Monday 13 October 2008

13/10/08

Oh D-Day came... all up and well to meet up with Glenda!!! hooray!!! Great Wall here i come.

But b4 i start writing on my adventure, i forgot to write about my Beijing Olympics soveniors i bought. it is a limited edition coin set... right now, i am still admiring it... it cost me 1080yuan. hee... my most precious thing in China so far... oh yeah! keep track on ebay... they not selling this limited edition stuff. hee...

ok my great wall experience...

remember i said i book a tour to Great Wall in my previous blog?? the agency was CITS (zhong guo guo ji). They f*** up! call me in the early in the morning to cfm and later at 945am tell me the last slot taken up and left for the Great Wall liao... den how abt me? at this pt of time i am waiting for Glenda at the lobby liao... wao kao... how can do such things???? so unethical. i told them i could only leave after 10am liao... they still say ok... den now no more transport. sian... they say i can booked a chartered transport up which will cost us 400yuan. no choice have to take it... den call back again, say all booked... no more transport for us. super sian...

lucky we got the hotel staff for help but of course this will increase our cost! book a cab up which cost us 600yuan... from 200yuan bus to the 400yuan chartered transport, now is a 600yuan taxi service. KNN CCB!!! Dun wan to spoil mood... we headed to Great Wall!! the taxi uncle told us to go MuTianYu instead of Badaling... quite reluctant at first becos i gg to visit it this coming Sat with Ling liao... but he says go badaling or Juyongguan will be jam at this time... sian... but thinking tat Mutianyu is further, it is more worth it lah... travel time also not tat far, abt past an hour ride only... so we head to Mutianyu Great Wall! haha...

Did some catching up with Glenda... enjoyable ride there. We still brag to taxi uncle, we are climbing up to the Great Wall... wah seh... hao da de kou qi! ha! got cable car dun take wan to climb up... the uncle must be thinking we are crazy... alighted the cab and we head up to the ticket booth. it is a steep slope up... panting liao... ki siao... still got a long way up... can we make it? we decided tat we will take the cable up and walk down. Yes! this is the plan liao... haha...

on the cable up... very nice view we got... see a long section of the Great Wall... very shiok! reach liao we start to explore this man made wonder... it is no easy feat to build the Great Wall... walking up the mountain jus to lay the stone/brick/compress muds... well come to think again, this is the world most populus nation... i am sure they got the more than needed manpower to do it... in any case, they took centuries to complete. It is a mega project liao.

Up at the Great Wall, the view was fantastic... weather not too warm... juz nice... air is better than it is at Beijing. we conquered a small section of it. i think it is some personnal achievement liao lah... take pics all the way we walked so cannot blamed tat we were slow... have to preserve memories right? I think Glenda will agree with me. yah! Den we walked down. Saw some precious stones displays. quite impressive... compare to the ones i saw at Taiwan's TOYO factory, this is still inferior lah... anyway this may not be the only place in China to display precious stone. They sure have better treasures one lah... only dunno where...

Leaving Great Wall for YaXiu already.... YaXiu is a place like Xiushuijie ba... saw the same concept stalls avail... had lunch there with Glenda at the foodcourt... not ex... the stir fried pork's liver, kidney and pork belly taste delicous... hmmm... full till now as i am writing this blog. Glenda went back to hotel to rest liao... leaving early next morning... i went to explore the neighbourhood for bit bit while b4 heading back to my apt.

Thank you Glenda for acc me to the Great Wall and congras in advance for tying the knots on the 5th of Dec! Always good to see friends in a foreign country... YESH!

Sorry no photos for now as i am not clearing my shipment until i physically move into my new house. got camera, no batt, cables... haha...so handicapped...

Great Wall, will see u again this sat.

Day 05 - till 12/10/08

It has been a long break from blogging... anyway this is not my forte in writing. ha. Been here for more than a week liao... experiencing Beijing life... not too much different from SIN i guess... the expensive stuff is makan. spend the most in it.

Life goes on as usual in Beijing. But i w0uld like to comment on 1 thing which i see everyday... it is the happening in front of my service apt. kinda irritating to me... at least to me!!! They are resurfacing the tiles for the driveway to the lobby of the service apt. it is on- going when i first came to Fraser Suites. they are still doing it now as in now when i am writing... they took hell lots of time to complete it... half a dozen of men working on it from monday thru sunday... and it cannot be completed. cant they use machinery to break the tiles and resurface immediately? instead all men are using hammer and a chizel to break it. and resurface it a tile at a time... waste of manpower and time i reckon. however on a second thought, this is the world most populus nation. wat they have is manpower. like my wife said, labour are cheaper den machinery and it creates employment. if there is no rush, there is no need for machinery. haiz...

Went to Walmart at Wanda Guang Chang to reccee on friday, think it is more like Giant or maybe Sheng Siong back home... not so much of expat shopping experience i gather. So i think we can give it a miss for future shopping.

Sat went to Carrefour, damn pack... next time grocery shopping i think i will do alone during the weekdays ba... think i will have a better shopping experience. No need for the human rush and take my time to see the fresh food. Bought a couple of stuff like water(very essential), instant noodles(it taste better den the brands i bought earlier) and wat? handy plast... my blister at the back of my heels have not heal. probably no time for healing as i walk to much everyday... came back home each day and it is back to sq 1. Went back to my apt to offload the stuff and head to Xiu Shui Jie.

At Xiu shui jie, i bought a polo ralph jacket which cost me 250yuan. Do a jade Ink chop for 200yuan and got Ling's chop for free. Ling bought a GAP sheep wool trech coat(if i am right) for 400yuan (thought that is ex, real ex. considering this is China) and a quilt for 280yuan. Damn we spent quite alot today. haha... Anyway, after all these, we both feel we like kena keto. bo hua like tat... Haiz, no choice have to pay tourist price in the beginning wat, right?

On the way home, bought a bbq chix for dinner with my instant noodles... haha... taste good... satisfy man.

Night time cant get to sleep... went to my safe to retrieve and saw glenda's sms. Yeah! A friend will be visiting me on Monday. Plan to go the Great Wall. But too late to call her back to comfirm details. Will do so the next day.

Sun, morning i call Glenda but she din ans my call... later luckily saw her online den discuss our plan for monday. She arriving in beijing at 720am so we plan to meet up at 10am to conquer the Great Wall. So excited... haha.

Talk to mum as well... she is fine but misses me and ling... argh... so sad.

Went out later today at 1pm coz Ling still have some work to clear b4 she leaves for Wuhan on Mon morning. We went to Wang Jin Fu again. This time the aim was to visit the biggest BookStore in Beijing to get some reference book. We reached and started to find lunch. Decidexd on KFC, i got craving... The taste not so much different from home. price wise also the same. but then the set menu different leh... dun have 2/3 pcs meal... wa kao... diff to order liao... all burger meals... cannot understand... but settle for a combo of 1 burger and 1pcs meal. Ling had Zinger meal.

At the Bookstore, we bought an english/chinese dictionary, a food directory book and an insider Beijing book to teach us to be street smart here. Hee... headed back home to meet up with her SG counterpart. She is bringing us to one of the beauty salon tat she tot is good and value for money.

At the salon, same things goes on... explain and push to sign plans... did not cfm at the spot but i think she is into it liao. more money to be spend. i running low in RMB liao... the 3K we brought over like losing very fast... haven figure how to remit money... we are already low in cash. Do i need to use my spare S$2K?? hopefully not... it is for my emergency use leh... exchange rate here also no good.. S$1 = 4.51yuan. so low. haiz...


FRIENDS AND RELATIVES COMING PLS HELP TO NOTIFY AND CHANGE MONEY FOR ME!!!!!!


went to dinner with the SG counterparts, met beng teck and family today. he is from the defense side... had dinner at China World, another expat area near my apt. we had taiwan food... surprise tat they order a little food only... the rice is good... coz it is very local. haha... food not bad... i foot the bill. not ex only abt 210yuan. but taken into acc the food order was really little for my standard. haha...

Ling set off back for reharsal in the embassy. I walked back to the apt to find out more abt the trip to the Great Wall.

Hotel staff very helpful... got me alot of alternatives but i chosen the one from a brochres i picked up at Wang Fu Jin. 100yuan to pick us up at Radisson (The hotel which our SQ gals stay)to Badaling Great Wall, inclusive of entrance fees. Good bargain. So i took up the offer. EXCITED. REALLY EXCITED... finally moving out of the city for once in a week...

Wednesday 8 October 2008

Day 04

Wake up later today... last night sleep late... haha... but luckily still in time for free breakfast...

Saw the morning stock market... DOWN DOWN DOWN!! but later in the day... stunning rebound. market ended mixed feeling i thought... the technical rebound could be due to the AUST rate cut... who knows... see how it goes tmr...

Went out to meet Ling for lunch and take photo. had sushi for lunch... hmmm... dun taste good leh. think SG serve better jap food... haha... maybe they have localise liao. Take photo at a shop there... here they use alot of 1 inch photo alot... unless SG we use passport size photo.

After lunch walk her back to the embassy. den i set for the famous long walk... walk like nobody business... walk till lost... juz follow building landmarks and walk... but kena tua... walk to a special shape building to found out it was not ready... wat the hell... got so big billboards... den not ready in the inside... haiz... anyway by this time i am near the new world trade centre.. think it going to be ready b4 i come back to SG.

Walk to SOHO shangdu, anyway here got many SOHOs... haven figure out wat they really are... perhaps juz some commercial building with offices and shops under the SOHO group. like our capitaland, far east and CDL in SG.

Walk to The Place, an upmarket place near my suites. Forgot to intro in previous post. Here also house alot of branded boutiques. Have my tea break there. The starbucks latte small size cost me 25yuan... wow... it's not cheap. Den proceed to shop inside The Place. I drop by Califronia Fittness to see wat they got. Quite impressive inside. Most impt got SYT working out inside... think they are ah sia... no need to work can work out in the gym... membership not cheap... 8995yuan a year for instal plan or 7888 for lump sum payment. will consult my financial controller first. they are all pushy pple... hard up for sale. haha...

Bought my water at 12.6oyuan for a 4.5l bottle at watson. Beijing water according to the expats are nt portable... the locals??? it is portable... play safe... drink from the bottle.. haha... went back to suite and wait for dinner with Ling. Ling was back later today because of dance rehersal for some asean lady's meeting thingy... haiz... Lucky i am a male... if not i maybe drag into it.

Ate at a macau restaurant. food not bad... but i think the chilli paste in the container got sabotage. it is so salty... wow cant tahan... not cheap also... haiz... y stay in upmarket place... sian.

Tuesday 7 October 2008

Day 03

After breakfast today... went back to set up my internet connection and make a skype call back to SG. Talk to mum today and she sounds sad... dun feel good... haiz... wat to do right? one son back from US, the other left for China.

Went to Gym. Yes i visited the Gym. Pls dun be so surprise... when there is nothing to do, i thing heading to the gym can kill some time...

Later at 1, left for the streets. Had lunch at a Chengdu shop. It cost me 13yuan for Sweet and sour soup and Yang Zhou fried rice. Cheap right... it is the cheapest meal i had in Beijing. Alot of locals visited this shop so i tot y not i try as well... to my horror, my food contains no meat!!! no seafood!!! total diff from SG. rice is oily... soup not sour only pepperish taste... i also know how to cook like this... but think back, only 13yuan... cannot expect much.

Visited Xiu Shui Xie. This is the place tat sells all the fake goods... they staff there says they are not fake as they came from the same factory as the real ones... the diff is the small tag bearing Branded name has been change to the factory tat produces it. Bought 2 Adidas running shorts for S$40. Cheap right? At least i tot so.. to gear up for my exercise regime... hahaha.... This is a 6 storey shopping centre... alot of products are on display... from apparrels to fashion wear to jewellery to electronics stuffs. many things to see... btw this place reminds me of MBK in Bangkok. haha... kinda interesting place.

Went back to my suite and bombarded... shiok... Here i think the food got problem... either very high fibre, if not should be unclean... i can shit 2-3 times a day... stunning... never had so much shit before...

Wife came back, rest for awhile den do dinner with her colleague, Teng. Brought us to Xiao Wang Fu to eat. Food not bad... the pork ribs taste good... not far from our Suite. Can bring u guys there someday... haha...

I visited Teng's house, to have a preview of my future resident... not too bad... but the guest rooms are damn small... master room is huge. gg to be Teng's neighbour soon... the movement in and out of the place also quite difficult... so many guards ard...

Today saw more SYT. i think they all came back from the week long holiday and back to work... now got more pretty faces in the capital. hahaha...

Ya today market crash... STI down 128 pts. economy looms. see how it goes. hope all of you have reserve cash in place. It is gg to be a roller coaster ride. tmr may have a recovery... can try to buy in. haha... dun blame me if i am wrong... i am not buying... i forgot to leave my atm card with my bro... so cant make payment. shit! will miss all boats.

Monday 6 October 2008

Day 2

After breakfast at Suite, we make a orientation walk to the Embassy. Juz in case my wife lost her way on her 2nd day of work when no driver is taking her there. Walk past some busy streets and happening shopping centre.. finally after walking a big round, we manage to be at the outside of the embassy.

We are only there to take a look, the Gong An came to approach us liao... machiam i terrorist. Start to qn us so many things. Haiz... den we leave lor...

Took a cab to Wang Fu Jing area... this place suppose to be like our orchard area lah with a mixture of Xi Men Ding in Taiwan... Got branded shops (Wat brand u wan they have it man!!! from Giodarno to Cartier, Dunhill all have)in the Shopping Arcade, the loose ones lying ard...

Went to this 3 storey shop complex, Li Ning, a chinese brand tat sells sporting goods. Ling and myself bought a pair of shoes each inside. And guess wat, i got a chinese jersey for free... They are the official sponser for the chinese's team in this olympics.

Shop shop walk walk... decide to be rich tourists... we go to their branded supermarket to get ourselves some groceries... damn ex man... the supermarket near my suite offer the same things at abt 5yuan lesser... wow... quickly did up the payment and left... haha...

Reach hotel... ask my wife this qn: I tot china got lotsa of SYT?? hw come nvr get to see them??

1st Day in Beijing

Arrive in Beijing, world largest Airport. But damn stupid system... arrived den have to walk a distance den transfer to a light rail to travel to the main complex... reach main complex super pack... lucky i got express lane to clear the custom. go to the collection belt... wait wait wait... damn i tot we are slow... baggage lost liao juz like wat i am in SG last dec... coz i spent sometime to buy my cigarrette and visit the toliets. later den i know... they are still clearing the earlier plane cargo using the same belt.. OMG... so slow... finally saw my luggage... picked and left the final door...

in the open hall... laggi more crowded... finally found the embassy driver and we proceed to our service apt, fraser suites, in a white Honda Odysessy. Fraser not too far from Airport, only abt 30mins ride.

At Fraser, we are treated like VIP leh... got photo taking somemore... i think their bosses bluff the staffs there tat we are here to test the Service Apt. All first class services rendered leh... quite shoik abt it. This place have Osim Massage rooms, swimming pools, gym, pool room and meeting rooms. Wireless Internet access is available, tat's y i can produce this blog.

Well it sums up wat i experience so far. Day 1.