Day 8, Saturday – It’s the last day of my Yunnan trip. It’s also shopping day! Our first destination of the day is a bazaar selling a variety of things, except food. It is called the Luo Si Wan Bazaar. It’s the whole sale market for other places in Yunnan. Things here are cheap even without bargaining. I bought some clothes and umbrellas. I was very excited to the huge soft toys hanging outside of some shops (taller and bigger than I).
Next, we went to the local food shop to buy some local specialties. The price of the food here is not cheap. It is advisable to shop at the normal supermarkets, such as Parkson. I bought a lot of tidbits, especially 乌梅 (“Wu Mei”). It’s a type of “asam-asam”, huge and black but not soul.
We had our lunch at a shop specializing in mushrooms. The supposing “nice” meal turned out to be bad. The wrong mixture of mushrooms caused me to have a bad appetite. Things became worse when I had a stomachache.
After lunch, we headed to the silk shop. The cheapest blanket cost around RM180, without the silk covers. The whole set of silk covers actually cost more than RMB 2K. There are other silk products such as clothes and handbags.
Our last destination is the flower market. In the market, there’re fresh and dry flowers. The flowers are very beautiful. After shopping in the flower market, we said goodbye to our local tour guide and flew back to KL.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Yunnan - Day 7
Day 7, Friday – Today we headed back to Kunming after breakfast. Our highlight of the day is West Mountain Dragon Gate. We went up there by cable car and came down by a “small car”. Things sold there are cheaper as there are fewer tourists. From the top of this mountain, we will be able to have an overview of Kunming city. The locals here will hike up this mountain on the 3rd day of CNY. I find it not very fascinating. I will just give an average rate for this spot.
After the mountain trip, we headed to a medical shop selling honey and different types of Chinese medicine. We have a trial on a special medicine for cueing sickness related to our legs. There’s free massage service for the leg as well. I feel much more after the massage. According to one of the massager, there are Chinese medical students. Of course, when there’s special service, we tend to give up to the sales person and bought some of their products.
We had our last dinner at a shop specializing in herb soups and wine. We had 4 pots of soups and I really feel a bit drunk after the meal. My face was red, luckily not as red as a tomato.
After the mountain trip, we headed to a medical shop selling honey and different types of Chinese medicine. We have a trial on a special medicine for cueing sickness related to our legs. There’s free massage service for the leg as well. I feel much more after the massage. According to one of the massager, there are Chinese medical students. Of course, when there’s special service, we tend to give up to the sales person and bought some of their products.
We had our last dinner at a shop specializing in herb soups and wine. We had 4 pots of soups and I really feel a bit drunk after the meal. My face was red, luckily not as red as a tomato.
Monday, April 02, 2007
Yunnan - Day 6
Day 6, Thursday – It was cold in the morning as I reached the Yulong Snow Mountain station to take the bus and then the cable car. I can some rain drops falling onto my face when I got out of the bus. To be exact, those were not rain drops but tiny little snow flakes! I was very excited as it shouldn’t be snowing at this season. There are jackets for rent at the station for 30 RMB. The view along the way to the mountain is very beautiful. This was my first time seeing real snow! The queue for the cable car was very long as the wind was strong. I waited there for more than an hour. There were many tourists, both local and foreign, queuing up for the cable car. We had prepared some oxygen tanks with us, just in case we need them. Every cable car can only fit in max 6 person. We were enjoying the beautiful view of the mountain in the cable car, shooting photos of here and there. There are different types of trees as we went higher and higher. As we reached the park, there is nothing but snow, rocks and the mountain. But, the view up there sure is simply marvelous. However, this mountain is not suitable for skiing due to its landscape.
Our next destination was Bai Sui River (“Bai Sui" means white water). After the snow of the mountain melts, it will flow down to this river. Its water is crystal clear. The reflection of the sky on the water makes it even irresistible. It looks like a perfect picture, with the snow mountain as the background and clear blue water. “Gan Hai Zi” (sweet sea) is not a sea as its name implies, it is actually a meadow. When it rains heavily, it looks like as if it is a sea. Long long time ago, this meadow used to be covered by water.
We were all very hungry after the snow mountain trip. We had lunch at “Yu Sui Zai”. It is the holly land of the Dong Ba Culture. This place has a very nice view of the rivers and mountains. (In short, I can say that in Lijiang you can see many nice views of water and mountains.) There is a small museum for stones here. In this museum, there’s exhibitions of natural stones that looks like food. The stones all look so yummy.
Our next stop is the Spirulina shop. Lijiang is one of the 3 major places in the world producing natural Spirulina. After this, we said goodbye to our Lijiang tour guide and headed back to Dali. After lunch, we did some shopping at night in the old town. There are a few bookshops there, selling only Chinese books. There are a lot of books there which you cannot find them in Malaysia, especially books on the different minorities in Yunnan. I managed to buy a book at less than RM20, which is price at more than RM80 in Malaysia.
p/s: Your bargaining power must be really good if you want to buy things at a cheap price in China. It’s better to make some surveys around first before purchasing.
Our next destination was Bai Sui River (“Bai Sui" means white water). After the snow of the mountain melts, it will flow down to this river. Its water is crystal clear. The reflection of the sky on the water makes it even irresistible. It looks like a perfect picture, with the snow mountain as the background and clear blue water. “Gan Hai Zi” (sweet sea) is not a sea as its name implies, it is actually a meadow. When it rains heavily, it looks like as if it is a sea. Long long time ago, this meadow used to be covered by water.
We were all very hungry after the snow mountain trip. We had lunch at “Yu Sui Zai”. It is the holly land of the Dong Ba Culture. This place has a very nice view of the rivers and mountains. (In short, I can say that in Lijiang you can see many nice views of water and mountains.) There is a small museum for stones here. In this museum, there’s exhibitions of natural stones that looks like food. The stones all look so yummy.
Our next stop is the Spirulina shop. Lijiang is one of the 3 major places in the world producing natural Spirulina. After this, we said goodbye to our Lijiang tour guide and headed back to Dali. After lunch, we did some shopping at night in the old town. There are a few bookshops there, selling only Chinese books. There are a lot of books there which you cannot find them in Malaysia, especially books on the different minorities in Yunnan. I managed to buy a book at less than RM20, which is price at more than RM80 in Malaysia.
p/s: Your bargaining power must be really good if you want to buy things at a cheap price in China. It’s better to make some surveys around first before purchasing.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Photos - Yunnan - Part 1
Here are the some of the photos taken during Day 1-6 in Yunnan: (correction)
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v635/dellachew/Yunnan1/
Enjoy!
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v635/dellachew/Yunnan1/
Enjoy!
Yunnan - Day 5
Day 5, Wednesday – Today, we went to Lijiang. The journey is shorter this time. On our way there, we stop by at Shi Zhai Zi. It’s a village selling jade, crystals, local food and antics. What attracted me is the stone mountain opposite the village instead. We reached Lijiang a around 12.30pm. Our original schedule to go to Yulong Snow Mountain after lunch was cancelled as the wind was too strong. I was a bit disappointed as the mountain is so near, yet so far. There are 2 highlights today, Lijiang Old Town and Suhe Old Town. Lijiang Old Town is a very busy place with lots of shops and lots of people. We need to bargain in order to get the things at a cheap price, and this requires special skills and techniques.
Lijiang is famous for its water canals. The water here is very clean. Suhe Old Town is quite similar to Lijiang Old Town but there are not many visitors and the life there is more relaxing. The locals here like to play mahjong during their free time. The things selling here is also cheaper, even without bargaining. There are even more canals there and the water is really clear and clean. At night, there’s a place with fire and people will be dancing around the fire. It’s fun!
p/s: For Lijiang, ladies are address as 扮金妹 (“Ban Jin Mei”) while guys are address as 扮金哥 (“Ban Jin Ge”). I will continue on the "story" for Day 6-8 next week (hopefully...).
Lijiang is famous for its water canals. The water here is very clean. Suhe Old Town is quite similar to Lijiang Old Town but there are not many visitors and the life there is more relaxing. The locals here like to play mahjong during their free time. The things selling here is also cheaper, even without bargaining. There are even more canals there and the water is really clear and clean. At night, there’s a place with fire and people will be dancing around the fire. It’s fun!
p/s: For Lijiang, ladies are address as 扮金妹 (“Ban Jin Mei”) while guys are address as 扮金哥 (“Ban Jin Ge”). I will continue on the "story" for Day 6-8 next week (hopefully...).
Yunnan - Day 4
Day 4, Tuesday – We went to Dali by bus. The journey was around 5 hours. The wind is stronger in Dali and the air is cooler and dryer. Er Hai is a very huge lake with shape of an ear. Er Hai Park is a small park located at the South of the lake. There’s nothing much to see there. Dali Museum is another boring place located inside the Dali Old Town. Tian Long Ba Bu Movie Studio is an artificial place built for the filming of Jin Yong stories. Jin Yong is a famous writer for the martial arts stories. There are several countries in the studio, built based on the stories by Jin Yong.
The Bai minority have been ruling Dali for 50 years. For the Bai minority, we can recognize whether a lady is single, engage or married by their hats. The hat is known as 风花雪月 (“Feng Hua Xue Yue”). For single ladies, their hats are of ½ moon shape. For married ladies, their hats are of full moon shape. It is a tradition that any man who touches a ladies’ hat must work for her for three years, unless the girl shows no interest in the man. For single ladies, when they reach the age of 18, their mothers will give their daughter a jade. This jade has been passed down for generations and will be inherited by the eldest daughter of the family.
The 3 cups of tea by the Bai Minority is something unique. The 1st cup is a bitter, the 2nd cup is sweet and the 3rd cup is a bit spicy. This also represents the sweet and bitterness of our life. For proposal, the man must prepare 6 pots of wine, 6 boxes of cigarettes, 6 chickens and a jade for the lady being proposed. The wine, cigarettes and chickens are for her parents to show his sincerity. If a lady is married, there’ll be jade on both hands. During weddings, the bride will wear sunglasses. It is said to hide her tears on the wedding day. Villagers, passersby, relatives and friends can give their blessings to the bride by pinching her. For the Bai minority house, there are 2 levels. The lower level is to stay while the upper level is to keep food.
We stayed overnight at Landscape Hotel, which is located in Dali Old Town. The design of the hotel is of an old building and the room is very unique. It is classical. The blankets prepared are made of silk.
p/s: For different place, we will have a different local tour guide. This is their government policy. For Dali, ladies are address as 金花 (“golden flower”) while guys are address as 阿鹏哥 (“Ah Peng Ge”).
The Bai minority have been ruling Dali for 50 years. For the Bai minority, we can recognize whether a lady is single, engage or married by their hats. The hat is known as 风花雪月 (“Feng Hua Xue Yue”). For single ladies, their hats are of ½ moon shape. For married ladies, their hats are of full moon shape. It is a tradition that any man who touches a ladies’ hat must work for her for three years, unless the girl shows no interest in the man. For single ladies, when they reach the age of 18, their mothers will give their daughter a jade. This jade has been passed down for generations and will be inherited by the eldest daughter of the family.
The 3 cups of tea by the Bai Minority is something unique. The 1st cup is a bitter, the 2nd cup is sweet and the 3rd cup is a bit spicy. This also represents the sweet and bitterness of our life. For proposal, the man must prepare 6 pots of wine, 6 boxes of cigarettes, 6 chickens and a jade for the lady being proposed. The wine, cigarettes and chickens are for her parents to show his sincerity. If a lady is married, there’ll be jade on both hands. During weddings, the bride will wear sunglasses. It is said to hide her tears on the wedding day. Villagers, passersby, relatives and friends can give their blessings to the bride by pinching her. For the Bai minority house, there are 2 levels. The lower level is to stay while the upper level is to keep food.
We stayed overnight at Landscape Hotel, which is located in Dali Old Town. The design of the hotel is of an old building and the room is very unique. It is classical. The blankets prepared are made of silk.
p/s: For different place, we will have a different local tour guide. This is their government policy. For Dali, ladies are address as 金花 (“golden flower”) while guys are address as 阿鹏哥 (“Ah Peng Ge”).
Yunnan - Day 3
Day 3, Monday – The highlight of the day is Stone Forest. Long long time ago, this area was under the sea level. The Earth plates hit and this place surfaces as what we see now. Stone forest is popular due to its unusual formation characterized by hundreds of stone peaks jutting out from the ground with majestic grandeur and in different poses and various sharps. Inside the park, there’s a “5 star toilet”. There’s a mini LCD inside all the toilets.
The most popular tea in Yunnan is “Pu Er”. Unlike other tea trees, the tree for this tea is very tall. By drinking more of this tea, ones can become slimmer as the tea will wash away the fats in our body. Thus, it is known by some people as “slimming tea”. The longer the tea leaves are, the higher the value it is.
The most popular tea in Yunnan is “Pu Er”. Unlike other tea trees, the tree for this tea is very tall. By drinking more of this tea, ones can become slimmer as the tea will wash away the fats in our body. Thus, it is known by some people as “slimming tea”. The longer the tea leaves are, the higher the value it is.
Yunnan - Day 2
Day 2, Sunday – Everyday morning we will have buffet breakfast in the hotel that we were staying. There are 2 famous gates in Kunming called Jin Ma Bi Ji Fang. It is believe every 60 years the shadows of these 2 gates will meet. So far, no one has witness this phenomena and how true this legend is remains unknown. The main tourist spot of the day is the cave in Jiuxiang. This is also one of the shooting places for the movie, “The Myth” by Jackie Chan and a female Korean actress. This place is much more beautiful comparing to “Gua Tempurung” in Perak, Malaysia. It is windy inside of the cave and there are great views of the river and cave. We took a small boat ride around the area before exploring the cave. It’s a very huge area and we spent more than 4 hours inside. We took a cable car back to the entrance after exiting the cave. I was very worried while I was on ride as it was windy at that time and the seat was slightly shaking.
Along the way to the cave, we were able to see the long, solid and old railway track connecting Yunnan and Vietnam through the mountains. This railway was built by France around 103 years ago to transport the minerals of Yunnan to Vietnam and then to France by ship. France took 6 years to complete and repair the railway. Many people had been sacrificed during its construction, including several of its engineers. The train here is going on a very slow pace; the gap between 2 rails is relatively small compare to the usual standard.
Before that we went to an herb shop before going for our dinner at a special restaurant. The seats and table are very low; the floor is covered by pine leaves. For the locals, their floor must be covered with pine leaves from the day before Chinese New Year (CNY), till the end of CNY. They will change the pine leaves after several days, replacing the old ones with new pine leaves. The famous dish in this area is roasted duck. With the addition of a bit of salt, the roasted duck tasted good, but oily. A lot of vegetables were served. The fish served always contained a lot of fine bones, while the pork served always contained a thick layer of fats. The food is so oily that you can feel that your lips are covering by a layer of oil after eating. A dish of egg and big plate of bread with red bean sauce filling were always served as well and they were the children’s favorite.
We stayed overnight at the best hotel in a small town. It was a quiet town during the daytime and even more quiet at night. We had dinner at the hotel and it was terrible. The chopsticks and plates are not very clean. The local customers there sure have a bad way of taking their meal. The bones and food were all over the floor.
p/s: In Yiliang, we normally address the girls as 阿诗玛 and guys as 阿黑哥. 阿诗玛 is referring to beautiful and intelligent ladies while阿黑哥 is referring to honest and brave men. For dishonest men (playboy, lazy etc), they are known as 阿白哥. The wedding meal there normally starts between 3pm and 6pm. They’ll directly open up the presents given after receiving them. The “ang pow” given is quite expensive, ranging from a minimum of 480 RMB (around RM240) to a few thousand RMB.
Along the way to the cave, we were able to see the long, solid and old railway track connecting Yunnan and Vietnam through the mountains. This railway was built by France around 103 years ago to transport the minerals of Yunnan to Vietnam and then to France by ship. France took 6 years to complete and repair the railway. Many people had been sacrificed during its construction, including several of its engineers. The train here is going on a very slow pace; the gap between 2 rails is relatively small compare to the usual standard.
Before that we went to an herb shop before going for our dinner at a special restaurant. The seats and table are very low; the floor is covered by pine leaves. For the locals, their floor must be covered with pine leaves from the day before Chinese New Year (CNY), till the end of CNY. They will change the pine leaves after several days, replacing the old ones with new pine leaves. The famous dish in this area is roasted duck. With the addition of a bit of salt, the roasted duck tasted good, but oily. A lot of vegetables were served. The fish served always contained a lot of fine bones, while the pork served always contained a thick layer of fats. The food is so oily that you can feel that your lips are covering by a layer of oil after eating. A dish of egg and big plate of bread with red bean sauce filling were always served as well and they were the children’s favorite.
We stayed overnight at the best hotel in a small town. It was a quiet town during the daytime and even more quiet at night. We had dinner at the hotel and it was terrible. The chopsticks and plates are not very clean. The local customers there sure have a bad way of taking their meal. The bones and food were all over the floor.
p/s: In Yiliang, we normally address the girls as 阿诗玛 and guys as 阿黑哥. 阿诗玛 is referring to beautiful and intelligent ladies while阿黑哥 is referring to honest and brave men. For dishonest men (playboy, lazy etc), they are known as 阿白哥. The wedding meal there normally starts between 3pm and 6pm. They’ll directly open up the presents given after receiving them. The “ang pow” given is quite expensive, ranging from a minimum of 480 RMB (around RM240) to a few thousand RMB.
Yunnan - Day 1
Day 1, Saturday – My tour guide is a young and tough lady, Lili. This is the first vacation with my mum after I work. I departed with the 9am flight to KL and then another flight to Kunming. I reached there at around 3.45pm. There is no time difference. From a far, we could see that Kunming is a developing city. There are a number of tall buildings but most of them have the same design and color. At Kunming International Airport, we were welcomed by our skinny and humorous local tour guide, Kevin. Our luggage was transported to the hotel separately by a truck as our bus was too small for the entire luggage. The weather is not as cold as I anticipated.
Our first spot is the Grand View Park. On the way to the park, I noticed that there were a lot of cars and bicycles on the street. It was weird to see people dressing up nicely in coats and boots cycling on the street. The Grand View Park is a scenic park with many flowers, lake, bridges and the classical 柳树 (“Liu Su”) along the lake. It is a lovely park. I love the 桃花 (blossoms). They look a bit like Sakura. In the park, there is a building called 大观楼 (“Da Guan Lou”). This building is famous for its longest 对联 (“Dui Lian”) in the world, consisting of 90 words for each side. The first part described the beautiful scenery in Yunnan whereas the second part talked about the history of Yunnan.
We had a luxurious dinner at a grand restaurant with Siamese design, but serving local dishes. The highlight of the night is 过桥米线 (direct translation, “cross the bridge noodle”). There is a story behind the name of this noodle. To keep this short, I will leave out the story. First, a very hot bowl of soup with some oil on top of it is served. The oil is to keep the soup hot. Next, put in the slices of meat (normally chicken and pork) into the hot soup. Then, the noodle, follow by the vegetable is put into the soup. We need to wait for a while for the food to be cooked before dining. The noodle looks a bit like the white noodle for “laksa” but a bit different. It is the local’s favorite food as well. They can noodles for every meal, of course with a different way of cooking. The waiters and waitress are very polite. (For every lunch and dinner in Yunnan, there will be beer.) There was a short performance during dinner. Kevin commented that the performance is not nice. The weather in Kunming is much cooler after sunsets. I need to put on my thin jacket so that I won’t catch a cold.
After the dinner, we check-in for our hotel. The hotel is located in the middle of the town. Thus, it’s very convenient if we would like to do some shopping or walk-around at night. I visited the city park at night and it’s beautiful with all the lights. The McDonald there is a bit cheaper and offer more variety of choices. I heard that it’s more delicious than Malaysia’s but I did not try it out myself as the dinner served was too much.
p/s: In Kunming, we normally address the girls as 小姑娘 (“Xiao Gu Niang”).
Our first spot is the Grand View Park. On the way to the park, I noticed that there were a lot of cars and bicycles on the street. It was weird to see people dressing up nicely in coats and boots cycling on the street. The Grand View Park is a scenic park with many flowers, lake, bridges and the classical 柳树 (“Liu Su”) along the lake. It is a lovely park. I love the 桃花 (blossoms). They look a bit like Sakura. In the park, there is a building called 大观楼 (“Da Guan Lou”). This building is famous for its longest 对联 (“Dui Lian”) in the world, consisting of 90 words for each side. The first part described the beautiful scenery in Yunnan whereas the second part talked about the history of Yunnan.
We had a luxurious dinner at a grand restaurant with Siamese design, but serving local dishes. The highlight of the night is 过桥米线 (direct translation, “cross the bridge noodle”). There is a story behind the name of this noodle. To keep this short, I will leave out the story. First, a very hot bowl of soup with some oil on top of it is served. The oil is to keep the soup hot. Next, put in the slices of meat (normally chicken and pork) into the hot soup. Then, the noodle, follow by the vegetable is put into the soup. We need to wait for a while for the food to be cooked before dining. The noodle looks a bit like the white noodle for “laksa” but a bit different. It is the local’s favorite food as well. They can noodles for every meal, of course with a different way of cooking. The waiters and waitress are very polite. (For every lunch and dinner in Yunnan, there will be beer.) There was a short performance during dinner. Kevin commented that the performance is not nice. The weather in Kunming is much cooler after sunsets. I need to put on my thin jacket so that I won’t catch a cold.
After the dinner, we check-in for our hotel. The hotel is located in the middle of the town. Thus, it’s very convenient if we would like to do some shopping or walk-around at night. I visited the city park at night and it’s beautiful with all the lights. The McDonald there is a bit cheaper and offer more variety of choices. I heard that it’s more delicious than Malaysia’s but I did not try it out myself as the dinner served was too much.
p/s: In Kunming, we normally address the girls as 小姑娘 (“Xiao Gu Niang”).
Yunnan in General
Since there’s a lot to write, I will cut down on the details and go straight to the more “interesting points”. Yunnan is a place in China. It’s located above Vietnam. In Yunnan, there are many places like Kunming, Dali and Lijiang. Kunming is a spring city. The average temperature throughout the year is below 30 Celcius. There are a total of 52 minorities in Yunnan. Among the 52 minorities, 25 of them have more than 5,000 people. The culture of the minorities is different from each other, such as clothing, songs and dance. Most of them do not have their own writings. For different places, they have different ways of addressing people. In general, the toilets there are dirty, some of them do not have doors, the doors are unable to be locked or the doors are quite low.
Saturday, March 03, 2007
Happy Chinese New Year!
Wow… I haven’t been updating my blog for months. I guess the main reason is I am too lazy to get my hands moving after work. I received a very unique greeting card from Yushu shortly before Chinese New Year. Thanks a lot! I think that it’s an envelope to put money rather than a greeting card.
BJun had departed to Korea for her studies on February 21. She made a 1 day visit to Penang before her departure. It was great talking about the happy moments that we had during our training. Those are the great moments! We took a number of photos of our funny poses and in the toilet. They sure look very artistic, but I am not going to upload all of them here. *Else BJun is going kill me* Sorry for all the blabbing about Korea, I still haven’t get over the trauma of missing Korea. Eileen is going to be an air hostess. That is shocking news for us, but all the best! As soon as BJun arrived in Korea, I received messages from her. She said she miss us all and our beloved senior, Wei Shi. I wonder how it really feel, when I go back to the same place with different people, but with the moments of my previous visit. “Yesterday Once More”, this is such a nice song to describe my feelings now. This song also brings back a lot of memories. We always sing this song during karaoke session in Korea.
Many people have been changing jobs recently. Here’s a small advice here. It is better if you not change job frequently as it won’t look good in your resume. It will give a bad impression to your future employees as well. I am sure that if you are the boss, you wouldn’t want to hire someone who quits the next moment you hire him/her. To those who are facing doubts, just do what your heart say, but remember to listen to advice from people who care for you. Responsible for your own decision after you have made it.
Before Chinese New Year (CNY), I had been receiving SMS greetings from friends. ASCII art sure is nice. There are tanglungs and pigs. This year’s CNY is not so hot as there’s rain fall in between. I visited Fort Cornwallis on the first day of CNY. (Fort Cornwallis is the fortress that Francis Light used during the war with the Sultan of Kedah) It’s a great view up there! There are a number of performers from China as well. I was able to detect them from their Chinese slang. CNY always mean home visiting and this year is the same. As usual, we had steamboats at my uncles and aunties places. Unlike other steamboats, we had specially made “wanton”, nice ingredients, fried nuggets, herbal chicken and red wine other than the usual fish balls and soft drinks. My immediate neighbor invited us for a buffet lunch at their wonderful house. The house is even better than a hotel, very well designed and comfortable. He even gave us 2 huge packets of goodies!
BJun had departed to Korea for her studies on February 21. She made a 1 day visit to Penang before her departure. It was great talking about the happy moments that we had during our training. Those are the great moments! We took a number of photos of our funny poses and in the toilet. They sure look very artistic, but I am not going to upload all of them here. *Else BJun is going kill me* Sorry for all the blabbing about Korea, I still haven’t get over the trauma of missing Korea. Eileen is going to be an air hostess. That is shocking news for us, but all the best! As soon as BJun arrived in Korea, I received messages from her. She said she miss us all and our beloved senior, Wei Shi. I wonder how it really feel, when I go back to the same place with different people, but with the moments of my previous visit. “Yesterday Once More”, this is such a nice song to describe my feelings now. This song also brings back a lot of memories. We always sing this song during karaoke session in Korea.
Many people have been changing jobs recently. Here’s a small advice here. It is better if you not change job frequently as it won’t look good in your resume. It will give a bad impression to your future employees as well. I am sure that if you are the boss, you wouldn’t want to hire someone who quits the next moment you hire him/her. To those who are facing doubts, just do what your heart say, but remember to listen to advice from people who care for you. Responsible for your own decision after you have made it.
Before Chinese New Year (CNY), I had been receiving SMS greetings from friends. ASCII art sure is nice. There are tanglungs and pigs. This year’s CNY is not so hot as there’s rain fall in between. I visited Fort Cornwallis on the first day of CNY. (Fort Cornwallis is the fortress that Francis Light used during the war with the Sultan of Kedah) It’s a great view up there! There are a number of performers from China as well. I was able to detect them from their Chinese slang. CNY always mean home visiting and this year is the same. As usual, we had steamboats at my uncles and aunties places. Unlike other steamboats, we had specially made “wanton”, nice ingredients, fried nuggets, herbal chicken and red wine other than the usual fish balls and soft drinks. My immediate neighbor invited us for a buffet lunch at their wonderful house. The house is even better than a hotel, very well designed and comfortable. He even gave us 2 huge packets of goodies!
Saturday, February 03, 2007
December Photos
It may be a bit late to upload the photos now, here you go:
http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a146/dellachew06/2006/
Enjoy!
http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a146/dellachew06/2006/
Enjoy!
Monday, January 15, 2007
Happy New Year '07!
Everyone,
Happy Belated New Year! Sorry for not updating my blog for such a long time. I am getting lazy to online after getting back from work on Monday-Friday. I hope that everyone is doing fine. Let's clap clap our hands 2 times and make a wish...
*wish*
*wish*
*wish*
May your wish come true.
Happy Belated New Year! Sorry for not updating my blog for such a long time. I am getting lazy to online after getting back from work on Monday-Friday. I hope that everyone is doing fine. Let's clap clap our hands 2 times and make a wish...
*wish*
*wish*
*wish*
May your wish come true.
December Events
Christmas and New Year is around the corner. Yet, I haven’t made my birthday wish. I ate a lot for this festive season; hopefully I am not gaining weight due to the overflow of food.
The dinner at Amandari, a Malay cuisine restaurant, with Sam Burg, who is one of my bosses, turned out to be great. I like the long curtains which are the main decorations there; it is simple, but nice. The set meal was rather expensive, around RM500 for an 8 course meal. Luckily I am not paying for it. There were a lot of gigantic squid dishes. They use the same ingredient (squid) but different ways of cooking it. We had curry squid, barbeque squid etc. Even though I like squids, but I do not want to have a squid party. So much squid at the same time makes me freak out!
I joined one of the fitness classes with my colleague, Queena. It is a weekly class held at the company’s fitness center with a payment. The instructor, who is in his twenties, sure is good in shaking. The class is fun, even though I am not good at dancing.
The Toastmaster speechcraft session at TK Mah’s house was a blast. The house is very spacious, with wonderful decorations and good food prepared by Mrs Mah. Mrs Mah is a good cook. She prepared a “western food buffet” for us. There were spaghetti, tomato soup, barbeque chickens, fried noodles, muffins, garlic bread, cheese cake and soya longan jelly.
The “department” Christmas celebration was held in Evergreen Hotel this year. The theme is “Jingle Dell”. The department is bigger than I thought it to be. There were many unfamiliar faces and of course, those whom I know. The ballroom was rather small and the buffet is not very delicious, but not too bad. But, we did enjoy ourselves with the games and programs, especially the santa/ santarina session. Yu Ming was our santa and he was weirdly decorated by us using red papers, cotton and a piece of brown paper. All the teams come out with their santa/ santarina and we sure were creative. With the same materials, we had come out with a lot of designs.
The Toastmaster’s Christmas celebration was held a few days after that in PSDC. We had buffet for dinner. Most of guys dressed in white shirt and black pants, with a red color tie/ santa hat. I think we should make the door gifts as santa hats next time, everyone looks so… cute in them. It was another enjoyable session, though it was not as crazy as Jingle Dell’s.
The dinner at Amandari, a Malay cuisine restaurant, with Sam Burg, who is one of my bosses, turned out to be great. I like the long curtains which are the main decorations there; it is simple, but nice. The set meal was rather expensive, around RM500 for an 8 course meal. Luckily I am not paying for it. There were a lot of gigantic squid dishes. They use the same ingredient (squid) but different ways of cooking it. We had curry squid, barbeque squid etc. Even though I like squids, but I do not want to have a squid party. So much squid at the same time makes me freak out!
I joined one of the fitness classes with my colleague, Queena. It is a weekly class held at the company’s fitness center with a payment. The instructor, who is in his twenties, sure is good in shaking. The class is fun, even though I am not good at dancing.
The Toastmaster speechcraft session at TK Mah’s house was a blast. The house is very spacious, with wonderful decorations and good food prepared by Mrs Mah. Mrs Mah is a good cook. She prepared a “western food buffet” for us. There were spaghetti, tomato soup, barbeque chickens, fried noodles, muffins, garlic bread, cheese cake and soya longan jelly.
The “department” Christmas celebration was held in Evergreen Hotel this year. The theme is “Jingle Dell”. The department is bigger than I thought it to be. There were many unfamiliar faces and of course, those whom I know. The ballroom was rather small and the buffet is not very delicious, but not too bad. But, we did enjoy ourselves with the games and programs, especially the santa/ santarina session. Yu Ming was our santa and he was weirdly decorated by us using red papers, cotton and a piece of brown paper. All the teams come out with their santa/ santarina and we sure were creative. With the same materials, we had come out with a lot of designs.
The Toastmaster’s Christmas celebration was held a few days after that in PSDC. We had buffet for dinner. Most of guys dressed in white shirt and black pants, with a red color tie/ santa hat. I think we should make the door gifts as santa hats next time, everyone looks so… cute in them. It was another enjoyable session, though it was not as crazy as Jingle Dell’s.
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Thoughts About Work
Here are some of the quotations that I like, by my friends:
- The present does not matter, but it’s the person who gives the present that matters.
- We need courage in our life for making every single step
After working, I realize several things:
- We earn enough money to spend, but we often do not have enough money to give to our parents.
- Even if there is no work for the day, we still feel tired after getting home from work.
- By following the rules strictly, we will not be able to achieve our goals. Think of the box!
- Distance is not an issue. Even though I have friends working in the same company, we only see each other for a chat during gatherings. The company is too big and we often do not have the time to catch up with each other.
- People often give up a good job opportunity because of transport and location. As the saying goes, “no pain no gain”. Short term suffering is better than losing a good opportunity. I will definitely go for it, unless there are some other factors that I may need to consider at that time (eg: parents’ health).
- Many people let problems to make their life tough, instead of solving them. Problems are meant to be solved. If no actions are taken, a problem will forever remain as a problem.
- We were striving hard to get a “nice certificate” during our studies. But these certificates are merely the key to get for an interview. There are much more skills that we need to learn other than the facts from the books, and these skills have proved to be much more useful in the future.
- The worst part of a wedding is the wedding dinner. If you invite guests A, then you must invite guest B as they both know you. Then, if you invite guest B, then you must invite guest C. In the end, you will need to invite many people. However, can you afford to invite so many people? If yes, go ahead. If no, you will have a headache selecting the people to invite. Wedding is no longer economical. The wedding photos itself need more than RM3K.
- As we earn more money, we have less time to spend them.
- We like Friday and hate Monday.
- The present does not matter, but it’s the person who gives the present that matters.
- We need courage in our life for making every single step
After working, I realize several things:
- We earn enough money to spend, but we often do not have enough money to give to our parents.
- Even if there is no work for the day, we still feel tired after getting home from work.
- By following the rules strictly, we will not be able to achieve our goals. Think of the box!
- Distance is not an issue. Even though I have friends working in the same company, we only see each other for a chat during gatherings. The company is too big and we often do not have the time to catch up with each other.
- People often give up a good job opportunity because of transport and location. As the saying goes, “no pain no gain”. Short term suffering is better than losing a good opportunity. I will definitely go for it, unless there are some other factors that I may need to consider at that time (eg: parents’ health).
- Many people let problems to make their life tough, instead of solving them. Problems are meant to be solved. If no actions are taken, a problem will forever remain as a problem.
- We were striving hard to get a “nice certificate” during our studies. But these certificates are merely the key to get for an interview. There are much more skills that we need to learn other than the facts from the books, and these skills have proved to be much more useful in the future.
- The worst part of a wedding is the wedding dinner. If you invite guests A, then you must invite guest B as they both know you. Then, if you invite guest B, then you must invite guest C. In the end, you will need to invite many people. However, can you afford to invite so many people? If yes, go ahead. If no, you will have a headache selecting the people to invite. Wedding is no longer economical. The wedding photos itself need more than RM3K.
- As we earn more money, we have less time to spend them.
- We like Friday and hate Monday.
My Birthday
December 6 is my birthday, it is also Huwi Yin’s birthday. Birthday means that I have grown older. Does that mean that I am wiser now? I think it’s still the same. This year I didn’t get to eat any birthday cakes. Does that mean that I unable to make wishes and thus, my wishes won’t come true? I had dinners on the 5th and on my birthday. I feel that I am starting to hate food… I don’t want to eat anymore… Since it is a festive season, it is impossible to reduce “food load”. I received some presents from my friends and colleagues. Special thanks to Christine, Kim Sheng, Khim Foong, Kelly, Hui Shan, Khai, Pei Ling, Siew Ean, Yen Ching, Cheah Jing, Lay Leng, Yean Hong, Cheah Chee, Huey Sze, Queena, Jin and those names not mentioned. After living on Mother Earth for more than 22 years, I have many pleasant and unpleasant memories. There are so many things that I can recall now. When I reach the age of 30, there will be even more! Wonder if my internal memory will get overloaded by then.
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
December~
December is here! It is the month that I am looking forward the most throughout the year due to several reasons. December is a holiday season and sales is available everywhere, one of the best seasons to shop other than the Shopping carnival around September. As Christmas is approaching, there are beautiful decorations in all the major shopping complex. I am always looking forward to see those cute artificial snowmen and well decorated Christmas trees. They always make me feel excited even though I have being seeing them every year around this season.
December 1, Friday – I rushed to the PC fair at PISA immediately after my work. A heavy traffic jam was expected to occur as there were many events occurring during the weekends. This includes the opening of the new shopping complex, Queensbay Mall. It was raining heavily as soon as I departed from my company. The traffic jam is not as bad as I thought. I met several high school friends there, working as part-time workers for the fair. It is their semester break now. In addition, I managed to get some goodies. It was a satisfying purchase. I spent around RM130 for a webcam, card reader, headset and 25 pieces of DVD+R. I was having a nice time playing with my new 1.3 Megapixel webcam on that night. The video is clear and there is not much lagging from my side.
December 3, Sunday - Last Sunday I took my Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) Level 2. I met some ex-classmates there, Lee Wei and (I cannot remember her name). They were attempting the Level 4 exam. The exam didn’t go well, especially Paper 2, the listening test. There maybe something wrong with the CD as there is a serious vibration for many questions in Part I. Perhaps they are trying to test our listening skills in various situations as well? Overall, I feel that I am going to fail for another time this year, even though I am able to answer more questions this time. God please bless me… After my exam, I went to the steamboat shop at Sg. Dua for a primary school gathering. It was a sudden gathering. Lay Fen message me the night before thru MSN messenger and I was a bit surprise. A total of 12 people attended the gathering. It is good to meet so many people again, after such a long time. Some I haven’t see them for around 10 years. They sure have change (appearance). We finished dining at around 10pm. It feels so weird after the exam, with nothing much to do. It is like losing a direction.
December 1, Friday – I rushed to the PC fair at PISA immediately after my work. A heavy traffic jam was expected to occur as there were many events occurring during the weekends. This includes the opening of the new shopping complex, Queensbay Mall. It was raining heavily as soon as I departed from my company. The traffic jam is not as bad as I thought. I met several high school friends there, working as part-time workers for the fair. It is their semester break now. In addition, I managed to get some goodies. It was a satisfying purchase. I spent around RM130 for a webcam, card reader, headset and 25 pieces of DVD+R. I was having a nice time playing with my new 1.3 Megapixel webcam on that night. The video is clear and there is not much lagging from my side.
December 3, Sunday - Last Sunday I took my Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) Level 2. I met some ex-classmates there, Lee Wei and (I cannot remember her name). They were attempting the Level 4 exam. The exam didn’t go well, especially Paper 2, the listening test. There maybe something wrong with the CD as there is a serious vibration for many questions in Part I. Perhaps they are trying to test our listening skills in various situations as well? Overall, I feel that I am going to fail for another time this year, even though I am able to answer more questions this time. God please bless me… After my exam, I went to the steamboat shop at Sg. Dua for a primary school gathering. It was a sudden gathering. Lay Fen message me the night before thru MSN messenger and I was a bit surprise. A total of 12 people attended the gathering. It is good to meet so many people again, after such a long time. Some I haven’t see them for around 10 years. They sure have change (appearance). We finished dining at around 10pm. It feels so weird after the exam, with nothing much to do. It is like losing a direction.
November Events
Festive season is around the corner. It is also a season of food, food and more food. A week ago, I completed my second pot of clay flowers, Hyacinth Heaven. It is a plant that grows during the winter, a perfect tree for this season. The office now is filled with Christmas trees, snowman, penguins and other Christmas decorations. Holiday mood is in the air. I still remember last year, around this period of time, Christoph showed me snowing scene outside of his room using his videocam. The scenery out there is very bright. The whole are was covered up by snow. I felt like as if I had just seen Heaven.
As year end is approaching, there are many dinners. November 22, Wednesday - There was a dinner organized by an extended team as an appreciation of the support we provide throughout the year. It was a luxurious dinner at Prawn Village, a restaurant very near to my company. My favorite dish of the night is cheese and prawns. The first runner up would be the fish dish. The fish slices were “smooth” and delicious.
November 24, Friday - I attended the Waseda Brass Concert jointly organized by Japan Embassy and University Science Malaysia (USM) in Dewan Budaya, USM. Admission was free. The hall was almost full. I was not particularly interested in brass. Since the concert was free and I have not attended any concerts for more than a year, I decided to give it a try. It was raining heavily on that night and traffic jam was extremely heavy around the island, as a lot of places were slightly flooded and many people were rushing to go home on this last day of work for the week. I almost gave up attending concert, but luckily I didn’t. It was a wonderful concert and changed my perceptions towards brass. With only brass instruments, it is possible to perform very wonderful music. My favorite member would be the conductor. Besides being the youngest member of the band, he is a very spirited and funny conductor. I felt like dancing while watching him conducting the band.
November 26, Sunday – I went to Gurney Plaza with Queena. The main event of the day was watching the movie “Step Up”. It was a very inspiring and wonderful movie. It was all dancing, classical + modern. The opening of the movie is well down, showing the contrast between ballet and modern dance. It is movie worth watching! In addition, the soundtrack is nice. Before the movie, I had lunch at Food Loaf. We called it as the “high-class food court”. It is like a food court, there are many types of delicacies to choose from – Italian, Japanese, Korean, Western and local cuisines, everything under one hub. The atmosphere is very nice. The view from the glass is very nice. The price there is of KL standard and the servings are a lot. The waiters and waitresses there are very friendly. I am satisfied with my Manhantten Market Platter, with a big piece of fish and chips, mashed potatoes, 3 fried prawns, BBQ squids and some salad. It is a place worth visiting once in a while (unless you are rich enough to visit there for meals everyday).
Last but not least, I would like thank Yushu for wonderful pictures of Korea, especially the fireworks one ^^
As year end is approaching, there are many dinners. November 22, Wednesday - There was a dinner organized by an extended team as an appreciation of the support we provide throughout the year. It was a luxurious dinner at Prawn Village, a restaurant very near to my company. My favorite dish of the night is cheese and prawns. The first runner up would be the fish dish. The fish slices were “smooth” and delicious.
November 24, Friday - I attended the Waseda Brass Concert jointly organized by Japan Embassy and University Science Malaysia (USM) in Dewan Budaya, USM. Admission was free. The hall was almost full. I was not particularly interested in brass. Since the concert was free and I have not attended any concerts for more than a year, I decided to give it a try. It was raining heavily on that night and traffic jam was extremely heavy around the island, as a lot of places were slightly flooded and many people were rushing to go home on this last day of work for the week. I almost gave up attending concert, but luckily I didn’t. It was a wonderful concert and changed my perceptions towards brass. With only brass instruments, it is possible to perform very wonderful music. My favorite member would be the conductor. Besides being the youngest member of the band, he is a very spirited and funny conductor. I felt like dancing while watching him conducting the band.
November 26, Sunday – I went to Gurney Plaza with Queena. The main event of the day was watching the movie “Step Up”. It was a very inspiring and wonderful movie. It was all dancing, classical + modern. The opening of the movie is well down, showing the contrast between ballet and modern dance. It is movie worth watching! In addition, the soundtrack is nice. Before the movie, I had lunch at Food Loaf. We called it as the “high-class food court”. It is like a food court, there are many types of delicacies to choose from – Italian, Japanese, Korean, Western and local cuisines, everything under one hub. The atmosphere is very nice. The view from the glass is very nice. The price there is of KL standard and the servings are a lot. The waiters and waitresses there are very friendly. I am satisfied with my Manhantten Market Platter, with a big piece of fish and chips, mashed potatoes, 3 fried prawns, BBQ squids and some salad. It is a place worth visiting once in a while (unless you are rich enough to visit there for meals everyday).
Last but not least, I would like thank Yushu for wonderful pictures of Korea, especially the fireworks one ^^
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Thought of the Month
It’s been around 3 weeks since I last blogged. I am not very busy but getting lazy to update my blog. Many things happened since then and I have being doing some thinking. There are a number of farewells to attend to, including my ex-director and extended team member, Jessie Lim.
Several pregnant ladies around me are going to give birth soon or had already given birth. They shared some of their experience with me, such as their back pain when they try to stretch out when tired, their legs becomes swollen, their babies kicking them in their tummy, food that they cannot eat when they are pregnant, change in their eating habits while pregnant and things to take care of after giving birth. Pregnant can actually be so troublesome. I never think of that at all. The most I could think of is only morning sickness and food to take care of.
On the other hand, I am hearing news on people who passed away due to cancer. Cancer has become so common nowadays. I wonder if my friends or relatives will be leaving me suddenly.
After working, I begin to cherish my school days and the precious moments that I once had with my friends. There are many things that we had always taken for granted and only appreciate it when we lose it. I really miss some of the moments that I had during my university life. Working life can never be the same as university life, no matter how I think of it. I always wish that I could further my studies again so that I can enjoy the life being a student again. However, this doesn’t mean that I will be taking a course that I have no interest in. Perhaps, sometimes, memories are meant to be treasured. That’s what that makes them valuable. We must learn to move forward and enjoy the future, as how we cherish our memories.
I seem to be meeting people who remind me of some other people I know. Not because of their looks, but the way they talk and expressing themselves. It makes me feel warm because I feel like I have known them before that.
There are times that I feel that my “battery” is running low. After recharging, I feel full of energy again and move forward. Even for rechargeable batteries, they will be spoilt one day. But, I hope that all my dreams are fulfilled before it is not rechargeable anymore.
Several pregnant ladies around me are going to give birth soon or had already given birth. They shared some of their experience with me, such as their back pain when they try to stretch out when tired, their legs becomes swollen, their babies kicking them in their tummy, food that they cannot eat when they are pregnant, change in their eating habits while pregnant and things to take care of after giving birth. Pregnant can actually be so troublesome. I never think of that at all. The most I could think of is only morning sickness and food to take care of.
On the other hand, I am hearing news on people who passed away due to cancer. Cancer has become so common nowadays. I wonder if my friends or relatives will be leaving me suddenly.
After working, I begin to cherish my school days and the precious moments that I once had with my friends. There are many things that we had always taken for granted and only appreciate it when we lose it. I really miss some of the moments that I had during my university life. Working life can never be the same as university life, no matter how I think of it. I always wish that I could further my studies again so that I can enjoy the life being a student again. However, this doesn’t mean that I will be taking a course that I have no interest in. Perhaps, sometimes, memories are meant to be treasured. That’s what that makes them valuable. We must learn to move forward and enjoy the future, as how we cherish our memories.
I seem to be meeting people who remind me of some other people I know. Not because of their looks, but the way they talk and expressing themselves. It makes me feel warm because I feel like I have known them before that.
There are times that I feel that my “battery” is running low. After recharging, I feel full of energy again and move forward. Even for rechargeable batteries, they will be spoilt one day. But, I hope that all my dreams are fulfilled before it is not rechargeable anymore.
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Deeparaya
When Deepavali + Hari Raya, it becomes Deeparaya. Deepavali fell on October 21 whereas Hari Raya fell on October 24 and 25 this year. I wasn’t really celebrating the festival but did visit a friend’s house. Most of my friends who are from other states rushed back to their hometowns. The atmosphere was in the air. I wonder how the celebration is over in Korea. Is there any party? Suddenly I miss the “bah kuh teh”, with a minimum amount of pork and a lot of potatoes. I did not miss the taste, but the fun when cooking the dish. It is like a tradition to have “bah kuh teh” whenever we are celebrating something over in Korea. This tradition seems to remain even after I leave.
The haze here is on and off. The situation is not so terrible in Penang due to the frequent down pour. It does not affect our view sight at least. Some people were still barbecuing despite the hazy weather. Some buses, motorcycles and trucks are emitting black smoke and I wonder why they are still on the streets, polluting the environment. The authority should really take some actions to improve on the current situation. At least, they should educate the public on their responsibilities to keep the environment free from more pollutants.
I watched “The Prestige” on the first day of Hari Raya with my brother in Prangin Mall.
The synopsis from Golden Screen Cinema is:
In 1878 two young stage magicians clash in a darkened saloon during the course of a fraudulent seance. From this moment on, their lives become webs of deceit and exposure, secrets and revelations, as they feud to outwit and destroy one another. Their rivalry takes them both to the peak of their careers, but with terrible consequences.
There is a lot of suspense in the movie and a lot of flashbacks. Even though it is a bit confusing mixing flashbacks and current happenings together, we managed to get the whole picture of the storyline. The story is somewhat unique, about the life of 2 magicians, the sacrifices that they made for their careers and the ending is unexpected. This is a non-action movie. I cannot tell for sure if the ending is a good one. But, the morale of the story is, it is better to forgive than to revenge.
The haze here is on and off. The situation is not so terrible in Penang due to the frequent down pour. It does not affect our view sight at least. Some people were still barbecuing despite the hazy weather. Some buses, motorcycles and trucks are emitting black smoke and I wonder why they are still on the streets, polluting the environment. The authority should really take some actions to improve on the current situation. At least, they should educate the public on their responsibilities to keep the environment free from more pollutants.
I watched “The Prestige” on the first day of Hari Raya with my brother in Prangin Mall.
The synopsis from Golden Screen Cinema is:
In 1878 two young stage magicians clash in a darkened saloon during the course of a fraudulent seance. From this moment on, their lives become webs of deceit and exposure, secrets and revelations, as they feud to outwit and destroy one another. Their rivalry takes them both to the peak of their careers, but with terrible consequences.
There is a lot of suspense in the movie and a lot of flashbacks. Even though it is a bit confusing mixing flashbacks and current happenings together, we managed to get the whole picture of the storyline. The story is somewhat unique, about the life of 2 magicians, the sacrifices that they made for their careers and the ending is unexpected. This is a non-action movie. I cannot tell for sure if the ending is a good one. But, the morale of the story is, it is better to forgive than to revenge.
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