It's Snowing!

Snow feels like sand... only colder... whiter...and it melts... Ok, it is not like sand...

As seen from my apartment...



Around my apartment...







Beijing University!







Footprints in the snow...



Snowmen galore!

Day 5 - 6 - Shenzhen

Day 5 of our adventure was Shenzhen (SZ). My first impression of SZ was that it was not as safe as the other places we had visited so far. After checking into the hotel, we went shopping at a place called 老街 (Old Street). Maybe it was me but I had a feeling that everyone was eyeballing our wallets and valuables.

There was a group of kid beggars (3 to 7 years old) holding roses. Their modus operantus was that the oldest kid would distract you while the youngest kid would run from another direction and grab onto your leg. If you were caught in this kiddy grapple hold, you could only give the kid money or kick him away. People usually chose the former. 10 and I had to be very careful of these kids, pickpockets and also touts from all angles.

Our first meal of the day! 大家乐！It is a restaurant selling HK and Macau food (fast food style). It was also 10's favourite... She had been pointing 大家乐s out since we touched down at Macau. We ordered Pork Chop Sandwiches and Macoroni... Not too shabby but not filling leh!



They have pirated versions of everything in Shenzhen... They even managed to pirate Taipei's XiMenDing. It is called (creatively) DongMenDing!



Don't you think the name of this bakery sounds a bit... wrong? (I think only Singaporeans would understand)



Dinner was at the largest japanese restaurant in SZ (maybe even in Asia). It was 2 stories and was huge...



We had a personal chef cook for us vegetables, beef slices, frog legs and saba fish... Heavenly...



Yes, we were wearing 情侣装...



Our SZ hotel... now that's another story all together... we went back to our hotel and realised that the plumbing for the toilet had gone hay wire. The water from the shower could not flow out and we had a flooded toilet. But the worst thing was that the toilet bowl was spoilt and we could not flush. After eating so much, having a toilet that we cannot flush is a BAD, BAD thing! Maybe we should have followed the instructions before using...



Maybe not...

Look at what we had for breakfast the following morning...



Traditional Dim Sum... so good...

The rest of day was spent at a massage centre where we had foot/ body massages. 10 was not feeling well so she could not join us. Thank you for waiting for us for such a long time, dear. THANK YOU!

Next up: Shanghai! The city of bad air and blacker faces...

Day 3 and 4 - Hong Kong

We took a ferry from Zhu Hai to Hong Kong in the morning and checked into our hotel near 上环. First thing on our agenda... Need you ask? FOOD!!!



云吞 and Fried Udon with Pork Chop for breakfast... Yummy yummy yummy, we got love in our tummy!

We needed to take an electric tram to reach the nearest MRT station. Despite being to HK 5 to 6 times, this was my first experience taking the tram... so exciting!



Took the time on the tram to nourish our mal-nourish bodies (yeah right!) with "Mango Delux with Aloe Vera" (Basically a Mango drink with aloe and pomelo bits... Good stuff, cannot bluff...)



(10) Spent the whole afternoon shopping, shopping and more shopping... 2nd last stop on our agenda was 女人街, a large flea market baazaar place, something like Bugis...Oh, Ray met a celebrity at 女人街. Even took a picture with him... Think his name is 方大肚 or 方大臀...(not to be mistaken with 方大同)...lucky Ray!



So what's the last stop, you may be asking? FOOOD!!!

I had 车仔面 (not shown in the pic below), basically a combination of noodles, pig's blood, fish balls, radish etc... If you watched 食神， this was the dish that got 食神 in trouble... (a quote from the movie "大肠里面还有一坨屎，失败中的失败!"Unquote). Mine was 屎-free and very nice!!! Lucky lucky!



We also shared a bowl of prawn dumplings which was not in the picture for obvious reasons (because we couldn't wait...) and fried chee cheong fun (dish in the middle). Shoik!

10 had fried nissin noodles with egg and vegetables while Ray had the same thing with chicken wings (which by the way came very very late... Me thinks the chicken wings flew themselves in from Brazil... that's why it took so long.)

A little trivial for you: Did you know I acted in 赤壁? I am sure you saw me. I was the guy who got stab (x5) while chionging... oh, and also the guy who got burned and ran around in a blaze of fire... oh and I also doubled for 梁朝伟...'s leg hair. Don't believe? I got picture to proof...



We met Leidia and her cousin in Lan Kwai Fong, a famous HK drinking place for (what else...DUH) drinks...





Think I drank a bit too much that night but don't you think the beer in Hong Kong look a lot bigger than in Singapore?



To clear the alcohol, we simply had to have supper after drinks... simply had to lor...

Next day, we went Lantau island to visit the Big Buddha Temple. I am sure that is not the name of the temple but it is what the temple is famous for. Check it out!



Ray had been a real good boy this past year... *Pat on your head! Well done!



Will conclude today's post with pictures from the Big Buddha cos I feel that they are really nice and well, a picture paints a thousand words right?













Stay tuned as Rayzilla, Fatty Tan and the Water Bottle Princess make their way to Shenzhen and Shanghai NEXT! (Que Music from "The Bund" ... Deng Deng Deng... Deng Deng Deng...)

Day 1 and 2 - Macau and Zhu Hai

Ray, 10 and me left for our 10-day adventure on 30 Jan 2009. Here are the happy troopers!



It was 10's and my first experience taking a budget airline and we had prepared for the worst. It was not bad actually. It got us to our location on time and in one piece =).



Our first stop was Macau Airport.



Guess what??!! There is a Yaohan in Macau...



For those who don't know what Yaohan is, lucky for you...If you remember what Yaohan is, then you are my generation (or older) le... tee hee hee

We checked into our hotel in Zhu Hai and went in search of FOOD. P.S. you will see lots of pictures of food and us posing with food in the next few posts, so be prepared...

We had 煲仔饭 (Rice in Claypot) and for dessert, Mango Sago, Black Sesame paste and some egg thingie... It was GUUDDDD!!!





Now get this... even though Zhu Hai and Macau are seperated by a STREET... we had to clear customs every time we wanted to cross over to the other side. This was a mammoth task because...



of the 100000000000 people trying to cross over as well...

Do you know what Macau is famous for?


Egg Tarts?


Dong Ling Cha (Ice Lemon Tea)? Zhu Pa Bao (Pork Chop Sandwich)?

We had them all!!! Jealous or not...



We visited the Ma Zhu Ge (妈祖阁) next. Sailors used to pray for safety and protection in this temple before every voyage. Now, people bought windmills and offered it as a symbol of 风调雨顺 and 一路顺风.





After a temple, we visted a church on top of a hill... Didn't catch the name of the church though...




We were basking in the smoldering sunset...



when all of a sudden, in the distance, we spotted Rayzilla attacking an observation tower...



Who will save us? Will it be the King of Fighters, Fatty Tan?



Or 10 the Water Bottle Princess?



Casinos were next and we visited the Venetian, one of the newest and grandest casinos in Macau...







Cirque du Soliel was there but we didn't catch it cos it was too expensive and the timing did not fit our schedule.

Kua Dio Guee!!!


Didn't take much pictures in Zhu Hai cos we were too busy shopping and having massages. Do you believe that we went for body and foot massages at 11pm and finished at 3.30am? Shoik!



Didn't try this though... But I am sure if I tried it, I will have the 初恋的feel. 古人说得好：举头望明月，低头思故乡。 好诗，好诗...

This is Lover's road in Zhu Hai.



This is the view of Macau from Zhu Hai.



Next Post: Hong Kong... Stay tuned!