Beijing in Winter

Well, 1 week holiday in Beijing has confirmed certain stereotypical images in my mind about Chinese, but it has also "humbled" ( as Mark puts it that way) me in many sense when I visited those historical sites that could only portray the greatness of the race. So I should be proud to be a Chinese? Although not a purebred one.

Met up with Aaron, a long-time close friend of mine, we met way back in the tropics of Malaysia -- now residing in Beijing after his life in Boston. It was 6 years ago since we last saw each other. Other than the fact that we both look older now, but hot as always, hehe, everything was fantastic as we caught up, and he brought me to:

Yong He Gong (Lama temple)

Tian Tan (Temple of Heaven)

Forbidden City

Lu Gou Qiao (Marco Polo Bridge) -- I took pictures of every single lion on one side of the bridge. Couldn't take the other side as my memory card was running out.

Bei Hai park -- gorgeous scenery with a serenity combining history.

Wang Fu Jing nightmarket where I ate "a" silk worm. Did not manage to eat more than one, as the worm juice spewed out from its crust...and my mind was sending messages to my body to reject it.

Dong Hua Men nightmarket - whereby I ate Tau Foo Fa, Popiah-like thing, and a bowl of what seems to be similar to Char Kui Kak.

Summer Palace -- by far my favourite spot. The lake was frozen, Aaron and I played on it, the sunset was absolutely stunning, and I saw sceneries which I thought could only exist in photoshop and Chinese dramas.

Last but not least, of course the Great Wall of China. Funny how I was not crazy over it when Aaron and I climbed it.. The climb was good, we went to the part of the wall where no other tourists in their large, loud tour group go. Looking at the wall, I actually said "it is just another wall" to Aaron, and we both burst out laughing. Its like the Eiffel Tower when I visited it 2 years back. It's just the Tower. I think the more I see something on advertisement, and the more I hear people talk about it, my interest in that "something" will wane. Yeah, so the wall.

Other than that, food was excellent, cheap and cost near to nothing. I ate much of my missed Chinese food which includes Cantonese Dim Sum, Peking duck, chinese kuih etc.. even had Malaysian Char Kuew Teow on my last night there.

Watch loads of DvDs as well. I watched more English movies in China throughout my 9 days there, as compared to my 5 months in Japan.

Taxi drivers are honest. People are rude, loud, and they spit everywhere.. yups.. every time I hear someone clearing their throat, I quickly heighten my sense to see where the spit is coming from. Hell, they even squish the spit after spitting it, as though they are extinguishing a ciggi butt...
Oh yeah, pollution is horrible too.

But all in all, it was a fantastic trip. No regrets, highly recommended place to visit.
Now, as I sit in my little LeoPalace in Tokyo, I felt the trip was too fast, and I am back to reality, working in Japan...wonder when is the next time I will see Aaron again....maybe in another 6-7 years?

2007

It's the time of the year where most people sit and reflect on what this year means to them, what they have achieve, what they have gone through etc etc..

For me, this year is almost surreal. So many things came and gone, wham wham wham...one by one events unfold to the extent my calendar cannot even keep up. This is how it goes:

JANUARY
Finally finished uni, my last lecture in my entire life (most probably) as I walked out into a hot summer day.

MARCH
Had the urge to take out all my wisdom teeth all in one go. That was a great feeling! The feeling of being anesthetized, not feeling a thing, and being so drowsy to the extent I can't remember I actually got up from the dentist chair, paid with my own hands, and been driven home.

APRIL
Road-trip around South Island with 3 aunties and a granny, whereby we need to hunt for Chinese food most of the time in order to satisfy them. But all in all, it was fabulous as I had fun with Ronald, and when the Pajero overheated and broke down in the middle of nowhere, a Kiwi mechanic on holiday stopped to help us out. Makes me realised why I love New Zealand so much. Small town folks are great!
Then it was my graduation. 4 years in Law School and this is it....dad took so many photos of me, still feel good that the older generation Kiwis couldn't believe that an Asian can come out of Law School in conservative Canterbury. Yes, believe it or not, the mentality still exists.

MAY
Profs started, and met a whole bunch of law-school friends. For 3 months, 12 of us see each other from 8.30am to 4pm average Monday to Friday, coped in a small room. We laughed at everything, shared bread, made coffee for each other, sat assessments together, discussed and complained about the stuff we were studying.. especially Legal Ethics.. hahaha.. good days, good days...had wine and cheese gatherings to de-brief. Fond memories indeed.

JUNE
Met a friend, lost the friend. Thought I found another friend, but lost that friend as well. This whole month made me realised that no one can ever replace PY, and my gurlfrens (7 of you gurls, you know who you are) from back home. Miss u all.. Muah muah!

JULY
Bersatu games -- didn't participate this year due to Profs. But managed to go and support CMSA whenever I got off Profs early.

AUGUST
Profs ended. Packed for Japan. Left behind everyone, friends, boyfriend, family, foes. I was a bit unsure to be frank, but then I knew I needed the change, I needed the break, otherwise I will be stagnant.

Until now, Japan has treated me well, although I was plucked out from my comfortable zone for the 2nd time now (first from Osaka, then from Fukuoka) to be posted to a branch office....Met so many new people from the company and from the streets alike. Great colleagues, great ex-colleagues, friendly people, weird fashion, good food though I have to say I miss my beef at reasonable price. It's definitely the warm Gaijins and JP that make this place easier to settle in.

Christmas came and went. Nothing eventful. Although pre-Christmas was fun and unexpected moments happened when I headed back to Osaka for the long weekend. Now all I can say is that I am looking forward to my Beijing trip which should be the start of a wonderful 2008. Fingers crossed.

Pictures of my weekends in the past 3 months when I was in Fukuoka

Well.. 3 months being posted to Fukuoka branch office came and went by in a blink of an eye.

Last weekend, I took the 6.30am Shinkansen from Fukuoka to Tokyo. As I stepped out into Tokyo Station, the place looks old and dirty, reminds me of London indeed. After meeting Nick (we are to exchange our posts in the branch offices -- we exchanged apartment keys and train passes, working information in respective branches etc), I took the train to my Apartment in Higashi-Chiba....
That night, I met up with Laura (who came up from Osaka for the weekend), Yuma (whom was heading up to the mountains soon), Aaron Ling (whom also came into Tokyo for that weekend), and a couple of Yuma's friends. The night's event aside, I hereby post some pics of my good old day-tripping while I was down South, Kyushu region when I was working in Fukuoka: