cheese, green grapes, roast chicken drumsticks, salad, two apples, and tuna pasta with butter beans (made by Olduvai). OK, we didn’t eat ALL of it – as much as we would have liked to, we couldn’t! And of course we didn’t dump the food – we had other uses for them, details of which will appear in the next post. Anyway, we also bought the Observer – the Sunday edition of the Guardian, a newspaper we both hold in high regard for its quality of writing – for our reading pleasure up on the Dyke.

The views we were accorded of the West Sussex countryside were gorgeous! Cows and sheep dotted the green open pastures that spread for miles below us. There were other holiday makers there as well to enjoy the fresh air and beautiful scenery. But there was enough space for everyone without it feeling too claustrophobic.

There were many people paragliding and Zorbing there as well. It was fun watching the paragliders take off and land. The one I photographed here was rather inexperienced, and once airborne, didn’t quite know how to catch the wind to stay high in the sky. He gradually went farther and farther down and ended up right smack in the middle of a farm down below. Poor guy. We wondered how he was going to make his way up again!

A herd of free-ranging black cows were grazing close by and two got up close and personal with some of the people. I had never come so close to cows before. But I didn’t really want to touch them as they were very dirty! Their faces were full of snot and there were so many flies buzzing around them! I’m not that into bovine creatures anyway, except when they're on the dinner table. Hee.

Anyway, a very lovely afternoon spent in quiet and soul-nourishing surroundings.

Beachy Head Coastal Walk

Got my fix of countryside and exercise! I hate not being to do much outdoor stuff in London. But thankfully last weekend I managed to get my fix at Beachy Head. Olduvai, her friend Yukiko and I did a long coastal walk from Beachy Head to South Downs. We walked for a good 12.8km along the towering chalk cliffs that hug the southeastern coast of the UK and were treated to fantastic views of the sea shimmering in the sunlight, undulating green fields, and open fields where cows and sheep grazed. LOVED IT.

Had a pub lunch before the long walk. The gigantic guiness, steak and mushroom pie was fantastic! I've been eating way too many pies in the UK for my own good. This pie was made with shortcrust pastry - that's the way I like my pies to be made!

Then one of the waitresses came round with a whole plethora of sauces and dips. I was very thrilled. Haha. I went for the mustard seeds, some mint sauce and some chutney. OK, doesn't really go but just felt like something sweet. I wished I could have tried a bit of everything though!

Beachy Head Lighthouse

Wind-swept flowers

Along the way at Birling Gap, I treated myself to ice cream. Heehee.

We started way beyond what you can see from this photo. We were dog tired at the end of the day, but what a fantastic day it was!

Finally we reach the South Downs where other walkers are heading to their cars and for us, the bus to take us back to Brighton.

Saw a green phone booth near the bus stop at South Downs. Was amused 'cos it's the only green one I've seen so far in the UK!

Greenwich Market Food Stalls

While at Greenwich on Saturday, I popped into Greenwich Market to have a look. The small market has stalls selling arts and craft, pottery, clothes, jewellery, bags, and other interesting knick-knacks. There is also a small food section where I'm always happen to stumble upon!

Bread from local bakeries

Caribbean cuisine

Homemade jams and vinegar

Brazilian desserts

Delicious cakes

Antipasti

Wild mushrooms

Portuguese delights

Reading

I haven’t had much to write about really, ‘cos I haven’t been doing anything much. Apart from work, I haven’t been up to much. Not much in terms of the eating front at all – I’m saving up to eat good meals in Paris, come next month! Nothing on the social front either – no money to go socialise.

OK, went for a pub quiz with my colleagues last Tuesday for a social nightout and another evening of drinking on Thursday night for a colleague’s last day in the company. I don’t understand how the English can drink on an empty stomach. These people don’t seem to need dinner before they start drinking. Worse – they drink throughout the night without food! I just can’t do it. I need to have food! So that also means I never end up staying into the wee hours of the night, which is a good thing really. Anyway, I always have to rush to get the last few trains, else I’ll have to end up taking a taxi home. That’s a total no-no as it’s so expensive!

There are no men in my social sphere either. I had promised some friends I’d date with abandon in London, but I guess I really am quite hopeless when it comes to that. Haha.

In any case, I spent the weekend paddling in Reading, a small city to the west of London and about 35min by the fast overland trains from Paddington station. My friend picked me up in an open canoe! How cool’s that? It’s the first time I’ve ever been picked up in a canoe! Then we paddled back to the canoe club. He said it was alright if I didn’t paddle, but the paddler in me just can’t bring myself to be a passenger and have someone carry my weight! So I took up the extra oar in the boat and started paddling as well.

Then at the boat house, I changed into my paddling gear and had a go at the kayak. This was a very lightweight, flat water kayak, and one would need to know how to balance in it to paddle in it. I used to paddle in such kayaks back in junior college, so that’s really quite a long time ago! But like cycling, one doesn’t really forget how to paddle. It took a couple of minutes to get used to the instability of the kayak, but I was off in a short while. On Sunday, I paddled again in this canoe and my friend took me farther down the Thames. It was so peaceful and tranquil as we paddled down the river lined with natural vegetation, with ducks, geese, swans, and grebes frolicking in the water. I was also lucky enough to see one kingfisher, which my friend says are now low in numbers.

We paddled through streams which ran through the back gardens of lovely houses that lined the banks. And it was just fantastic. I had a great time. Wouldn’t it be great if I could paddle my way around the world? I love paddling and being around water!

The canal runs through the back of the Oracle Shopping Centre, one of the main shopping centres along Broad Street.

I like the name of this gift shop.

One of the shopping streets in Reading

Getting a different perspective from the canoe

The canal opens into the Thames River. There were many yachts, canoes and kayaks going up and down the river.

Hove Farmers Market

Olduvai and I checked out the Farmers Market in Hove which takes place on the first Sunday of each month. I was expecting more stalls but nonetheless, still good fun with the trying out of different locally made cheeses.

Potted chilli plants and herbs like mint, oregano, thyme, rosemary etc were on sale. I want my own herb garden one day!

Locally made cheeses

Freshly made bread

Cakes and pastries

For all chilli fans

And the most lethal of all the chillis - dragon's blood. I tried it and my mouth was spewing fire after only a TINY (and I stress tiny) drop of it on my tongue. I love the name though...just reminds me of Harry Potter.

Borough Market

I LOVE Borough Market! I just want to eat everything there. It's a farmers' market, but an upmarket one. The food sold there isn't cheap. Lots of gourmet cheeses, cakes, meats, chocolate, biscuits, pies, etc. It's a foodie's paradise. The photos will speak for themselves. You can't leave London without visiting it!

Delicious cakes

And more sinful cakes at another stall

Chocolate truffles

A mountain of brownies

Breads, muffins, and tarts

Cheeses

Eat your veggies!

My favourites - blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and blackberries!

Fancy sodium chloride

Jams and honey

A wide variety of vinegar infused with different flavours

Turkish delights

Going nuts over nuts

Moroccan Market

When the tour guide led us into the market in the Casbah, I was thrilled! It's where the locals shop for their groceries and it was really interesting to see all the local food.

Local women selling bread that's one of their staples. Bread is usually served at every Moroccan meal.

Another one of their staples, olives! It's like olives galore. Too bad I'm not a big fan.

Poultry for sale!

The vegetables were so fresh!

Cadiz Cathedral

Went up the Torre de Poniente (a tower) and got a fantastic view of Cadiz, the Spanish coastal city where Christopher Columbus sailed off in search of the Americas. The famous cathedral in the city has a lovely yellow dome and faces the gorgeous Atlantic Ocean.

Gibraltar

I had originally wanted to go to Granada or Sevilla on a day-tour from Torremolinos, but because I was trying to book it at the last minute there were no places left. So I settled for Gibraltar instead. Not the most exciting place and the British supposedly like to go there to shop as it's tax-free. The little bit of land is also something that the British wrestled from the Spanish in 1713 and the place has remained British territory ever since. It is a naval base for the Royal Navy.

Anyway, the place is really small and not very exciting. Apart from some history about how it came into British hands, there's really not much to see there.

This passage is taken from Wikipedia.

"The Ibrahim-al-Ibrahim Mosque, also known as the King Fahd bin Abdulaziz al-Saud Mosque or the Mosque of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques is a mosque at Europa Point, at the southern tip of Gibraltar. The building was a gift from King Fahd of Saudi Arabia and took two years to build at a cost of around five million pounds. It was officially inaugurated on 8 August 1997. Around seven per cent of Gibraltar's population are Muslims; a total of approximately 2,000 people. The mosque complex also contains a school, library, and lecture hall."

Saw a group of riders on Harley-Davidsons...they were from the Netherlands. I was to see many other groups of riders in the other parts of Spain I visited. They were mostly from other EU countries like Germany and I even saw one from Latvia.

At the southern tip of Gibraltar, you are able to see the mountains of Morocco across the Strait of Gibraltar.

In this picture, the land on the left you see is Morocco and on the right, Spain.

This street is called "Main Street" and is the shopping district in Gibraltar. The streets in Gibraltar are very narrow. Another famous thing in Gibraltar are the Barbary Macaques, more commonly known as apes. But these wild monkeys are so used to humans that they are so audacious. My bus driver cum tour guide even took a bottle of mineral water and just held it up for two monkeys to drink. I have no special liking for monkeys so I wasn't particularly excited. And tourists are such idiots. There were so many signs telling them not to feed the monkeys but they still gave them food and nuts.

Personally I didn't even think the shops were that good and I really can't see why the British like to shop there. So overall, not a very memorable trip and not something I would recommend.

Charming Mijas

View of the houses in the village from the village centre.

View of the Mediterranean Sea from the village centre.

Donkey taxis taking a rest from the heat.

Plants and flowers being sold at the central plaza.

We were happily going to drink from it just for the fun of it until an old man told us "NO". Then we looked at the sign again and discovered someone had scraped off the "NO"! (see photo below) The old man was like our guardian angel! And to think this was just outside a church.

The damaged sign.

The little lane lined prettily with potted green plants. This old lady is making her way home after buying groceries.

Another flight of stairs lined with plants. Notice also the very intricately designed tiles at the side which add colour and interest to its surroundings. I really love all the cast-iron railings and balconies that all the old Spanish homes have.

A very interesting adornment for the top of the front door. Wonder who waters the plants there.

A map made up of tiles fashioned into the wall. The craftsmen in Spain are fantastic at making all these gorgeous tiles and piecing them together to make street signs, shop signs, maps etc.

Ceramic signs – most of the signs in the old town of the Spanish cities I went were made out of ceramic tiles. All fine works of art they are!

The balconies of many homes were also overflowing with potted plants, adding only beauty to what it is already a very beautiful place.

Recycle & Reuse

I was walking around a neighbourhood in a mountain village called Mijas and came across this brilliant alternative use for fused lightbulbs. Don't you just love it? :p

Mijas is a 1-hour bus ride away from Torremolinos. It costs 1.20 Euros for a single trip. I definitely recommend it as it's a very quaint village away from the hustle and bustle of the tourists milling around the beaches. As it's on elevated ground, it's also much cooler up there, so remember to bring a jacket!

Sucky South

I´m in Torremolinos, a small city in the south of Spain and this place really sucks...there are too many British tourists...it´s as if i never left the UK. Every single person is as roasted as a suckling pig. It´s quite a hilarious sight actually. So instead of seeing hot Spanish men, all I see are pot-bellied old British men looking like roasted lobsters.

I don´t mind if a place is touristy but yet has some local culture...I mean cities like Barcelona, Hong Kong, London etc are filled with tourists but they have character. Here there is NO local culture whatsoever.

The food is also terrible - my friend and i have walked all over in search of Spanish food but all we find are places selling fish & chips, pizza and spaghetti, roast chicken, steak. Like, KILL ME NOW. Thankfully, we found a gem of a restaurant last night thanks to the recommendation of a fellow traveller from South Africa whom I met on a day-trip to Gibraltar yesterday. He told me of this restaurant which he found...it has no English menu and is patronised mainly by locals. Only has one waitress who could speak some English and she recommended some really good food. And I figured I could trust his taste...he looked like the sort of person who knew what good food was.

We met him at the restaurant and he began to recommend food he had eaten for the past few days at the restaurant. True enough, the food was superb...nothing like the horrible Brit fare we had been having. I was really so happy after eating crap food for the past couple of meals. And after dinner, my friend and I went to a small cafe near our hostel and had the best hot chocolate. It was so rich and thick. Pure molten chocolate. Yums.

The beach itself isn´t that fantastic. Though the weather´s hot, the water´s glacial. It´s freaking cold. I´m not swimming in that kind of water! The sand isn´t that fantastic either. And I can only do so much lying on the sea. I love the sea, but I just can´t lie there all day like the Europeans love to do. I need to be paddling or doing something out there!

This morning, we went to Mijas, a village up in the hills. It was much quieter, had fewer tourists, and was really quite charming I must say. That I liked.

My friend and I are heading to Tarifa tomorrow, so hopefully it´ll be a little better there. Please, at least let there be better food!

Anyway, I won´t ever go on last-minute trips again without doing more research. I don´t think I´m that much of a go-with-the-flow person after all!

Columbia Road Flower Market

A ten-minute walk from Bricklane will take you to the Columbia Road Flower Market which opens on Sundays from 8am–2pm. But it's actually OK if you are there at 2pm...in fact it's better 'cos the flowers and potted plants are being sold at a discount as the stall owners prepare to pack up.

I think it's more of the locals who patronise the market. The market isn't that centrally located and it's unlikely that tourists would want to make their way here just to see this little lane when they are too busy going to London Bridge, Westminister, Trafalgar Square etc.

And while you're pushing your way through the crowd along Columbia Road, look out for a cafe called Treacle for its very lovely cupcakes or "fairy cakes" as they are called on the their website. I like the big cupcakes (above) better compared to the tiny ones (below). Tiny ones only tease but don't satisfy!

Cupcakes must really be becoming the next big thing. Check out this article in the New York Times.

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But if you don't want something as fancy as the Treacle, pop into The Flea-Pit, a rather run-down cafe, but full of character and retro-looking furniture and crockery. It is a good place to rest your legs as it's casual and relaxed and has a great sense of fun about it.

After looking at the flowers, we went to have Vietnamese food at an eatery called Song Que. I didn't eat as I had a lot to eat at lunch but the food that my friends ordered looked really good. But I had a beverage I really miss – soy bean milk! The food's also cheap, by London's standards anyway. After eating we headed to the art studios along Cremer Street, Shoreditch, where some of the artists had opened their studios for an open house to the public. At one studio, visitors were allowed to paint on a palate which has seen better years. Nonetheless, it was fun and the orange face you see was drawn by the very talented Keith. The rest of us just scrawled colour.

One thing I really like about London is that there is so much creativity around. It seems to seep and vibrate from every pore of the city. The fashion and shopping's great and you can just about find any type of clothes you like. The markets and bazaars are filled with budding designers who peddle their uniquely designed clothes and fashion accessories. Design and lifestyle shops are filled with creatively designed homeware like lights, cushions, crockery, furniture etc.

For musical and theatre buffs, London is like the Mecca of theatre. I must admit I've been really bad about doing my pilgrimage to the theatres even though I'm currently staying right smack in the heart of the theatre district. I've yet to watch a musical. But hey, I need to put food in my stomach first and a roof over my head before I can think of paying homage to the theatre gods more regularly. I think they'll be understanding and merciful. But I did catch Shakespeare's A Mid-Summer's Night Dream at the Open-Air Theatre at Regent's Park on Thursday Night. More about that in another post.

Spitalfields and Bricklane

I know, I know, I've been rather slack with my updates. But there's good reason for this – I've been busy doing some freelance editing work which means some money coming in at some point. Hopefully soon, of course.

This week's weekend is already here and here I am going to blog about last weekend's activities. Anyway, last weekend I went to two weekend bazaars at London's East End – Spitalfields and Bricklane. The former is more upmarket and has individual stalls set up very prettily in neat rows. The clothes there are usually designed by budding designers who sew the clothes themselves so designs are usually very unique and quirky. As for food, you get stalls selling freshly baked brownies, quiches, Turkish desserts, olives, bread, cheeses etc. Just looking at it provides such a visual feast.

A short walk away from Spitalfields is Bricklane. It's a long lane lined with people selling stuff they don't want anymore. The place is filled with bric-a-brac, but there are also stalls and several bazaars at the side roads filled with budding fashion and jewellery designers, aspiring bakers selling cakes and upcakes, aspiring chefs selling delicious looking paellas and frittatas...anything and everything really!

Then I spotted a bakery which had people filing in and out. It looks like a very established bakery in this old neighbourhood and doesn't seem it has changed very much since the day it started. But therein lies its charm of course. Seeing it reminded me of those bakeries selling the pandan waffles I love at HDB blocks back in Singapore. It's like your friendly neighbourhood bakery, you know?

I found this little stall below so amusing. Emulating the Peanuts comic strip, the guy and girl on the left had an old typewriter in front on them and put a sign up that read "Advice £1". They were even dressed the part!

Overall, I thought Bricklane was more interesting and I would definitely go to again just to soak in the atmosphere and take a look at the interesting designs that people come up with for everyday things. The place is just bubbling with creativity and vibrancy!

Food Notes in London

I've found a cheap place to buy fresh ginger - Chinatown! I paid 99p for a kilogram the other day. It's much cheaper than Tesco and Sainsbury (the two big supermarket chains in the UK). Incidentally, both have now become my two best friends since I'm now cooking a lot more than I used to back in Singapore. It's the domestic goddess in training!

Repeat After Me

Oh, you can say that again! With "funds" naturally comes "fun"! :p
I spotted this cute little piggy bank in a shelf display at a gift shop in Covent Garden.

Give Me Some Sun

In view of the rather cold, rainy and dreary weather London's been experiencing in the past few days, the USP (unique selling point) of this gym becomes somewhat ironic. Like, WHAT sunlight????

Surrealist Ball

Last Thursday evening (24/5) there was a Surrealist Ball at the Victoria & Albert Museum which was held in line with the Surrealist exhibit that is on at the museum presently. It's a special exhibit so you have to pay £3 to view the exhibit.

I was there to meet a friend and also to see what it was all about. I didn't bother with the exhibition as the people at the ball were more interesting to look at. Many of the attendees dressed up in costume and in line with the theme, came up with all sorts of weird stuff.

I love this magnificent glass structure which hangs from the dome of the museum. There's such a fiery energy to it. I can't remember the name of the artist who did it, but I know some of his works hang in the Ritz Carlton hotel in Singapore.

The courtyard was filled with people hanging around and drinking lots of beer. It was so cold outside though. But I enjoyed looking at the different costumes that the people were donning. So many people dressed up and it does show that Londoners have a great sense of fun!

And here are some examples of the quirky get-ups people came in.

There were people dancing as well and it's at such times where I wished I didn't have two left feet! It's so lovely seeing people moving gracefully to the music.

This man's tribute to Rene Magritte. Love it!

Portobello Market

Wherever I am, I LOVE going to markets. I love the energy and the buzz that goes on at these markets, the hustle and bustle of people walking past the stalls, buying food, looking at local arts and crafts etc.

Portobello Market is one of many markets in London and this market which runs along the whole stretch of Portobello Road has three sections to it – fashion, food, antiques. The fashion is quirky and bohemian and there are many local designers there. There are also a lot of stuff from India and China which are sold for heaps cheaper back in Asia. Many of the clothes are very retro looking and they look really funky. The antiques end of the market is also very charming but of course my favourite is the part of the market which sells food!

My friend tells me it's much cheaper to buy from these markets than the supermarkets. Most of it is also locally produced which makes it more environmentally friendly.

The part of the market selling clothes and accessories.

A stall selling dried foods.

One of several stalls selling vegetables.

Ooh, several huge pans of paella simmering would have been perfect for the cold and rainy weather. But I had already had lunch so it was dessert time. And that was when I went for the Red Velvet cupcake at Hummingbird Bakery instead.

A stall selling fresh bread – my friend swears by the bread sold at this stall! Go in the late afternoon at around 4.30pm and you can buy the bread at discounted prices.

A stall called Betty's Cakes selling homemade cakes and cookies. Very charming.

I knew this had to be some Malaysian or Singaporean eatery when I saw the word "makan". I was right! But I didn't bother eating there.

Anyway, I'm planning to check out more markets in the time I'm in London. I think such markets are absolutely charming!

The Orangery at Kensington Gardens

It was a beautiful day in London yesterday and it also happened that Umami was in London and so we met up at a cafe called The Orangery situated in the heart of Kensington Gardens.

It's situated in this building facing immaculately pruned lawns.

The white, refreshing interiors of the cafe mirrored the lovely weather outside.

Some lovely spring flowers to brighten the place!



I felt that I needed some greens just to keep a more healthy diet and decided to go for the tomato, feta and basil salad. This costs £3.95...I don't even want to think about it in Singapore dollars anymore, 'cos that just gets depressing!!! It tasted OK...I mean, there's nothing much to it anyway. I had a cup of lemon & ginger tea to go with my food too. What's afternoon tea without tea?

Umami ordered the Orangery Cake which had some icing at the top and some orange bits in within the sponge cake. I thought it was a little dry for me and didn't really like it that much when I tried a bit of it.

She also ordered the fruit scone which came with full cream and jam. We were rather disappointed with this scone as they had reheated it by microwaving it, and so it didn't taste very good (we were placing high hopes of having some good English scones here).

Seeing that it was such a gorgeous day, we decided we couldn't just sit in and that we had to do the weather justice by taking a walk in the park. After all, such weather doesn't come all that often in UK!

We came across many squirrels nibbling on their food and these squirrels are so used to humans that they have no qualms about coming right up and sitting next to people. They were all very adorable!

Many people were out boating on the Serpentine, a lake within Kensington Gardens. That just made me itch to paddle. I miss paddling!!! Hordes of people were also out sunbathing on the lawns. All that's missing is a beach which will never ever materialise here!

Meanwhile I've been exploring the neighbourhood and I must say it's really very nice and charming! Many small and pretty shops! But I can't buy anything at the moment so that's pretty useless to me now.

I've also discovered that my two pals, Joe & Keith are very good cooks. I need to hone my cooking skills now. I bought blueberries and strawberries from Sainsbury yesterday and so I'm enjoying these seasonal fruits!

Anyway, back to the Orangery. My verdict is that the place scores higher on ambience than its food. But I think I'd rather do a picnic in the open...bring some food, a book and just lie on the grass and enjoy the sunshine!

Kensington Palace, Kensington Gardens, London, W8 4PX
Tel: +44 (0)871 3327927

Paddling Along Gold Coast

Just wanted to share a slice of the action from the Gold Coast Cup outrigger canoe race. This is the Singapore Paddle Club ladies crew paddling past the buildings in Surfers Paradise, which is about the 2/3 point of the 47km race along the whole stretch of the Gold Coast.

And I have to say it again - the race was heaps of fun!!!!!!

Surfer Babe

I had my first taste of surfing at Evans Head. Three of us rose early and made our way to the beach at 8.30am to meet our two surfing instructors. Go here to find out more about lessons.
They were two very young and hunky Aussie lads in their early 20s. One very blond, the other very tan, buff and bronze. He was later nicknamed the "hunk" by M, one of my closest teammates. Haha.

Before the practical part, we were given some theory lesson on how to look out for rips, waves, tides and currents.

And then we had to practice some technique on land. Of course, it was all very well and good on land. Haha. That's me on the extreme right.

I then headed into the waters and looked out for waves and rips with the hunk by my side. He really was quite gorgeous I must say. :p

And here I go!

I managed to stand a few times but not without first falling a million times! It definitely takes a lot of practice but nonetheless heaps of fun as you ride the waves!

Ooh, I LOVE the beaches in Australia!

MovieWorld

Six girls were out on a mission to have loads of fun at MovieWorld and here are the pictures to show for it.

We went on all the roller coasters and this is one named Lethal Weapon. We were twirled up and down and by the time we got off, it felt like I was suffering from vertigo. You can't see me, but I was sitting in the second last row.

Ooh, this roller coaster was called Superman Escape. The first time only three of us went as the other three didn't want to risk their hearts. I was really scared at the thought of going on it, but decided I had to do it just to get my money's worth! And also I wanted to say that I had gone on it!

I'm in the second row of the very first cart with my other two teammates. We screamed ourselves hoarse. Our teammate who was waiting below said of all the rides, ours was the loudest and our screaming was so high and piercing! Haha!

Only four of us went on Batwaing and two of them decided to sit out as they were scared. I was scared but I wanted to try it just to get that adrenalin rush and to say I've done it! Must try everything once! That's me on the extreme right.

And up we go! We were accorded a very nice view from up above and we descended after a few seconds. The ride was over in less than a minute. Back on earth! Phew!

I screamed so much that day that I ended up with a very hoarse (and somewhat sexy. haha.) voice for the next few days!

Germany Snapshots

My camera died on me while in Germany. It started acting weird. So I didn't take many pictures. Here are a few shots.

The inspiration for Cinderella's castle in Disneyland. Bavaria's King Ludwig II's castle in Fussen named Neuschwanstein. Not too far away is also another lovely little castle of his named Linderhof which is surrounded by a beautiful garden.

And what do you know? I managed to catch a dragonboat festival in Hamburg! It took place in the Inner Alster. The Alster (consisting of the Inner and Outer Alster) is the main lake in Hamburg.

I was so pleased to be able to catch the festival. If only I could have taken part! Hamburg's a lovely city in northern Germany filled with lots of canals and waterways. It's Germany's Venice. From Hamburg, I also took a day-trip to Berlin which is 3 hours away by bus. And Berlin's definitely worth a visit too!

Boston Snapshots

I didn't take many photos of the usual tourist spots 'cos I figured I could get those from websites. So here are three of the few I took.

The interior of the Boston Public Library is one of those places where I've always felt like what a real library should look like with its wooden shelves and tables, emerald green lamps and classical architecture. The feel is just so traditional and intellectual. Like a real place for learning.

I was just walking around when I spotted these people playing happily in the fountain. It was somewhere near the Prudential Center, a shopping center and office building not too far from the John Hancock Building. The day was hot so these people were cooling off and having fun. I almost felt like running in too, but decided on the wiser option of staying dry.

I did the touristy thing and went on the Boston Duck Tours. The weather was fantastic with the sun shining happily in the sky. We were driven around the city and were shown all the buildings significant to Boston's History and for the water bit, we took a ride around the Charles River. The tours are very popular so be sure to book early. My hotel concierge was great--they managed to snare some tickets for me even though I booked only the day before. For people with little time, it's a great way to get a quick introduction to the city.

If you have time, do drop by the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum over at Fenway Park. It's also next door to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts which I didn't bother going into because I didn't want to spend a lovely sunny day in museums. I wanted to walk around and soak in the gorgeous sunshine. Such lovely weather couldn't be wasted indoors.

The Isabella Stewart Gardner museum is small compared to its next door neighbour and its facade looks unimpressive. But the moment you step in, it's as if you've entered into another realm. A secret garden. Its Italian-style courtyard is lush with plants and flowers from the greenhouse that's part of the museum.

The museum features paintings, tapestries, old letters and sculptures from the collection of the late Isabella Stewart Gardner who was a strong supporter of the arts. She was a member of Boston's high society from the mid-19th century to early 20th century. She set up the museum and the exhibits have remained as they have been since 1924. Her will states that the permanent exhibits must not be altered otherwise they would be sold and proceeds are to go to Harvard University (and really, they don't need the money!).

The artworks, tapestries and sculptures hail from many different parts of the world thanks to the travels Gardner did in her lifetime. She appreciated the different cultures of the world, and brought home with her things from China, Japan, Italy, Belgium, Greece, etc. A self-portrait of Rembrandt hangs in there as well.

Unfortunately photography isn't allowed in the museum, so no photos to show the lovely place. When you're done with the exhibits, you can just head to the courtyard or some little corner in the greenhouse to read a book. It's a great little enclave for some peace and quietness surrounded by lush greenery and it helps too that the use of mobile phones is prohibited within the museum. Definitely worth a visit.

Boston is a great city to walk in as it's compact and the sights are not too far from one another. If you fancy the train, taking the "T" (as the train system is known as) is really convenient and easy too. But I fancy walking more so I walked around a lot. You get to see more and it's good exercise too!

Cafe Vittoria

The North End of Boston is the Italian quarter where many Italian restaurants are situated. I happened to be there during a street festival that was held along Hanover Street. There were parades and food stalls around. I was really lucky to be there!

When my friend and I got there, it was tea-time so we popped into one of the cafes along the street. We had initially wanted to go to Mike's Pastries which, according to a colleague in Boston, is an institution in the city amongst cake and pastry lovers. She wasn't wrong--the place was packed to the brim. Even wanting to buy some cakes and pastries to take away was a challenge. It was very old-styled and seem to be stuck in a time-warp. Charming.

So we headed a few doors down to Cafe Vittoria which also had a old world charm about it. The funny thing is that the cafe has two sides and thus two entrances. The one on the right is the one with the old, musky and dark feel to the place. The on the left is brighter and more modern. So head either right or left depending on the mood you're in.

The menu which gives a short introduction of the place at the front. At the bottom of the page, we're told that there's a cigar parlour at the basement. Cool. I don't smoke cigars, but I think it just adds to the charm of the place.

The cafe is long and narrow and we chose to sit at the back, hence according us this view of the place through the metal work which adds a nice touch, transporting one to the cafes in Italy itself.

Our tea-time treats. A chocolate chip cannoli which tasted great with its crispy cone and wonderful smooth custard. And as I have made it a personal mission to try all the tiramisus in the world, I had to order it (also 'cos it came highly recommended by the waitress). It didn't disappoint as it was creamy and moist with alcohol and so smooth. One of the best I've eaten. The cappuccino was drunk by my friend and according to him, was good.

Boston Seafood

It's been non-stop eating for the past few days. Boy, am I stuffed! Lots of seafood and clam chowder soup. I bet my cholesterol levels have gone sky-high.

There were no meetings on Sunday and so I went on the Duck Tours to have a quick look around Boston. Then when the tour ended, I headed to the South End Open Market, a flea market open every Sunday during the summer months. The stalls sold handmade arts and crafts, vintage stuff, second-hand things, homemade bread etc. It's located at 540 Harrison Ave.

Then headed to the North End (the Italian quarter of Boston) where there was an Italian street festival along Hanover Street. There are lots of Italian restaurants and eateries there. The well-patronised cafes are Mike's Pastries and just next to it, Cafe Vittoria. The tiramisu at the latter is great!

At night it was seafood dinner at Legal Seafoods, a famous chain of restaurants along the east coast of the US. Had steamed lobster, baked lobster, crab cakes and clam chowder. All very yummy!

Yesterday's dinner was at Kingfish Hall, a seafood restaurant at Faneuil Hall's South Market building. I had the Thai Bouillabaisse and tuna tartar and both were really good too. For desserts, their key lime pie and Boston Creme Pie are also good.

Anyway, those are just the highlights of what I've been stuffing myself with. Getting fat in Boston!

Hello from Boston

After more than a day of travel, I finally arrived in Boston. The flight from Frankfurt to Boston was delayed for slightly more than an hour because of some technical fault. Then just as the plane was about to touch down in Boston, the pilot suddenly accelerated and brought the plane up a few hundred metres into the sky again! It was rather scary I must say. Later, the pilot announced over the PA that it was because there was another aircraft on the runway as he was about to land. I'm seriously doubting the competency of the air traffic controls in Boston...

The food on Lufthansa was, surprisingly, edible. I had chicken in mushroom sauce served with mash potato for dinner on the Sg-Frankfurt leg. Breakfast was a chicken panini. On the Frankfurt-Boston leg, I had beef pasta with beans and carrots. The flight from Sg to Frankfurt was really packed. I was hoping it would be quite empty so that I could stretch out and sleep. No such luck though. Lufthansa has no personal inflight entertainment, which is really annoying!!! It's just utterly depressing when you're taking a long-haul flight. I managed to sleep during the Sg-Frankfurt leg. I'm thinking of buying some sleeping pills for the Frankfurt-Sg leg just so I can knock myself out. I had a 6-hour transit in Frankfurt where I spent my time reading Richard Branson's autobiography Losing My Virginity. I bought the book at the departure lounge in Sg to help me kill time during all these waiting. I didn't sleep a wink during the Frankfurt-Boston leg and spent the time reading more of Branson's book. It's an interesting read by the way.

Anyway, I'm staying at Boston's Omni Parker House Hotel, one of the oldest hotels in Boston. I have a very big and plush bed full of pillows - all of which are wasted on me 'cos I don't need such a big bed and that many pillows. I'm in downtown Boston, so that's good. I've already walked around some of the historical buildings and spots in Boston. I also found my way (I can read maps after all) to Chinatown last night and bought dinner from a Vietnamese restaurant there. And much to my delight, a big Borders store is just a 1-min walk away. I've since bought 3 books and a magazine to occupy myself on the return journey.

From what I've seen of Boston (no doubt very little still), I love the city! All the architecture's lovely and there's a lot of history in this city. It's clean, the people are generally friendly and there's so much water surrounding the city. I've always loved cities with lots of waterways as there's so much more character to these cities.

I woke up at 5.30am today and decided to make my way to the gym for some exercise. I actually bumped into my managing director there. So I morphed into a hamster on a wheel for 50 minutes as I ran on the treadmill, followed by some weights. I actually feel normal-sized in the US 'cos so many people here are overweight.

I wandered to Faneuil Hall this afternoon and at Quincy Market, had a very yummy lobster pie and clam chowder for lunch. Wonder what's going to be for dinner. hee.

Nice apartment

I'm staying at this place called L'accueil Residence at the moment. It's a service apartment-hotel style outfit. It's nice. Everything looks new and stylish, there's a kitchenette, a dining table, a small living room, a big double bed with plush cotton sheets and a clean and stylish bathroom.

Should have extended some invitations to friends to come to Beijing with me!

Penang Hill

On Friday afternoon, four other teammates and I hired a mini van for half a day to take us around Penang. We were the ones who wanted to do some sightseeing instead of shopping.

We went to Penang Hill, the highest point in Penang at about 710 metres above sea level. The tram ride itself took one hour to go up and down. It's an old tram so it crawls up. The view from Penang Hill is fantastic and the air's really cool and fresh up there. I think it's worth a visit if you are a first-time visitor to Penang!

Wan County 万县

Along the cruise, we had a shore excursion one morning to Wan County. The original town has been drowned and what stands now are buildings and homes that have been built to relocate the people.

Women and children sitting outside and enjoying each other's company.

Animal innards being sold at the local market.

Dried goods being sold at the local market.

A stall selling spices, beans and millet.

A row of naked ducks with their necks down.

An old man at the duck stall using a fire torch to fire the duck. I'm not sure why he's doing this though. Maybe someone who is more in the know can tell me!

Buckets of chilli. Just looking at it scares me already. I'm not a huge fan of chilli!

A stall selling freshly made noodles.

Yangtze River and Three Gorges 长江和三峡

I went on a cruise along the Yangtze River to see the Three Gorges. The cruise started from the city of Wuhan and went upstream towards Chongqing which was to be the last stop. It was a very leisurely cruise, but if you go on one, be prepared to have groups of American and British retirees as fellow passengers. Honestly, it felt like a retirement village. I think I cut the average age there by half.

And because the cruise was catered mainly to American and British tourists, the food was naturally bastardized versions of Chinese food. The usual lemon chicken, sweet and sour pork and all those crappy food. You will also find that these people have a Disneyland view of China. They will LOVE everything about it, and say everything's so lovely etc. I'm just so glad I went as an independent traveller. I hate having to go around in big groups.

The water levels along the river have already risen about 120 metres due to the Three Gorges Dam. Many of the villages and houses you see along the cruise are newly built ones. The people were moved to higher ground while their original homes are now all underwater. Drowned and gone for all eternity.

Still, the cliffs are gorgeous. Coupled with the mist, it feels as if you're entering a dream world as the ship meanders through the gorges.

At the Shennong Stream, we had to transfer to small boats because the water level was too shallow for the big boat and also the water passage was too narrow. These small boats are called "pea pods". They are so-called because the shape of the boat resembles that of a pea pod. A pea pod is powered by five men. One coxswain, who's also the skipper, one rower in front of the coxswain, two rowers at the front of the boat and one man who's the second mate. He helps to guide and punt the boat up front when the boat needs to go upstream. These rowers are local farmers.

These pea pods have been in used for hundreds of years. When the pea pod has to go upstream and through very shallow waters, the rowers jump out of the boat and hook a rope made of bamboo onto the pea pod. They then stand on the banks and hang on to the hardy bamboo rope and pull the boat along. The men at the front and back help by punting the pea pod with a long bamboo pole. It's back-breaking work! Originally, the men used to pull the boats in the nude as they didn't want the ropes to spoil their clothes (due to the rubbing of the rope on the clothes). But because of tourism, they have had to have some modicum of decency.

The pea pods break out of their orderly arrangement after we, the tourists, have gone back to our big boat after going through the Shennong Stream.

By the way, most Chinese people refer to the Yangtze River as Chang Jiang 长江, meaning Long River. The word "Yangtze" is really what it is known as in Shanghainese. According to my guide, the term "Yangtze River" came into common use in the English-speaking community because the first Westerners arrived in Shanghai and they asked the locals what the river was called and they told the foreigners the river's name in Shanghainese. The name has stuck ever since.

Mount Hua 华山

If you want to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city and do some hiking, a good day-trip would be to make your way to Mount Hua 华山. You can join any of the local tours (which are a dime a dozen) to get yourself there. That's probably easiest. It takes about 1.5 - 2 hours to get there by bus from Xi'an's city centre.

The type of rock that makes up the mountains is mostly granite. When you get to the base, I suggest you take the cable car up to the North Peak. The more enthusiastic climbers can start right from the bottom and make their way up by foot. But it's an endless flight of stairs. It's best to take the cable car and then walk to the South, East and West peaks from there. That will take up a few hours and it's a lot of walking! There's a temple at every peak and a few peppered along the way from one peak to another.

You'll see many of these locks. The superstitious Chinese believe that you should make a wish on a lock and lock it there for good luck. Lovers should also buy a lock so that their love for each other is sealed forever. I think it's all crap.

The steps are extremely steep at times and you'll have to walk very carefully. Here, I, the baby mountain goose, scale this flight of steps against an almost vertical wall! Grab on to those chains at the side! The hike can be tiring, but take it at your own pace and just enjoy the breathtaking views!

As you make your way up the endless steps, you'll come across many mountain porters. These porters haul chairs, ten gallons of water and god knows what up the mountains to the teahouses and hostels in the mountain. It's such back-breaking work and my heart really goes out to them. Their faces are weathered by all these hard work and I really can't fathom how they manage to haul all these things up. This particular porter started to break into song, singing a folk song with all his heart in his local dialect. I didn't understand a word, but it sounded extremely lovely and melodious up in those mountains.

Morning Prep Talk

It was very amusing to see employees of many big stores in Xi'an coming out very morning to do "morning exercise". This was just one of them we saw. Before the store officially opens in the morning, all the employees file out and arrange themselves in an orderly fashion and then they start dancing to a tune, flaying their arms in the air and chanting slogans like "We are good, we are good, we are really very good!!!" Then they get some sort of prep talk from the supervisor, after which they file back in to do their work for the day.

Quite bizarre.

Muslim Quarter in Xi'an

Snapshots of the Muslim Quarter in Xi'an.

One of many street stalls selling buns and pan-fried cubes made from green bean flour coated with soy sauce.

This stall sells braised cow's stomach.

One of many roadside stalls selling barbecued food like skewered meat.

A type of sweet cake with date filling.

A stall selling sweet cakes and desserts.

One of many abbattoirs along the streets. It was rather off-putting to see so many goat carcasses hanging out in the open without any proper storage and hygiene standards.

Then you see all these big chunks of meat and organ parts all placed haphazardly for sale. It looked pretty gross actually. I guess I'm just too used to the clean conditions in which meat is sold in Singapore!

A bakery selling the pastries of the Hui minority group.

Anyone for buns?

Seamstresses and cobblers along the street.

A pushcart selling food along the street. Notice the women wearing scarves. They are of the Hui minority group who believe in Islam.



Dried goods for sale along the street.

A stall selling plants in the market in the Muslim Quarter.

Beijing Underground City 北京地下城

For an off-the-beaten-track tourist spot to visit within Beijing's city centre, try to go in search of the Beijing Underground City which was built during the Cultural Revolution to serve as a bomb shelter. But it turned out to be a white elephant as it was never used. It's a labyrinth of tunnels which will leave you lost if you navigate it on your own. Hence there are guides to bring you around.

The network of tunnels is so extensive that you can make your way to the Beijing International Airport and even neighbouring city, Tianjin, using the tunnels! The taking of photos isn't allowed hence I'm unable to put up more photos.

It's not THAT exciting a place as there are just pictures of military planes and tankers lining the tunnels. But it's interesting the craziness that took over Chairman Mao when he conceived and carried out this idea of his.

Tour groups can enter free of charge without prior permission, while individual tourists are charged 20 yuan.

Address (three entrances) :
62 West Damochang Street, Qianmen, Tel. 6702-2657.
Qianmen Carpet Factory at 44 Xingfu Dajie, Chongwen District, Ttel. 6701-5079
18 Dazhalan Jie in Qianmen.

Go here to read more.

Beijing Donghua Night Market 北京东华夜市

Just a street or two away from the main shopping district of Wangfujing (王府井) in Beijing, lies a street which comes alive at night with whole row of street food stalls. This is precisely what dimsumdolly's playground is about.

So the line of stalls spanning about 200 metres sell all sort of street snacks (小吃). Pieces of smelly beancurds, muttons, prawns, silkworms are skewered and grilled, emanating a myriad of smells that tease and flirt with one's nostrils. Sea urchins, sparrows and all sorts of innards are also available for the more adventurous eaters.

I had my first deep-fried sea urchin. The black globs didn't taste very good and I threw it away after having a scoop of it. It's a far cry from eating it raw as I adore eating it that way. Or maybe Japanese uni is just different. Who knows?

Always a sucker for crepes, pancakes and the likes, I had to try this Shandong spring onion pancake. Unfortunately it didn't taste as good as it looked. It was very bland.

I'm still not sure what this really is. The shop owner told me it's dog's penis. I don't know if he was lying or not??? Of course I didn't try it. Dimsumdolly has her limits, thank you very much. But if there's anyone who can tell me if the shopowner was telling the truth or not, please let me know!!!

This was some steamed dessert made from glutinous rice. It looked very cute and pretty that's why I bought it. There's a slightly sweet taste to it but I was a little disappointed with the taste as it didn't taste as good as it looked. Too bland.

Other foodstuff sold were pan-fried dumplings (锅贴), boiled dumplings (饺子) and steamed soup dumplings (小笼包). Desserts like sweet soup and caramelized fruits were also available.

My conclusion is that the food isn't fantastic, but it's worth a short visit just to have a look at the food and soak in the bustling energy that runs through the market.

Snapshots of Cheng Chau 长洲

This time, I finally managed to visit one of the many outlying islands in HK. I went to Cheung Chau (长洲) for seafood, but before I unveil the nosh, let me just give you a glimpse of Cheung Chau since not many tourists actually make their way there when visiting HK.

Many fishing boats and sampans line the harbour bank. Fishermen dock here to sell their catch of the day. Residents and people who come here for seafood can actually hop onto the sampans and choose their seafood, after which they can bring it to the restaurant of their choice to have it cooked according to their tastes.

When you alight from the ferry, the first shop you'll see is a McDonald's outlet. Wow, how exciting. I come all the way to Cheung Chau only to see McDonald's. But turn left/right, and you'll see more interesting locally run restaurants and eateries.

A row of bicycles is parked outside a primary school that's located beside Cheung Chau beach (notice that bit of blue on the right middle ground of the photo). The bicycle is the usual mean of transport for Cheung Chau residents. Two murals decorate an otherwise plain and dirty school facade. The one with the pink background says "I Love Hong Kong" at the top and the students have drawn cute representations of the IFC (International Finance Centre), the Bank of China and Jardine House on the left side of the mural.

I only wished I had lessons that could take place at beaches. Why wasn't school ever as fun as this??? Here, a big group of school kids are out on a school excursion at Cheung Chau beach.

A clinic selling both Western and Chinese medicine.

A very old-style barber shop in one of the alleys. Love the swing doors. Kinda takes you back in time.

This is the Cheung Chau market which is a short walk away from the ferry terminal. However, I'm not sure if this is the only market and if it's the main market which residents patronise.

Live seafood being sold on the ground floor of the market. Poultry was being sold upstairs on the second floor.

Most of the residents live in low-rise residential buildings such as these.

I saw many homes drying and preserving their own fish and fruits, and thought it was cool that people still do such things. In Singapore, I doubt I would be able to come across such a scene!

Cheng Chau is idyllic and much more laid-back compared to the hustle and bustle of HK island and Kowloon. Exploring the island is a nice way to spend the afternoon to see another side of HK. To get there, catch a ferry from outlying island ferry pier at Central. It's a 30-40 min ferry ride from Central.

Funky Grands

Check out these two funky grand pianos I spotted in a music shop at Times Square, Causeway Bay. So loud and so over-the-top. Not quite my thing but still something very novel nonetheless!

HK On a Shoestring

The very minimalist and zen room I stayed in on the first night in a hostel in Wanchai. We were actually supposed to be in a hostel in Causeway Bay, but ended up here instead because of some screw-up.

When we arrived at the hostel in Causeway Bay, we were told that we didn't have rooms because my friend hadn't emailed his credit card number as confirmation of his booking. But come on, who would give out one's credit card number if it wasn't even asked for in the first place??? But the proprietor seemed to think that it was a given. Duh.

But the entrepeneurial HK spirit prevails, and the two brothers who own the hostel somehow whip out four rooms for eight of us in their Wanchai branch in an hour.

When I entered my room with my roommate, we were shocked to find ourselves in a prison cell (OK fine, it's just me being dramatic here). Oh man, a squat toilet and the shower head just above it, and a minuscule sink at the left corner of the shower cum toilet. There was a dead baby cockroach in the soap tray. A bed lies next to the shower cum toilet. Another bed, just about 1.7m in length, lies against the other wall. Any taller person would have to bend his/her legs to sleep as the bed wasn't any longer than that and it was placed from wall to wall. It was THAT cramped.

The view from the lift corridor. Right at ground level, loads of trash are strewn around. It's not a pretty sight.

An old telephone cable box that is yellow with age. If I had been naughty, I could have unplugged cables and switched the phones line around, resulting in lots of cross lines and calls to the wrong households. Heehee.

This feels like a still from the Wong Kar Wai film "2046". It was so retro. Our rooms were up on the 15th floor.

Well, I guess a good view follows me wherever I go in HK. In the shared balcony outside the line of rooms, we could see the continuous stream of traffic on the flyovers in Wanchai. The vehicles were all heading towards the cross-harbour tunnel which brings them across to Kowloon.

We also got a fantastic view of the Kowloon side. Speaking of Kowloon, this is the first time that I didn't even step foot into Kowloon during my time in HK. I kinda missed it actually 'cos I'm more familiar with Kowloon.

The second and third night, we moved to the hostel in Causeway Bay. I was put in a room with three other teammates. This room was really cramped as well but at least it felt less claustrophobic. But whatever it is, for the amount I paid, I guess I shouldn't be whingeing so much.

But HK again on a shoestring? I don't think so!

Hangzhou's Night Market

Bazaars and markets are heaps more fun than shopping centres and I'm glad I stumbled upon one in Hangzhou. The night market in Hangzhou is located 何坊街 (Hefang Jie). It is on the southeast side of the West Lake and is definitely worth a visit when you're in Hangzhou.

So here are some photos to share of the night bazaar.

The night bazaar is lined with shops on both sides. The two-storey buildings are built in ancient Chinese style, and if all the people walking along it were dressed in ancient Chinese costumes, it would resemble a town back in Tang dynasty!

One of many shops selling traditional handicrafts. Others were selling Chinese fans, silk, scarfs, calligraphy brushes, paper cuttings, jade and tea.

Signature designing services seems to be really popular in China. I came across this many times in Shanghai as well.

This guy here is practising what they call 太极茶道 (Taiji Chadao) at one of several teahouses along the street. But this is special because the tea is poured out of special teapots with extremely long spouts and as they pour they perform gongfu-like stunts. The idea is that they shouldn't spill any tea out of the pot as they twist those arms and legs of theirs! It was extremely fun to watch!

A couple is enjoying a "movie" from an era ago. The man at the side is turning the reel while telling the story with exuberance. Quite charming!

Zhuozheng Yuan 拙政园

拙政园 (Zhuozheng Yuan--Humble Administrator's Garden) is one of the most famous gardens in 苏州 (Suzhou). It was built by an official after his retirement during the Ming Dynasty. He spent 16 years building it but unfortunately died not too long after it was completed. He left the residence to his prodigal son who lost the family residence in one of his many gambles. In the next few hundred years through the Qing Dynasty, the residence changed owners 30 odd times. It is now a UNESCO protected place.

The garden is an exquisite showcase of Chinese architecture with its attention to detail. The following pictures are some examples.

Me at one of the bridges in the garden.

A beautiful opening in the wall which seems to frame the scenery in the background like a beautiful painting. Imagine yourself admiring the view as you walk along the corridor towards this opening.

The rooftop looks like an inverted fan. But note that the top part is not actually part of this pavilion. It really belongs to another pavilion but seen from this angle at this particular spot along the corridor, it looks like it's part of this pavilion. Brilliant architectural detail and exquisite designs.

In the main garden, there are four pavilions placed at different spots. Each pavilion has a very beautiful and lyrical name but unfortunately I forgot to note it down! The four pavilions in the main garden represent the four seasons. Each pavilion is specially placed and designed such that it is unique to each season.

The Spring (春) pavilion is surrounded by peony shrubs. The peony , 牡丹花, is the national flower of China and and is a symbol for longevity and nobility (富贵). Yellow and purple varieties are considered of highest value. It also symbolises spring and is often used as a metaphor for female beauty.

The Summer (夏) pavilion sits right in the centre of the Lotus Pond (see below) which forms the heart of the gardens. This is because the summer months are when the lotus flower, 荷花, (Hehua) blooms. It represents harmony as the word 荷 sounds like the word 合 and 和, meaning harmony and togetherness respectively.

The lotus flower is also known as the 莲花 (Lianhua) and because of this it represents continuity as the Chinese word for continuity, 连 (lian), sounds the same as 莲. When I was there, the lotus flowers were still in bud form. Given two more weeks most would have blossomed and it would have been a lovely sight for me to behold.

The Autumn (秋) pavilion is surrounded by tangerine trees (橘子). Tangerine stands for luck as the pronunciation of 橘 (ju)sounds like 吉 (ji). Imagine plucking the tangerines and enjoying it the pavilion! Isn't that wonderful???

The winter (冬) pavilion is surrounded by plum blossom trees (梅花) which flower at the end of the year. The plum blossom is one of the few flowers that blossom winter, making it an emblem of longevity. When the plum blossom and bamboo appear together, they create a wish for "double happiness" (竹梅双喜) and this combination is often given as a wedding gift.

The blue glass pieces in these window panels are such ingenious ideas. Look through the glass and it looks as if the trees and stones in the garden have snow on top of them.

This is one of the designs on the pathways in the garden. This one is interesting because it's in the shape of flowers. The play is on the Chinese word "花" (hua). As a noun, it means "flower". But used as a verb, it means "to spend". So "花钱" means to spend money. Walking along it, it's supposed to bless the person with good fortune and that he'll never have to worry about money (一路有钱花).

One of a few bridges in the garden. It's so lovely to just sit around and enjoy the scenery around. Looking around, it was clear that the owners of the place had put lots of thought into the design of the place. There's even a pavilion called 听雨轩 (Literal Translation: Listening to the Rain Pavilion) specially built to go to when it rains. Apparently the pitter patter of the rain sounds most lyrical at that spot.

Here you can see some 鸳鸯 (Mandarin Ducks. They're at the bottom right.) in this 鸳鸯池 (Mandarin Duck pond). The Mandarin Duck is a symbol of marital bliss as the ducks always come in pairs and mate for life. Incidentally, the ducks' plummage weren't very pretty at that point in time because they were shedding their feathers. To differentiate the male from the female, one only had to look at the beak. The male ducks had the more beautiful red-coloured beaks.

拙政园 is definitely worth a visit if you visit Suzhou. I never knew so much thought went into the design of the place. In the olden days, many rich people liked to have homes in Suzhou and this resulted in Suzhou having many of such lovely private residences. From what I learnt from the visit to 拙政园, it gave me a better understanding of the sensitivity the Chinese display towards their surroundings. They put so much thought and emphasis on the serenity of one's surroundings and the calm it brings to the spirit. The names given to each pavilion and hall are all so lyrical and poetic, adding to the calm and relaxed mood of one who walks through the gardens.

Entrance Fee: 50元
Tip: If you can understand Chinese, go on the 40-minute guided tour conducted by the staff. No extra charge.

Suzhou Silk Museum

If your Lonely Planet Guide recommends that you check out the Suzhou Silk Museum (苏州丝绸博物馆), please don't do so. My Lonely Planet Guide to Shanghai (2001 edition) recommended it in Suzhou but I really hope its 2005 edition has struck it off its list!

My friends and I went there and it was crap! Actually we were also thinking we could go there to escape from the heat after walking around two gardens. But alas, it wasn't to be as the museum had switched the aircon off to save electricity!

In any case, the exhibits were lousy and it's really not worth the 7 元 entrance fee.

Walking in Shanghai (II)

To get to know the lives of the locals better, a good way would be to wake up early and walk around the neighbourhood. In Shanghai, I stayed in 静安区 (JingAn district) in 蒲西 (PuXi) and it is one bustling district. Well actually just about the whole of Shanghai is bustling with activity.

Anyway, one morning while my friends were still asleep (I seriously don't know how people can sleep till mid-day! I feel like the whole day's wasted like that!), I decided to explore the area.

I was actually going in search of a wet market which a friend, who had just been to Shanghai for a holiday, had told me about. Unfortunately his directions were a little wrong. One of the road names he had given me was wrong. Actually it didn't even exist on the map. So I went in search of the road name which did exist.

As I walked along the streets, I passed many lanes called 弄 which are lanes leading to residential areas. One can see local residents sitting around chatting and just passing time and kids playing about. Pretty interesting to get a glimpse of their daily lives.

Along the way, I saw many shops selling the ubiquitous buns (包 & 饅頭). It's their staple but I'm not a huge fan of buns sold in Shanghai. Firstly it's so plain and most of them have no filling. I much prefer Cantonese buns. Give me my 叉燒包 anytime!

Eventually, I managed to sniff out the fresh food market. Gosh, it's so nondescript, it really takes a keen eye to spot it! So the market is along 康定路 (Kangding Lu).

You'd have to walk past 常德路 (Changde Lu) running adjacent to it before you see the nondescript entrance to the market. Just look out for people walking out of this alley.

Here are scenes from the market:

Live fish and other seafood being sold. This is something not seen in Singapore anymore. I think fish is best bought live as it's freshest that way. I know lots of wet markets in Hong Kong still have it and wished it still existed in Singapore.

Vegetables being strewn on the ground. Lots of stallholders did this.

A stall selling meat. There were many houseflies flying around the raw meat. Kinda gross actually.

An aerial view of the market. There were people talking into loudspeakers trying to lure customers. At one stall I walked past, there was a quarrel going on between two housewives. Quite ugly!

I returned from my morning walk very pleased with myself for having found the wet market and being able to experience the sights and sounds of Shanghai in the morning. It's definitely worth taking a walk round the neighbourhood!

Walking in Shanghai (I)

I'm not much of a shopper so shopping centres don't really interest me very much, especially when I'm travelling. Shopping centres all over the world are pretty much the same after awhile. However, I do like popping into tiny shops that line roads. You know, like individual shops and not chain stores? Now, that's more interesting 'cos the things that are sold are usually more unique and creative.

The thing about such shops is that the stuff sold are usually more expensive. So the situation is that I just go and admire pretty things but I don't buy 'cos I can't afford to! So you might ask me where's the fun in it? Well, I just like looking at pretty things ok.

But there aren't many of these shops around in big cities what with chain stores and big department stores taking over the world! In Sydney, my favourite street for such stores would have to be Oxford Street in Paddington. OK fine, it's a little touristy and there ARE chain stores along the street, but still there are many tiny shops which sell very pretty stuff. Singapore doesn't seem to have such an area/street. Hmm...maybe the shops around Arab Street can sort of qualify?

But ah, I found my street in Shanghai! Start your walk from the start of 陕西南路 (Shaanxi Nanlu). It's in the French Concession area of old Shanghai. This is a rather long road but take your time to walk along it.

You'll pass the junction of where Xiangyang market is if you turn right. Give that a miss and walk straight along. Turn into the adjacent streets and pop into the shops there as well. One street in particular, 長樂路 (Changle Lu), is a row of terraced houses with courtyards in front, housing a highend boutique in each of them (see below).

The thing about walking along 陕西南路 is that there are shops (mostly selling clothes, shoes and accessories) to go to on both sides of the road! So you have to brave the cross the road if a shop on the opposite side catches your eye. Can get quite tiring you know! And China's traffic is terrible. Crossing roads in China requires a whole different set of skills. Deft footwork, alert eyes and a flexible neck are essential. A stiff neck will not enable you to turn your head right and left constantly to check for oncoming vehicles and bicycles. Failing which, be prepared to have one knock into you. No fun, I guarantee.

Much much further along 陕西南路, keep your eyes opened for a wholesale flower market. You won't see the flowers by just walking past, but just have your eyes peeled opened for people walking out with big bunches of flowers. There's also a sign which says something like 上海花市场 along the side of the road. If you love plants and flowers, this is the place for you. Lots of fresh cut flowers (lilies, roses, carnations, sunflowers etcetc) at low prices for your pick! They also have those lovely potted orchids for sale. I know my mum would have bought a pot and have it lugged all the way back to Singapore had she been there!

I was actually planning to head to 衡山路 (Hengshan Lu) from 陕西南路. But given my very poor map-reading skills, I got lost and meandered along some road. But I wasn't too perturbed as I was out to just explore the area anyway. So just strolling along and looking at the shops that the locals frequent and the residences was in itself a good way of knowing the city better.

While wandering around, I chanced upon a wet market called 嘉善菜场. You'll find it along 建國西路(Jianguo XiLu). Foodies like myself are always delighted with such finds. haha. But I didn't go in to have a look as I had already gone to another wet market two days ago. Moreover, I looked a little too dressed up to be going to a wet market! Moi was wearing a spaghetti-strapped dress that day. That was like the most cooling attire I had!

Eventually I found my way to 衡山路 by asking people along the way and figuring out the map. As one Chinese lady in Hangzhou told me, "路在口中"! (Literally translated: "The road is in your mouth." To put it more refinely, it'd probably be "To get to your intended destination, you just have to ask.")

陕西南路 and 衡山路 are within the French Concession area of the old Shanghai district. Walking around this area is extremely pleasant because of its tree-lined avenues and European-styled buildings. Admire the architecture and pop into some of the shops. 衡山路 is also filled with many cool restaurants and pubs. There's an assortment of cuisines to choose from--Cantonese, Mexican, Japanese, Sichuan, Tibetian, Thai, Italian etc, you name it!

A friend of mine who works in Shanghai took me to a Mexican restaurant along 衡山路 one night. The restaurant was in one of those old European-styled buildings with a lovely courtyard outside. If not for the heat, we would have chosen to sit in the courtyard. The cool air indoors was much more inviting.

The streets running adjacent to 衡山路 are also worth checking out. I found 东平路 quite charming with the nice restaurants and some shops (see above). This whole area is definitely worth a walk if you're into architecture and also want to check out quirkier shops.

Some Traits of Chinese Nationals

1) Spitting is a national past-time. Men and women alike seem to delight and love indulging in this guttural activity. What? Is it supposed to be good for the throat and thus overall well-being? Allow me to pass my judgment on this beloved activity of theirs-- "PUI"!!!!

2) They don't have much sense of personal space. People can just cut in front of you when you're looking at something and stand at extremely close proximity. When I was taking a train back to Shanghai from Suzhou, this family sitting next to my friends and me had one more member of their family from another carriage squeeze in with us just because they wanted to play "Dai Di". They didn't really care that the bench was meant to seat four and not five people!!! So my friend and I had to squeeze to the side. Thank goodness we two girls have relatively small butts! Talk about getting up close and personal!

3) The women don't shave their armpits. Erm, yah, it's true. OK fine, maybe our notions of beauty differ and I shouldn't be so judgmental.

4) They tend to speak really loudly and sound as if they're having an argument. There were many times where I thought people were quarrelling because of the aggression in their voices and the volume in which they spoke. In actual fact, they were just engaged in animated conversation.

5) They have no qualms about stepping out of their homes in their pyjamas. Again, I can accept that this is just one of those things that's different in their society. But personally, I wouldn't be caught dead in my pyjamas outside the confines of my home. I mean, not unless I were going for some costume party! And think about it--isn't it dirty to wear something you're going to wear to bed outside of your home???

6) The men like to cool off by rolling up their shirts and exposing their pot bellies and rolling up their pants. Their fashion statement I suppose.

Warped Fun

I was appalled when I learnt of the bombings in London. To think that it was only the day before that Londoners were leaping in jubilation after their Olympic bid victory. In less than 24 hours, the city was brought to a new low by the act of evil beings and menaces of this world.

And so you must be thinking, what's up with this photo? Well, while humans are terrorising each other in that part of the world, there are also others committing acts of evil against them poor animals!

What you're seeing here is just one of many inhumane acts towards animals for commercial gain. PRC Chinese have a terribly warped sense of fun and entertainment. These domestic Chinese tourists delight in posing for a photo like that--they put on that cone-shaped fisherman's hat, sit on the stone in the pond and haul up the hooked fish as if they caught it (catching a gold fish signifies good luck and fortune).

Note that this is a real fish that's being used! The poor fish has got its dorsal fin hooked to the line and it's repeatedly hauled up into the air and then put down just in time for it to catch its breath under water. I felt sssooooo sorry for the fish as it struggled in the air while the perpetrator of its misery is laughing away in glee and happily posing for a Kodak moment after paying 5元. I just can't understand how people can find this fun and amusing. It's just pure evil to me.

This took place in 鎖島 (SuoDao -- Lock Island) in 千島湖 (QianDaoHu -- Thousand Island Lake). QianDaoHu is a lake containing about 1000 islands (hence its name) and it's about two hours' drive from 杭州 (Hangzhou). It's a man-made lake about the size of 108 西湖 (West Lakes). It's immense and it's actually a dam which was formed by drowning two cities. The surrounding hills then became islands.

People like to go there for seafood as there's a huge variety of freshwater fish being cultivated in the lake. The tourism board is planning to allow diving soon. So people keen on seeing the drowned cities can do so. But I think the cities are very far below and according to a friend who's a divemaster it's probably not possible to reach that far as it would be too dangerous.

I went to only three islands and it wasn't particularly interesting. Lock Island is so named because there's a lock museum there. And there are many locks around the island which tourists have purchased and left behind for good luck. As usual, it's always playing on Chinese superstition. Chinese people are such suckers for such things.

Then there are stupid things like this supposedly good luck bridge and another bridge they named 狀元橋 (Top Scholar's Bridge) which they charge people 1元 to come across. Argh, I hate all these artificially constructed crap!

I didn't enjoy the trip to QianDaoHu as I was stuck in a small and uncomfortable bus. My friend and I joined a locally conducted tour which we totally regretted joining because we were stuck with loads of domestic Chinese tourists on the islands. My biggest nightmare come true!!!

And the cruise ship (supposedly the grandest and biggest) we were in smelt of stale urine and the inside was like the set ripped off from some C-grade TV series. There was kitsch European ornate furniture and decor which looked extremely crass. Yucks. I almost wanted to throw myself off the boat!

We were also "forced" ('cos really there wasn't anywhere else to eat) to pay 30元 for a buffet lunch on the boat. The tour guide had made it sound like such gourmet food but of course we know better. The food was crap. Too oily, too salty, too dry, too overcooked. I think even my dogs would have ignored it. I was only eating for sustenance which is by far the worst reason to have a meal and the most boring thing ever! And let me tell you, partaking in a buffet lunch with 90 other Chinese nationals is like starring in a documentary about Darwin's evolutionary theory on the survival of the species.

On the way back to Hangzhou, the tour brought us to a silk factory. There was a quick demonstration of the silk making process then they proceeded to show us this 10-minute fashion show. Oh my god, I couldn't stop laughing throughout the whole thing 'cos it was the cheesiest thing I had ever seen!

Cheesy music, cheesy clothes and cheesy setup. The "coloured" lights were just sheets of cellophane paper changed at regular intervals on the big spotlights. The music was outdated. Cheesy poses by the female models. And there was even an "uncle" and "auntie" model! These two models were in their 40s. The lady wasn't tttoooo laughter-inducing. But the uncle just cracked me up. He was trying to act cool and sauve and I think trying to do an imitation of the popular singer 沸翔 (Fei Xiang). I seemed to be the only laughing! But I couldn't help it. My friend was just busy taking photos just to remember how cheesy the whole thing was. This so-called fashion show which was so lauded by by the tourist guide was tacky and cheesy personified. Sorry for laughing, but I just found it totally hilarious. Aeh, I tried very hard to control my laughter ok.

After that we were herded (yes I felt like a sheep!) to their boutique where they sold their silk scarves, blouses, underwear, pyjamas, pants, etc. All I can say is that Chinese fashion really isn't to my taste and it's simply not the style that Singaporeans like.

Following that, we were brought to a tea village where the people there gave us a free tea tasting and a short introduction to the famous 西湖龍井茶 (Xihu Longjing tea) in a bid to make us buy the green tea leaves which the region is renowned for. I hate all these hard-sell tactics. They so don't work with me.

Anyway, so that was the day at 千島湖. Not that fantastic. It's not THAT scenic and it's a trip I would recommend future visitors to skip if you can find something else to do.

Nanxiang Mantou Dian 南翔饅頭店

This is one of the most famous eateries for 小籠包(Xiaolongbao) in Shanghai. In China, the ubiquitous Xiaolongbao is more affectionately known as 小籠 (Xiaolong).

This shop is found in the YuYuan Bazaar which is just outside Shanghai's famous 預園 (YuYuan garden, formerly a private residence back in the Ming Dynasty). Look for it just opposite Starbucks.

Look at the snaking queue! But you can spare yourself the agony by going upstairs to sit down. These people are queueing for takeaway because takeaway is half the price. I think it's 8元 for 15 Xiaolongs while eating in is 16元.

The selling point of this shop's Xiaolong is that crab meat is included in the ground meat filling. Look at the petite Xiaolongs! Aren't they the cutest things ever??? Maybe a good Chinese description to describe its size would be 较小玲珑. haha. Though actually it's a phrase usually used to describe a girl who's cute and petite. Shredded ginger has to be ordered separately and you'll be charged 1元 for it.

The crowded eatery! Be prepared to share tables. The inside seats about 80 'cos there are about 20 small square tables. Please note that teapots on tables in northern China are usually filled with vinegar and not tea! Tea will come when you order it. The northern Chinese love their vinegar.

My friend and I shared a table with a father and his 20-odd-year-old son on holiday in Shanghai from Changchun (it's a city in Jilin province in the northeast of China). We got to chatting with one another and it was quite interesting talking to other people about their travels. Also, eating in was a good opportunity to rest our legs and get some much needed respite from the heat.

My verdict on the Xiaolong however, is that it is overrated. The skin wasn't thin enough for me to proclaim it good, and the meat filling was only just above average. The crabmeat did make it taste a bit better than the ones found in any other stall found along the road. But I'm sure this is definitely not the best there is!

Xiangyang Market 襄阳服饰市场

襄阳服饰市场 (Xiangyang Market) is the equivalent of Hong Kong's Women's Street--a place teeming with fake branded goods. So take your pick of the cheapest Prada bags, LV wallets, Hermes bags, Gucci watches, North Face windbreakers, etcetc.

As usual, it's touts galore. Be prepared to fend them off as you walk along the way. Some have even perfected the French pronunciation of Louis Vuitton. My friend and I were quite impressed. haha. If you enjoy the haggling and if you are looking to buy these fake branded goods, this is your playground. I, however, find it exhausting and am not particulary enarmored with designer goods anyway.

And if you're looking to buy better quality fake goods, they will take you to their warehouse. Which is a dodgy room in some back alley just round the corner. This is where they hide the better quality goods from the authorities. If not for the fact that there were four of us (two guys and two girls) I certainly wouldn't go! 'Cos they lock you in the moment you enter! Very very dodgy! It's something I would never do again! But quite an experience though.

But my friends were looking for some bags, so I tagged along. Xiangyang Market is after all a tourist destination. But in my opinion, an overrated one. So don't bother going if you're not looking to buy such stuff.

Address: 999 Huaihai Zhong Lu (淮海中路999号).

Terrorising Touts

While travelling in China can be interesting what with the historical sites and a different culture (yes, despite being Chinese in race, being Singaporean is very different from being a PRC national), one of the most annoying things tourists face here is touting.

At practically every tourist destination, touts swarm in on tourists like vultures to carcasses. Like an eagle, they can spot you from afar, and sniff you out with the same sensitivity of a dog's nose. It can be extremely tiring having to fend off touts every few meters you walk with "不要" ("bu yao" - I don't want!) or "买了" ("mai le" - I've bought it already!). I think Caucasian tourists have it worse.

Usually, you're being pestered to purchase a map, clothes or some useless toy or gadget. Where there are food and drinks sold, dozens of stall or restaurant owners will call out to you to go to their joint. In this hot and humid weather, my friends and I only go for those with 空调 ("kong tiao" literally translated this means air regulator, so in summer it refers to aircon) in the eatery. Clearly a selling point, the two words are usually displayed outside for potential customers to see.

But OK, on a more sympathetic note, these people are all out to eke a living and it's clearly not easy with all the competition amongst them! I guess one good thing I can see for tourists is that we get to bargain and bring the prices down. But there are market rates too--these touts wouldn't go below a certain price so you should know when to stop when bargaining. It's all part of the game. However, while some people might find it fun, I absolutely hate it 'cos I find it tiring and annoying. I'd rather pay more and be left alone to browse in peace.

Sweltering Shanghai

Yes, it's incredibly hot and humid in Shanghai and the heat's killing me! Actually, if all I had to deal with were the heat it might not be that bad. But the high humidity levels of Chinese summers are punishing. Unless it's for work, I've sworn to myself that this is the first and last time I'm coming to China in summer!

I was told beforehand that it would be hot and humid in China at this time of the year, and I had waved it off thinking that I would be able to bear it well considering Singapore's weather and how much I love the sun. But no, I had overestimated myself! This is just way beyond my tolerance. I wonder how people survive in deserts!

I was in Hangzhou for three days before returning to Shanghai on Sunday afternoon. Hangzhou's a really picturesque city and the area around the Westlake is like a massive park for locals and tourists to mill around.

I went to Shanghai's Bund last night and Shanghai by night's really lovely. The stretch of colonial buildings lit by warm, yellow light has a grandeur to it which is quite breathtaking.

Well, that's my short update from Shanghai!

Hong Kong Food Escapades

The Hong Kong Tourism Board should pay me to be their ambassador. Forget about Jackie Chan! Miss DimSumDolly is doing a better job at this! I think I'm doing a pretty good job at promoting Hong Kong as a tourist destination going by the response I've been getting from my blog readers. ;p

Anyway, a bit more of the food I ate in HK and eating places to recommend.

As mentioned, 公和 (Gong Wo) is a 茶餐厅 (cha chaan teng) specialising in soy bean products. Having been in operation for over 100 years, its soy bean milk is well known amongst Hong Kongers. It also serves noodles, rice, with other savoury dishes. Their lunch sets are pretty good value for money so I'd recommend that. I chose the soy noodles in melon soup with beef brisket and three big, fresh pieces of tofu thrown in (see left).

For the lunch set, you get to choose the type of noodles (soy, spinach, and can't remember what else), the type of soup (melon, tomato, pork etc) and two dishes to go into the soup. There's a wide variety to choose from. Any additional dish comes with an additional nominal charge.

The array of desserts is also pretty interesting--have the soy beancurd plain, or with black sesame pudding (see right), honey, gingko nuts, red bean etc. I've always been a sucker for soy bean products, so I really enjoyed my meal there. I'm not too sure how many branches they have though. I know one's in 尖沙咀 (Tsim Sha Tsui) and another around 太子 (Prince Edward) 'cos I went to both.

Olduvai's friends brought us to 深井 (Sham Tseng) to have roast goose for dinner. The place has many restaurants serving roast goose. The roast goose was yummy but extremly fattening! Oh, the layer of fat under the skin! After dinner, they took us to 黃金海岸 (Gold Coast) where the hotel I stayed in back in January was located. We had a look at the night market there and Olduvai and I each bought a very funky namecard holder. And that was the only shopping I did!

After that, we headed back to Sham Tseng and had desserts at 發記甜品 (Fatt Kei Desserts). The mango desserts, durian crepe rolls and banana rolls were so yummy. Man, we ordered and ate so much. But it was all great fun as we were chatting and laughing away as we ate.

For those people who love the old-style Hong Kong teahouses, please make a trip to 蓮香樓 (Lin Heung Lao) located at Wellington Street, Central. Another one to check out is 大榮華 (Dai Wing Wah) at 元朗 (Yuen Long). These two yumcha places are absolutely charming in their rowdiness and are full of local flavour. In the former, you can actually go into the kitchen and get the dimsum by yourself! The two yumcha places are always packed to the brim with people (usually retirees reading their newspaper and chatting away with their friends) and you almost always have to share tables. I love it!

During my trip to HK in March, I went to 流浮山 (Lau Fau Shan) to eat oysters. This is near 元朗 Yuen Long, and you can take a minibus or taxi from there to go to Lau Fau Shan. The area used to have lots of oyster farms but due to pollution, it no longer does so. But it is still a collection and marketing centre for the distribution of oysters. When you go there, you'll see heaps and heaps of oyster shells strewn everywhere. For a cheap oyster treat, eat at one of the 大排档 (dai pai dong) serving grilled king oysters with garlic and the oyster congee.

There are lots of seafood restaurants around Lau Fau Shan and one can choose whatever fresh seafood you want and get the chef in the restaurant you choose to dine at to cook the seafood in whatever way you want. The variety of fresh seafood to choose from is vast--many types of fish, prawns and shell fish. Note that most of these restaurants are all very old-styled and there's nothing fancy about the place. But I think therein lies the charm. Another place for good seafood, and following the same concept of choosing one's seafood and the restaurant, is 鯉魚門 (Lei Yu Mun). There are lots of seafood restaurants to choose from there as well.

And for something more taitai-ish, pay a visit to Intercontinental Hotel along Salisbury Road at Tsim Sha Tsui. Enjoy high tea with spectacular views of Victoria Harbour from their full-glass windows. My friend and I had initially wanted to go to the Peninsula but it was too crowded. But I think Intercontinental's better 'cos the view from the coffee lounge at the lobby is unbeatable. My friend and I had the high tea set (HK$250++) which was all very English with its three-tiered serving tray filled with morsels of food plus two pots of tea.

As you can see, I've really been eating my way around Hong Kong!

Hong Kong IS a crowded city and I do feel somewhat smothered by the crowds when I'm there. But I think there are some very lovely pockets of greenery and places where you can find some solitude too. The hills and trails at Lantau Island are absolutely lovely and there really is some gorgeous scenery to behold if you know where to look.

There's also an interesting mix of people and places. And listening in to some of the conversations in Cantonese just cracks me up. The language can be so witty and humorous.

One reason why I enjoy Hong Kong so much is because of my ability to understand and speak Cantonese to a pretty good extent (for a foreigner). So getting around and asking for things isn't too much of a problem. Another thing I love about Hong Kong is the public transport system. The buses and trains just about get you anywhere and it's so efficient. Taxis, though, are a whole different matter altogether--the rate at which the meter increases in value is enough to give me a heart attack.

I guess it's now time I demanded a Hong Kong-Singapore ambassador sash from the Hong Kong Tourism Board. ;p

In Love With Hong Kong

It was just one of those days where you HAD to go outdoors. To not do so would have meant doing the heavens a great disservice and letting the gods down.

So after having a yummy lunch at 公和 (Gong Wo--this is a small eatery specialising in soy bean products.), off ChungkingExpress and I went to 山顶 (the Peak). To get over to HK island, we took the ferry. Have I ever mentioned how much I love taking the ferry to HK island and back to Tsim Sha Tsui? Well if I haven't, I shall do so here. If I have, forgive me for repeating. But yes, it's so lovely going across the harbour and taking ferry rides. I know, it's a cheap thrill and I feel like such a kid when I get all excited and happy taking ferry rides. :p

Upon reaching Central, we took a bus up to the Peak and then walked the 3km trail there. It's a pity that many people who go to the Peak only stay at the viewing gallery and not bother to take a walk along the trail. See, you would miss this lovely little waterfall otherwise.

It's a lovely walk which brings you round the hill, offering magnificent views of Victoria Harbour on one side and the Repulse Bay side of Hong Kong Island on the other. That was such a magnificent and glorious day! It seemed like the kind of day where nothing could go wrong and nothing, absolutely nothing, could get your mood down. I was certainly in very good spirits. It's a rare day where one gets such clear views from the Peak. Usually it's so misty and fogged up.

And I didn't do any shopping at all during my time in HK! *Applause applause* But I would have to say that shopping in HK is definitely a lot better than in Singapore--more shops and much better service compared to Singapore.

But seriously, I don't do much shopping when I travel. Hell, I wouldn't even call myself a shopholic even back in Singapore. I don't enjoy thronging the shops, especially when I'm overseas.

While in HK, I met up with Olduvai who was also there on holiday with a Singaporean friend of hers. Olduvai's friend's friends were just fantastic. They were such good hosts--bringing us around to eat all the yummy stuff. We ate so much. We were like eating machines. All meals were never complete without dessert. And the desserts in HK are just so yummy. There was so much variety that we always found it hard to decide which one to order. Ooh, I just go crazy over all the yummy food in HK.

I also participated in an egg tart queueing competition. Nah, kidding. There wasn't any such competition. It was just that Tai Cheong Bakery, located at Lyndhurst Terrace, Central, was forced to close down due to the high rental rates demanded by its landlord, and everyone was rushing to savour the last of its famous egg tarts and donuts. Its last day of operation was on 25 May, so while I was there, I had to find out what was so good about these egg tarts that had HK's former British governor Chris Patten proclaim it the best egg tarts in the world.

Each person was only allowed to buy a maximum of 12 egg tarts. Six egg tarts were going for HK$21. Anyway, after finally getting my hands on them after queueing for about 45min, I sunk my teeth into a piping hot egg tart. But I was a tad disappointed as it's really not the best I've had. Plus I didn't really like the shortbread-like pastry. For egg tarts, I much prefer those with flaky pastry. Still, I'm happy that I managed to eat a piece of history. heehee.

I'm enamoured with Hong Kong. The type of buzz, vibrancy and excitement that runs through the city is something yet to be found in Singapore. It's a city that never sleeps and there's something for everyone. I was thanking one of the friends who showed Olduvai and I around, and this friend commented that she really liked Singapore's tidiness and cleanliness when she came here.

I, on the other hand, then said that I actually like HK's untidiness! Things are not as uniformed and that's what makes it interesting. I love some of the dingy little alleys and lanes as these are the things that gives the city character.

HK has captured my heart and it seems that it gets harder and harder to say goodbye each time!

Factory 798

Some glimpses of Factory 798 in Beijing's Chaoyang District. It's a relatively new arts and cultural area where old factories and warehouses are now slowly being converted into small galleries, art bookshops, artist workshops, and little caf�s. A pretty charming place showcasing the works of contemporary Chinese artists. Worth a visit for the art aficionado.

The thing is, many locals haven't actually heard of this place. My query to my colleagues in China as to where this place was always met with blank stares and the answer that they had never heard of it. It was only thanks to the company driver who was quite in the know that I finally found my way to Factory 798. I guess it's because the place is more popular with expatriates hence many locals don't actually know about it.

One of several signboards around the area indicating the names of the galleries along the lane.

One of the galleries in Factory 798.

Notice the remnants of the red painted Chinese characters 毛主席 (Chairman Mao) at the top.

A big, solid reminder to visitors as to their whereabouts. Those numbers, made of cement, were about 50cm in height.

Couldn't help but take a picture of this cheeky door which really is the entrance to a toilet.

One of many sculptures and artworks with propaganda art influence.

A Steep Climb

The very last flight of steps I had to ascend to reach the pavilion at Hong Lo Temple (红螺寺). You can see how steep it was! And that was just the very last stretch which made up probably about 1/5 of the way up. Or maybe less. I just remember it was a helluva long way up!

But I'm glad I didn't give up. As mentioned in a previous entry, I was tempted to turn back while quarter way up. But then I saw people much much older than me slowly making their way up (some even having to have someone support them by holding their elbows) and I told myself I would be a real quitter if I gave up so easily. Plus it's not every day that I get to come to China.

So yes, I made it all the way to the top and stayed at the pavilion for a few minutes to admire the view from there. A very entrepreneurial man was selling chilled bottled water and canned drinks at black market prices--about 4 to 5 times the normal market rate. If I remember correctly, he was selling each bottle/can for 5 yuan (S$1.00) and normally it would probably have been only 1 yuan (S$0.20).

Thirsty climbers who didn't bring their own water along baulked at the exorbitant prices but in the end parted with their money albeit grudgingly. But hey, one has to pay for labour cost--this man carried this styrofoam box filled with water, ice cubes, bottled water and canned drinks all the way to the top! No mean feat I say. But I didn't buy lah, 'cos I came prepared with my own bottled water. I'm always the prepared traveller!

But if anyone goes there, I say please climb up. It's all part of the experience and journey. Take a slow climb and admire the scenery as you ascend the steps. Treat it like a leisurely stroll (albeit a vertical one!). In Chinese, we would say 走马观花!

Walking the Wall

Me at the Wall! Finally! A nice lady who was there with her sister and her nephew took the picture for me. Basically it was only us four on the wall. And when we went our separate ways, I found myself alone...feeling all peaceful in the solitude. It was an amazing feeling when there weren't any other tourists to disturb the quiet and lovely scenery before my eyes. Surrounded by all that history and thinking of all the blood, sweat and tears that had gone into making this wall, I can't even begin describing that incredible feeling into words. It was simply awesome.

Massage Bliss

I've come to realise that I've been negligent with the care of my feet after my two foot massage sessions in the past two evenings.

After all that walking I did on Sunday, my feet were really sore and I was very determined to find somewhere to go for a foot massage at the end of the workday.

While there's a massage service in the hotel I"m staying in, I refused to be ripped off when I can find cheaper ones easily. Thanks to msn messenger and the mentioning of my foot massage intentions to my friend in Perth, he in turned messaged his friend in Beijing and asked what were good massage places to go to. His friend recommended 良子健身 which is a massage parlour chain. So I set off to find one. I asked the concierge and he whipped out a pamphlet which indicated one massage centre within walking distance! Woohoo!

Despite the dreary rain, I made my way there regardless of the wet and cold weather. Yes, I was THAT determined to have my feet massaged.

When I got there I was welcomed by a very polite and sweet young lady. She led me upstairs to a room with two plush chairs, one in which I promptly plonked myself into. Then another young lady came into the room and asked me what tea I wanted. Free tea! How lovely. I had a choice between green and chrysanthemum tea. I opted for the latter. Shortly after, another young lady brought in a wooden tub filled with warm water.

The moment I soaked my feet in, it was bliss. Aaaaahhhhhh.....
An hour foot massage was then followed an hour of full-body massage. All for RMB150. That's about S$32. Good price for the service gotten.

I made my way there again after work today. This time I opted for a longer session of foot massage and a ear, head & neck massage (it comes as a package) for RMB168. I learnt that I now have a weak and stiff neck because of the nature of my work. And because of tennis and rowing, the muscles right side of my back (from the shoulder blades right down to the back) are very tight and stiff.

I really enjoyed the massages. Not only 'cos I really needed to loosen those tight muscles of mine, but because the service was really good. The masseuses were so polite, pleasant and attentive in their service. If I have time tomorrow, I'm definitely going back for another. Then they'll probably think I'm mad.

My advice to travellers to China: Don't leave the place without going for one of these massages!

Action-packed Day

So where did I go and what did I do? Here's the lowdown:

I woke up at 5.15am, got ready and went to the hotel cafe to have breakfast at 6 before meeting Mr Xie (谢师夫), my company's driver, at 6.30am. We then set off for MuTianYu (慕田峪) which is one of the spots to get up the Great Wall of China (万里长城). Mr Xie's advice to start the day early was an extremely good one as I found myself having the Great Wall all to myself, being one of the first few tourists there for the day. I had everything belong to me--the greenery, fresh morning air, and the wall winding its way along the hills like a giant serpent in the misty morning. It was surreal to be standing on the Great Wall as it's somewhere that I've always wanted to go to.

Seeing the magnificent structure for myself, I was in awe of it and the history surrounding it. It's a real architectural phenomenon. Incredible. And I also imagined the battles depicted in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms (三国演义) taking place in those hills and passes.

Before the bus loads of tourists made their way up, I had already made my way down. Mr. Xie then drove me to Hong Lo Temple (红螺寺) which is situated not far from MuTianYu. This is a temple named after the two daughters of the Jade Emperor. They were said to have descended from heaven and taken the form of red snails, hence the name of the temple. Hong Lo Temple is set amidst lush greenery and one can climb up to two pavilions and a Goddess of Mercy Temple at the very top of the hill (the two pavilions are actually pretty far apart and each pavilion requires you to take a different route to get up).

Mind you, we're not talking puny hills here. Man, these hills were bloody high. I wanted to give up halfway but decided that I should stick it out and climb all the way to the top where one of the pavilions sits. Thankfully the weather was good and it was still cool (as it was still only about 9 plus in the morning) and thank god for my regular exercise. Or else I would have had a much harder time. The walk up, though physically tough, was a lovely one with breathtaking views of the surrounding hills. After reaching the top, I lingered for a short while, taking in the view, before making my way down.

By which time, it was already about 11am. We then made our way back towards Beijing. Halfway, we stopped and had lunch at this local eatery. Thanks to Mr Xie, I had some very delicious local food and ate some dishes I had never tried before. I will write about this in a separate entry with photos to substantiate!

After lunch, he dropped me off at 798, an area which was previously occupied by factories but is now turned into a rather arty farty area filled with many small art galleries, studios and cafes. Not all the factories have been properly done up and there are still lots of construction going on. But it's still a fun place to walk around as one appreciates the photography and artwork of Chinese contemporary artists. Factory 798 is situated on No. 4 Jiu Qian Qiao Lu, Chaoyang District.

From Factory 798, I took a taxi to Yonghe Lamasery (雍和宫) which is the oldest and biggest lamasery in Beijing. Built in 1694, it isn't very big, but the highlight of the place is this huge 18m high statue of the Maitreya Buddha in one of the halls called WanFuGe (万福阁). This statue was carved out of the trunk of a sandalwood tree. It stands at 18m but in actual fact there's another eight metres of it below ground. It's an amazing structure. I tell you, that was a bloody big tree! The statue's one of the tallest wooden statues of Buddha in China and possibly in the world! The Yonghe Lamasery is located near the heart of the city centre hence it doesn't have the kind of lush greenery and hills surrounding it like Hong Lo Temple does. But still, seeing that big statue was pretty awesome.

As if I hadn't already done enough walking by then, I walked to Wangfujing (王府井). I had thought the walk wouldn't take that long, but I was wrong. It took me a good one hour. But walking along the streets of Beijing was interesting too. I got a glimpse of shops and eateries which tourists don't frequent. By the time I reached Wangfujing, I didn't really feel like entering the shops. Instead I hailed a taxi and made my way back to the hotel.

I got back around 5.30pm and was resting and vegeing out in front of the TV when suddenly I heard someone opening my room door!!! I was getting up from my chair when this lady from housekeeping asks, "打扰一下,请问房间打扫了吗?" (Excuse me, but has your room been cleaned yet?)

I mean, how appalling is this? How can the cleaner enter without knocking first??? What if I had been in a state of undress, or worse, if it were a couple and they were engaging in, um, something intimate? And surely that's not the way to go about checking if you've had the rooms cleaned. In any case, there should have been a proper system in which such information should be compiled. I'm going to have to mention this to the manager. It's a pretty serious matter in my opinion.

Anyway, now I'm exhausted. It's going to be an early night for me!

Giant Meatball

I�m so proud of myself�I actually woke up at 6.30am and went to the hotel�s gym for a slow jog on the treadmill. I was on it for 20 minutes before I went back to my room to wash up and prepare myself for the day�s meeting.

Anyway, the meeting went ok, but I�m going to have a lot of work to do the moment I return to Singapore. So what�s new?

In any case, the highlight of my day was seeing and eating the biggest meatball I�ve ever seen! I went to this humongous shopping complex to have a look after the meeting and was searching for a place to eat. I decided on this eatery after I felt like eating some 炸酱面. In addition to the noodles, I ordered a meatball. I got a shock when I saw it�it was about 20% bigger than the size of my fist! No kidding!

The noodles weren�t very tasty but the meatball was really yummy. The minced pork had bits of water chestnut and some sort of melon in it. After putting it to steam, it was served on top of some lettuce and drizzled with a light, savoury sauce.

Other than that, my day was pretty unexciting. I�m really enjoying the cool temperatures in Beijing though. It�s not butt-freezing cold that I have to wrap myself up in numerous layers of clothing, nor is it too hot. A light jacket would suffice at night. Very nice.

I�m looking forward to tomorrow! I�m going to go somewhere I�ve always wanted to go to!!! Shan�t disclose the place for now. Stay tuned!

Cantonese Desserts

Clockwise from left: Steamed egg custard, black sesame soup, gingko barley soup and green bean soup

Ah, I'm missing my Tong Shui! We had desserts first, before going for our foot massage (see post below) and then our seafood dinner! Eat eat eat! That's what we did!

This is the last post on my time spent in HK. So yes, I had a fantastic time in HK and have grown to love the city much more after this trip. HK didn't charm me very much during the trip I made in Nov, but this time, I got to see other parts of the city which I really like.

I've always loved cities with harbours and HK's harbour and waterways are beautiful. I also love HK's geography with its many slopes, hills and islands, infusing so much character into the city. There's also this excitement and vibrancy which runs through the city. It's more risque than Singapore. For example, there's been talk of having a nudist area somewhere (read this from the South China Morning Post), and gay & lesbian issues seem to be more open in HK compared to Singapore. People are daring enough to protest on issues they are displeased about and it seems like more things can be done under the table.

The haze which besieged HK on the Sunday I left HK gave the place a romantic and ethereal feel. Visibility was very poor...probably only 400m, but I thought it was quite a lovely sight. While heading to the airport, the mini-van my colleagues and I were in had to go across the Tsing Ma Bridge which is the bridge linking Kowloon to Lantau Island. Don't ask me why, but I love driving across bridges. As it sped along the Tsing Ma bridge, I thought it was so lovely 'cos in HK drama serials, I've seen countless scenes where some guy/girl is in car speeding to the airport to chase back his/her loved one who's departing. Yes, all very silly thoughts. But it seemed like the colleague seated on my left had the same thought. We turned to each other and voiced out the same thoughts! :)

Our reality wasn't quite so nice of course.

In any case, HK certainly has a special place in my heart now!

This Is the Life!

My colleagues and I went for a foot massage before having dinner at a Cantonese seafood restaurant in Jordan on Monday (23 Jan) night. This is the life I tell you! The foot massage felt damn good! First we had our feet dipped into warm water for about 10 minutes while at the same time having our backs and shoulders massaged. After that was done, we had 50min of foot massage.

After we were done, we went next door and sat down to some good old Cantonese fare. We had spare ribs, this fried fish fillets served in a special corn sauce (their speciality) and some Choi Sum for vegies. Delicious!

After that, we walked to Temple Street to have a look at the night markets. I think the most interesting part of Temple Street are the food stalls and the fortune telling stalls. Still feeling greedy (note: it's greedy, not hungry), we decided to try this oyster pancake. It reminded me of Singapore's fried oysters with egg (Oh Luak), but instead of egg, this one has more batter and is crispier. Very yummy too.

It's great to go out with people who love to eat. It was as if the four of us made it our mission to eat the whole of HK down! Good fun!

西贡 (Sai Kung)

As mentioned before in a blog entry I posted while in HK, I went to Sai Kung with Joe and Keith on Sunday 22 Jan. So here are some pics to show for it. I think it was at the point where I took the mini-bus (小巴) to Sai Kung from Choi Hong (彩虹) that I fell in love with Hong Kong. It was my first time going to the New Territories (新阶), the area which Sai Kung is in, and I just loved the undulating hills and greenery that characterises the area. It's such a wonderful area for hikes and slow walks.

The beaches and offshore islands around Sai Kung are just as lovely. The area's such a lovely respite from the TsimShaTsui area. My only regret this time round is that I didn't get to go to Lantau Island to have a look. Next time, I want to camp out on some beach in Lantau and go hiking in the hills every morning!

The market at Choi Hong. Many people were out doing their food shopping and just milling around the many stalls selling all sorts of knick knacks. Absolutely charming. I hope things like these never disappear from Hong Kong 'cos it's what gives the city character.

A dried and preserved foods store in Choi Hong market. Such stores are commonly found around Hong Kong.

Some breakfast/brunch for you? I was very tempted to buy the Yao Char Gwei, Har Gow, Siew Mai and other stuff from this stall, but resisted the urge as we were about to head to Sai Kung for lunch. The stall owner was funny. At first when she saw that Joe and I were looking at her food, she decided to cover up the food as she probably thought we might think the food unhygenic and hence not buy from her. Then when she saw me taking photos, she promptly removed the cover from the Har Gow and Siew Mai bamboo steamer and beckoned me to take more photos, proudly proclaiming that the steam looked very nice as it rose from the steamer.

An old man was pedalling his homemade ointments made from these tree barks. I was perplexed as to what those things were at first as they looked really weird. A friend later told me they were tree barks.

One of the boat houses I saw while walking along the pier.

According to Joe, Sai Kung is the place you'll have to move to if you want to have dogs in HK. It's one of the areas where it's very dog-friendly. It was dogs galore in Sai Kung! Dogs were having seafood lunches with the entire family clan, some even had their own seat at the table! Imagine, they were perched on a chair just like a normal person! :)

And the fashion conscious Hong Kongers even extend their fashion sense to their dogs. I saw many dogs in Burberry-print apparel, football jerseys, cheongsams etc. So cute. Definitely the spot for me, the dog-lover.

The lovely offshore islands a short distance away from the pier.

One of many kites flying high into the sky. A beautiful sight to behold!

And of course, what's a visit to any place without food? Actually, people go to Sai Kung for the seafood, but I thought seafood was a bit too heavy for the afternoon and chose instead to have dimsum. My favourite. Heehee. Thankfully, the two guys kindly obliged and yielded to my wimps! Thanks guys!

Traditional Printer

Hong Kong is absolutely charming. I love all the little lanes and streets which cut across one another, forming a labyrinth of sorts. Space, a rare and expensive commodity in Hong Kong, is never wasted. Every little bit of it is made use of, and I just love all the little shops that line the streets. There aren't that many mammoth-sized supermarkets or department stores around HK (or at least what I've seen of it) apart from the Central/Causeway Bay area. The absence of chain stores is what makes many parts of HK so charming.

In the above pictures, I was walking along the streets of Jordan when I came across this printing shop. I was delighted to find it 'cos it's this traditional form of typesetting is something I've never seen before. The typesetters I've worked with use only the computer. Such traditional forms of typesetting and printing have all been done away with.

It's good to know that these traditions still exist, but I fear the age of computers will take over. But let's hope not!

Flower Power

The very charming and rustic-looking flower shop I came across in Soho. One of the many things I fell in love with while in HK!

土地公

Hong Kongers are superstitious folk. More so than Singaporeans in general, I would think. Almost every shop along the streets of HK has an altar outside giving offerings to the 土地公 (Earth God). It's an offering to the 土地公 in return for the bestowing of his protection and good blessings.

Macau Pitstop

I was very pleased that I managed to squeeze in an afternoon at Macau this time round. However, the journey there was marred only a slight hiccup because of my carelessness.

I woke up early on Sat 22 Jan and met my colleagues at Sheung Wan where we were supposed to take the ferry to Macau from. At the point where I paid for my ticket at the counter, the man behind the booth asked me if I had brought my passport. And I'm like "Oh shit!!!!"

Yes, scatterbrained me didn't have my passport with me! And it's wasn't because I forgot--I honestly thought there wasn't a need to 'cos I thought since I had already entered HK, I wouldn't need to have to go through immigration again. So anyway, I had to rush back to TsimShaTsui to grab my passport. In the end, I arrived in Macau an hour after my three colleagues did. I definitely had my morning exercise cut out for me that day, what with all the running back and forth.

Anyway, we had fun that day walking around Macau. I think the only thing I missed out on was going to the new casino.

The famous St. Paul ruins of Macau. You haven't been to Macau if you didn't pay homage to this! In any case, nothing lies on the other side of the wall. Only the facade is left standing. Around the surrounding area there are still some ruins and a fort which now houses a museum.

A shot taken from a room in the Sun Yet Sen museum.

We walked to the Sun Yet Sen museum and there we saw photographs taken of this revolutionary's family, his younger days, and other historically significant moments of his career. His first wife lived in and died in this house.

Oh, how exciting! We made it to the pitstop of the Amazing Race! We found this by accident as we were walking at the top of the Floral Garden.

One of several buildings in the town centre which features some lovely architecture, a legacy of the Portuguese colonialization of the island.

As Planes Go By

The HK Gold Coast hotel is located in a very lovely spot in HK. It's near the airport and I get to see planes taking off and landing. There's something very wistful about watching planes go by...

Anyway, the place is away from the hustle and bustle of downtown HK and I just love it. Of course, it's annoying when one doesn't have a car to take me to town when I want to eat those lovely street food and traditional desserts! I think I've just about walked the whole of TsimShaTsui and know the place pretty much at the back of my hand now!

Went to Sai Kung with Joe and Keith on Sunday. But first we stopped at Choi Hong (Rainbow) station where we had a look at the wet market. I love going to local wet markets to imbibe the local culture and see what things are being sold. There are usually interesting things to see. We then took a mini bus to Sai Kung. The busride to Sai Kung was a scenic one as it wound its way through the roads snaking through the undulating hills in the New Territories.

Sai Kung is a lovely beach spot with a whole row of seafood restaurants lining the pier. Many old women came up to us asking us if we wanted to take a boatride to the nearby islands. The place was also filled with people bringing their dogs out for walks. We saw so many different dogs, and I was of course thrilled, being the dog-lover that I am. Many people were also flying kites which flew high into the sky, making it a very lovely sight.

Anyway, the food in the hotel has been somewhat of a bore. It's the usual international cuisine buffet. I mean, the food isn't tttooooo bad, but somehow it just lacks a sort of local flavour.

Ah well, time for bed. It's going to be another whole day of presentations tomorrow!

Sea Views

Am so happy to be in HK again after several freezing days in Beijing. The weather here is perfect! Nice and cool!

Blogging from the HK Gold Coast Hotel after spending three nights at an apartment in Tsim Sha Tsui overlooking the HK skyline and watching ships go by. The lovely views of HK haven't left me--I have a room overlooking the offshore islands, the yachts and it's just beautiful!

There are many times when I have to remind myself that this IS a working trip!

My colleagues and I have been eating ourselves silly. We're becoming stuffed turkeys!

王府井小吃街

The most interesting place that I discovered this time in Beijing would have to be
王府井小吃街 (Wangfujing Street Food Alley). Silly me, forgot to bring my Lonely Planet Guide to Beijing and didn't even know of this street until I chanced upon it while walking along Wanfujing.

One could easily walk past it as its entrance is not that attention-grabbing. It's presence is dwarfed by the many big stores and buildings around it. Its entrance is marked by two wooden pillars with a big signboard connecting the two. On the sighboard are the words 王府井小吃街. That obviously caught my eye! That kind of thing is right up my alley!!!

I was obviously fascinated by the stuff being sold. Egg crepes filled with bean sprouts (I tried this one--very yummy), mutton noodles, bbq meat skewers, different types of pancakes etc. The most "scary" type of food I saw were the bbq meat skewers. Man, they had silkworm coccons, quails and starfish! Apparently they sell scorpions too, but I didn't see any. But really, I think the quails just looked so pink and hairless and gross that I couldn't bring myself to try it. As for the silkworms cocoons, well erm, maybe not this time. I didn't think I could stomach it. One part of 王府井小吃街 is filled with stalls selling typical trinkets catered to tourists.

In addition to the chestnuts, I bought some sugar-roasted chestnuts. This time I didn't buy a jin, I know better now! I love chestnuts and I ate the whole bag of chestnuts I bought when I got back to the hotel. For dinner, I bought a mutton burger and a flaky pastry filled with red bean from one of the street stalls. Both delicious and very cheap too! I paid only 5 yuan for it.

Anyway, I've become like this eating machine. I can feel my girth getting wider! Die lah!

Bitten by the Bug

bbbrrrrr..............

Boy, is it cold or is it cold in Beijing?????
[Fatgirl cheekily suggested that I find a man to keep warm when I was on msn with her just now while I was at my company's Beijing office. Something to think about! After all, I DO have a double bed in my hotel room. ;p ]

Btw, thanks for all the well wishes. Very nice of all of you and much appreciated! :)

My journey so far:

Arrived in HK at around noon on Saturday. Spent a day with Chungking and UrbanNomad who very kindly gave me a roof over my head for the night.
I did some shopping on Sat afternoon in HK. A shopping bug bit me. A major one might I add! In a couple of hours i bought a pair of leather boots, a jumper, a pair of gloves and a scarf (they came together), and some decorative stuff from GOD. I mean, I really can't leave HK without paying homage to GOD. It'd be sacrilegious to do so. I mean seriously, what's with these retailers? Why do they always seem to have things that I never knew I needed????

So terrible of me! In one day, i had spent almost ALL the money i had exchanged for the entire time I am to spend in HK next week. I should have known S$400 wasn't enough to last me 11 days in HK! Like who was I trying to kid? Look, i've spent almost all of it in ONE day!

At night, the three of us went to watch a performance at the Fringe Club. It wasn't really a standup comedy thing. But more of a 1-hour musical by a solo artiste talking about his homosexuality through a repertoire of songs which had their original lyrics changed.

On Sunday morning, we walked around Soho and I love the area! Love the shops and cafes around there. Came across this absolutely charming flower shop!

After a walk around Soho, I headed back to the apartment, took my stuff and headed for the airport for my 1510hr flight to Beijing. Arrived in Beijing as scheduled.

I seem to be experiencing Beijing in extremes. My first visit was in July during summer. Now it's in the throes of winter. My last trip I took ages to clear immigration. A good 1hr 15min just waiting in line with a few hundred people. This time, there was no one at the foyer where visitors queue to clear immigration. Bizarre. So I was out at the baggage claim in less than five minutes. And my luggage was one of the first few to be out. Fantastic! Same thing happened in HK too. Lucky me!

Anyway, the hotel I'm putting up in is so much better than the previous one. So much more decent, better food at the breakfast buffet, free internet access, and just everything's much better!

And I've been eating a lot of course. But more on the food another time.

Alrightly, that's all from me for now. Your Beijing correspondent signing off!

More Hong Kong Sights

I got a fright when Joe pointed out these caged snakes along Temple Street. I think the shop sells some kind of snake tonic and/or snakes' gall bladder which is purported to have healing properties or some kind of nutritional value. I've no idea. Anyway, I'm scared of snakes and the sight of them just gives me the creeps! I scurried away like a mouse about to be eaten by one of them. Eeeks.

The word "Chungking" was first known to me by Wong Kar Wai's film Chungking Express. I can't remember much of the film except that it starred the hunkalicious Takeshi Kaneshiro. Anyways, this is the building in which Joe's office is located. Joe took me upstairs to have a look.

I found the lift ride up very amusing. There's even a designated queue for the lift! It's only fair 'cos only one lift is in operation and people have to wait for their turn. Anyway, we had to stand in a certain formation so as not to have the lift think it's overweight and has won't function.

Joe being the experienced lift-taker since he takes it every day, was directing the people (about 7 of us) where to stand. He was going, "Joan joan, you stand there. Yes yes, here. Keith you go here. And you, there...." Basically we were all standing against the four sides of the lift and no one could stand in the middle as that's where the lift's weighing scale is. To stand right on top of it would trick it to think it was overweight. So yes, a bit of a lift drama for me.

Because of Joe, I also got to see a side of HK I would otherwise have never known of. Joe works with asylum seeks who come mostly from Africa and some are from Nepal. So the area around Chungking has many Africans and Nepalese. There are quite a lot of them in HK as there is a UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) office in HK.

On Monday night, Joe brought Keith and I to an Indian restaurant on the fourth floor in Chungking House itself for dinner. It was an interesting experience for me as the restaurant is really a small apartment but now used as a small restaurant. The food was really good though. Loved the naan, butter chicken, masala chicken and the vegetable curry.

The Mid-levels Escalator is supposedly the longest stretch of escalators in the world. It stretches for 800metres (there are breaks in between) and it takes one through cafes, shops and cafes along Hollywood Road, and the Mid-levels residential restrict. Somewhere along the way, we stopped by the shop GOD (Goods of Desire) a HK-label which sells Chinese-inspired furniture, lifestyle products, and fashion. I love it! Loved it so much that I ended up buying a deep red mini tote bag which has phoenix prints on it. It's very pretty. I will have to take a photo of it and show it off! ;p Yes, I have a thing for bags. It seems that everywhere I go I have to buy one.

Along the way up the Mid-levels escalator, we chanced upon a mosque. It was something even the guys didn't know about so we went in to have a look. The mosque was a nice spot of greenery as it had its own small garden. A very rare thing to have in HK! There were some Indian children playing in the premises while we were there.

When we reached the end of the escalator, we took a taxi up to The Peak. Joe and Keith said I was lucky as it wasn't very cloudy that day and so I had a great view of the city. The view was fantastic! Looking out to the south side of the island was better as there weren't so many high-rise buildings around. HK's geography is indeed lovely. If I had more time, I would have gone trekking along one of the trails. The views as you walk along the undulating hills are just gorgeous!

From The Peak, we took a bus to Stanley Beach. The bus ride was so scenic! It snaked down the hills and as it did so, I had a great view of the hills and the sea on the south side of HK island. The topography of HK reminded me of Sydney with all the hills. We managed to catch the sunset at Stanley Beach and going there was a nice respite from the maddening crowds in the city.

After Stanley Beach we took a bus to Causeway Bay to have dinner. Then we headed to Lan Kwai Fong, the popular strip of bars and pubs where many expatriates like to hang out. We drank, but we only drank coffee. Haha. Not THAT cool. Victor took a break from his work (mind you it was a Sunday!) and joined us for coffee. And while sipping coffee and having cake, I got two calls from Sydney wishing me Happy Birthday! One from my aunt and one from Adrian!

Anyways, that was pretty much the end of the day.

My last full day in HK was more toned down. I went to the HK Museum of History which was pretty good. You get to see how HK was formed, right from the very beginning when the earth was starting to form to modern times. There were many interactive and multimedia exhibits which made the viewing experience very interesting. Worth a visit.

After spending about 3.5 hours at the museum, I walked around Tsim Sha Tsui on my own, exploring all the little alleys and shops. I was so tired by 5pm and went back to the apartment to rest before meeting the two guys for dinner. And that's the night we went to the Indian restaurant in Chungking House.

So that was my HK trip. I think I did pretty well for 3 full days in HK!

Hong Kong Sights

This was the view from the service apartment I stayed in while in HK. It's actually my uncle's place but he happened to be away during the time I was in HK so the timing worked out well. The view of Victoria Harbour was gorgeous and I could see small and big vessels going to and fro. Right below the apartment was the Avenue of Stars which is populated by tourists throughtout the day.

An extremely cute advertisement at the entrance to the MTR station. According to my friend the ad changes every now and then. But this one was so cute that many people stopped to take photographs of and with it!

I couldn't help but notice the colourful slippers stacked against the wall in a small opening leading towards a stairway. It seems that EVERY single bit of space is being made use of by the people to peddle anything and everything. There's something to buy or eat at every little corner. It's very interesting and charming in its own way actually. All the snaking alleys which lead on from one to another is like a labyrinth which makes for a great walking adventure!

An aerial view of the night market at Temple Street taken from Joe's wee flat. HK is filled with people and more people. It's like a perpetual squeeze! Joe introduced me to some of the interesting characters whom he mentions on his blog. It was nice to be able to place a face onto the people he writes about.

One of the many stalls along the famous Women's Street (女人街) which sells all these kinky underwear. Some of them are so ridiculous looking that frankly I think it induces more laughter than lust!

A Missing "For"

The silver plaques placed on the pots of the plants lining the Avenue of Stars in Hong Kong

I couldn't help but notice the glaring grammatical error as I walked past them. This is becoming an occupational hazard of mine!

My Time In Sydney

So apart from going to a gay rights lobby, what did I do in Sydney? Nothing much - except for eating, drinking tea and chatting with friends. Ok, I did squeeze in some intellectual pursuits by going to the 14th Biennale of Sydney art exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art and the World Press Photo exhibition at the State Library.

The exhibition at the MCA featured several interesting artworks and installations. They were strange, thought-provoking and bizarre. The World Press Photos were more my kinda thing. I've always enjoyed photojournalism and I'm glad I got to catch the exhibition. Incidentally I caught the exhibition last year in Sydney as well. It won't be coming to Singapore so I consider myself lucky to be at the right place at the right time! It's very different when viewing photographs in large format. I think this is especially so with news pictures as the size serves to emphasise the news point.

The pictures were arresting...and many highlighted social ills that exist in the world -- AIDS, war & conflict, prostitution etc. Kinda made me realise that I should count myself lucky to be living in a country without such problems.

Anyway, I also went to North Head to catch views of my beloved ocean, harbour and the city skyline. I was there with my friends Charmaine & Terry, and we spent a nice afternoon at North Head & Manly Beach just catching up with each other.

The view from North Head

And yeah, I also took ferry rides. Apart from the one to Manly, I took another to Paramatta which was a 40min ride going towards the west of the city. It was a lovely ride. Though it was a little sad I was alone on those rides, it was still an enjoyable one. I enjoyed the harbour views and the cruising of the Jetcat down the Paramatta River, feeling the breeze against my face, breathing in the fresh air, turning my face towards the blue sky and the sun. At that point in time, I thought of nothing except for nature's beauty.

The ferry ride back from Paramatta to Circular Quay. Would love to live in any one of those waterfront homes!

The words "Eat. Drink. Chat." best sum up my trip. Fantastic!

Some food highlights:

A profiterole cake which my aunt bought for dessert on Sunday night (27 June). Custard-filled cream puffs, coated with chocolate and stacked high against each other - need I say anymore???

I had the most delicious pumpkin lasagne at the Bay Swiss Cafe at Westfield Chatswood on Monday (28 June)! Highly recommended! The Bay Swiss Cafe chain is one of my favourites in Sydney. I'm not usually fond of franchises, but I must say this one's good!

I had a Beef Straganoff Filo as well at the Bay Swiss Cafe. My ex-classmate Amy & I shared the two food items. I love filo pastry....it's so light and it isn't too oily. Easy on the palate. She left the choice of food up to me. I must say I chose well - as always. ;p

How could the DSD leave Sydney without eating dimsum? This was only part of the food Monkey & I devoured on Wed afternoon (30 June). There were more before AND after this shot was taken. We ate ourselves silly at East Ocean restaurant. That's my haunt. Haha.

My Teri-Chiki-Don set at Shimbashi Soba which is located at the Finger Wharf, Woolloomooloo. In the background is Monkey's Zuruga soba set. My Teri-Chiki-Don set was delicious but I only managed to finish half of the very delicious soba. The chicken though very succulent and tasty with its teriyaki sauce and yummy Japanese rice, couldn't go into my stomach as I was still feeling so full from the dimsum lunch. Thankfully the food didn't go to waste as Otiose came along later and helped finish the teriyaki chicken.