Nanjing 南京

I just came back from a 5D4N Nanjing (南京) trip. It is a 5 hours plane ride from Singapore. This time I went over to this place for an official visit to a local university - South East University (东南大学).


I stayed at the hotel in the university which is called Liu Yuan Hotel(榴园宾馆) . It is a 3 stars hotel in charge by South East University. It is rather easy access to the school and room rate is quite affordable at RMB320 (~S$64) with all the necessities. But the breakfast is rather bad. Very typical Chinese breakfast and the timing is short. They only open from 7am - 9am. Lazy bum who wake up late, you are on your own.


Besides the visit to school, I did get sometime to shop and visit some tourist spots. They are:

1. Fu Zi Miao (夫子庙): This is the place where scholars take the imperial exam during the ancient times. Now it is area of shopping and local food such as smelly bean curd (臭豆腐), Bing Tang Hu Lu (冰糖葫芦) etc... There are many restaurants and fast food in these areas.


2. Ming Xiao Ling (明孝陵): This is the tomb of the first emperor of Ming dynasty (明朝) - Zhu Yuan Zhang (朱元璋).


3. Zhong Shan Ling (中山陵): Just next to Ming Xiao Ling is the tomb of the founder of KMT (国民党) who overthrown the Qing dynasty (清朝) - Sun Zhong Shan (孙中山). I feel that this mausoleum is much grander and nicer than Ming Xiao Ling.


4. Xuan Zhuang Si (玄奘寺): This is the temple where the ashes of Tang San Zang (唐三藏) is located. If you are familiar with the Chinese novel Journey to the West (西游记), then you should know who he is. Fann Wong (范文芳) also visited this place before and took a photo with the Abbot of this temple.


5. Zhong Hua Men (中华门): This is the wall built during the Ming dynasty to protect the city from enemies. It took 21 years to completely built the 32km long wall and is the grandest of all city wall in China.

6. Xuan Wu Lake (玄武湖): A very large park with nice scenery.

Canadian Pizza

Today we ate at the new canteen. It has Canadian Pizza! We ordered 3 regular ones. They takes quite a while to make but still bearable. The Pizza is quite nice. But cannot eat this often. Ex and not to mentioned fattening!

三国之见龙卸甲 Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon

I just came back from watching Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon. I feel it is not too bad. But too much of such shows for the past few years and mostly acted by Andy Lau will make you feel confused or bored. This show only takes a bit of the history and create a story of Zhao Zilong (Zhao Yun) acted by Andy Lau. The rest of the casts have very minor role. Maggie Q looks weird in the show and appears only at end of the show. She is more like guest starring and Sammo Hung is like a supporting cast. The fighting scenes are ok but looks too familiar in other similar shows. Overall, it is watchable.

Secret Recipe

I just went for dinner at Secret Recipe in VivoCity and it is rather a bad experience. Firstly, they dun served ice water but rather we have to pay $0.50 for a bottle of distilled water. I always dislike going to such restaurant which dun serve free flow of ice water cos I feel the cost for such thing is low. Next, I order a pumpkin soup and my friend order a mushroom soup. Both are disappointing. The pumpkin soup tastes like prata curry and mushroom soup tastes quite bland.


Then, I order a chicken as main dish. The food is served quite fast and it looks tasty. But who knows I eat until halfway I saw a string or hair in my chicken!!! The saving grace is I asked for a replacement and it is done without question asked.


I also order a green apple juice which tastes well, luckily! Overall, I feel not quite a good feeling. Maybe I will just buy the cake or dessert and skip the meal.

Nokia E90

Lately I purchase Nokia E90 out of fun. It is to replace by dying Nokia N80. So far I had used it for a week and I totally love it. Though it may looks big and heavy for many, I feel it suits me perfectly. Makes me look very professional and macho. Haha!!!! Any way, this piece of equipment has many cool functions and so far so good for me. I am going to explore it more. Hope it can last me for at least another year.

Claypot Chicken Rice

Today I went to eat claypot chicken rice at Clementi. It is recommended by a friend. He brought me to this place which I dun even know it existed. It uses charcoal to cook the thing. Very traditional. But it takes quite sometime. We waited for about 30 mins before our food comes. 4 of us ate $15 set. Hee.. It is quite nice.

Murphy's Law

Today I rather bad luck. Both my phones got problem. One no battery and another spoil. Usually when my phone in good condition, no one bothers to find me. Just when something like this arises, many people looking for me and cannot get me. Ah! Murphy's Law indeed!

Kuala Lumpur

I just came back from a 3D2N Kuala Lumpur trip. It is a holiday on friday and I make good use of this long weekend to fly over to KL. I took Tiger Air as the timing is good for me. But I feel it is better to take Jet Star next time. Reason is simply due to the inconvenience of taking the flight at Budget terminal at both Singapore and KL.

Any way, on the first day I reach KL central at around 1pm. I check into Boulevard Hotel at Mid Valley. This hotel is strongly recommended by a friend living in KL and is quite good. Room is quite spacious and I stayed at the executive floor at level 27. I get a nice view and get to drink and eat freely on its executive lounge. Haha.. But the breakfast variety is a bit let down. My friend staying in KL took half day off and bring me around. He first drove us to Putrajaya. This is a place where the new federal administrative centre is. It consists of several government offices. Prime minister's office is there as well. There is also the Putra Mosque.


Then, we continue our journey to a dragon fruit farm. It is somewhere near Sepang F1 International Circuit where so coincidently there is a match over the period I stay. I bought 2 dragon fruits which have red flesh for RM9 per kg.


In the evening, we went to eat steamboat buffet at Yuen restaurant recommended by my friend. There are many variety of food and the soup base is very nice! I eat until very full!


After eating, we still went to something like those 24 hours prata stall in Singapore for supper. But we were very full at that time. So we just order a mango freeze at this popular stall called Murni. The drink comes in quite huge portion! It is only until 12am+ then my friend sent me back to hotel. I was quite embarrassed as he spent a lot of time and money (road toll) bringing me around. Haha. So I invited him to Singapore.


The second day is more of a shopping trip for me. My KL friend has to go to another town for work. So he could not join us. My friend and I went on a shopping spree. We first went to Pavilion shopping mall. It opened quite recently and it is something like Paragon shopping mall where the stores are all quite upclass. This shopping mall is huge and I spent almost half a day there. Tangs opened it branch here and have a good sales. I bought 2 working shirts for 60% off! Then bought a tie over at Topman at 20% off and a t-shirt at Parkson at 50% off!! We have our lunch there at Laksa Shack. I ordered a ABC drink and Laksa. They taste quite good.




Then, we proceed to Sungei Wang and walk walk. I bought a Bluetooth dongle for RM16! It is really a steal! It is quite ex in Singapore. Guess I got a good deal. Haha. After exploring Sungei Wang which is very crowded, we pop over to Berjaya Times Square. We walk around and find nothing interesting. So we went for dinner instead at Uncle Duck. We ordered a roast duck which is their specialty and hor fun. Then, we quickly made our way to Mid Valley shopping mall and grab some toys for my niece and nephew. After that, we pop over to Jusco supermarket and grab a few packets of coffee and snacks. Finally, we end the day by catching a midnight show at the cinema Mid Valley shopping mall.


The last day we woke up, have our breakfast and dash to airport. Then, it is home sweet home. I hope to see my KL friend soon in Singapore. Any way, with budget airline, I am thinking of going to KL once a year to shop. I feel with the great discounts and lots of mega malls, I have a much better shopping experience than in Singapore.

The Spiderwick Chronicles

I just came back from watching the midnight show: The Spiderwick Chronicles. This time a bit different is I caught this in KL. Hee.. The cinema is just right below my hotel. The seat is very comfortable. Better than Singapore one and only RM11!. Any way, I feel this show is not too bad. A bit like muppets babbies. I think the movie is to target the children so not much of the violence and story a bit on the simple side. It also has it cute moments. But I feel that the ending is a bit simple. Overall, this show is watchable.

Retreat

I just came back from my company retreat. This time round I feel our retreat a bit more serious. Last time is just gather together, brain storm. eat, drink, play relax. This time round we discussed some more serious and worse thing is I got to present some issues. Boring! Any way, we end up playing bowling. Haha. Only two games and my legs already aching. Terrible! Old liao.

Jeff Chang concert

I just came back from Jeff Chang's concert. It has been a long time since he comes to Singapore for his concert. This time he worked with NAFA to put up this fine performance. The whole atmosphere is quite classy. From what I see, the seats are about 99% full. I bought the 2nd most ex ticket. He sang many of his hit songs during the 2.5 hours concert. Many are from his EMI days. But there are also many hit songs he did not sing which I am a bit disappointed. However, he did sang 2 new songs. I particularly like his "Mu Dan You" (Worrying Peony). It is beijing opera + a bit of R&B. Even my friend, who dun really like Jeff Chang, loves this song and give positive rating for his live singing. I am now waiting for his latest album to be out in April.

IT Show 2008

This year IT show I did not go cos I was too busy. I heard from a friend that went said it is extremely crazy! The show is extremely crowded. Any way, I browse through some brochures posted online by some good people and found that the things I wanted not really have a big price cut. Goodies given also so so only. That is why I decided to give it a miss. I went to East Coast for seafood instead. Haha. Food is very nice!

Violin

Today I had a small violin performance. It was organised by my music teacher and many of his students were involved. I was asked by him if I wanted to take part. At first I say no cos I think I will feel nervous and perform badly. But part of me wanted to perform as I think it will be fun. So I agree. I played the song "Ju Hua Tai" (Theme song of curse of the golden flower) together with a lady lawyer. I invited my friends and family to come and watch my performance. Overall, they said not too bad. Haha. Ok lah. This boost my confidence level a bit.

Hong Kong

I just came back from a 4D3N Hong Kong trip. My cousin who lives in Hong Kong invited us to attend his wedding dinner. So my family and I flew over there to attend his wedding dinner. We departed from Changi Airport Terminal 3 and it is really nice and big. But I feel it looks a bit like Hong Kong airport. Any way, it is empty now as only SIA flights arrived and departed from there. So the custom is rather fast as there are not many people.


On the first day, my mum and my sis-in-law have to set their hair for the wedding dinner. So while they are doing their hair, the rest of us just wondered around. After they are done, we went back to hotel and get ready for the wedding dinner. The dinner started quite late at around 9pm and ended at around 11.30pm. Lucky I booked the same hotel as the wedding dinner was held which is Marco Polo, a very nice 5 stars hotel. The room is huge and view is fantastic. But too bad, Hong Kong air quality is quite bad.

On the second day, we checked out the hotel and checked into the second hotel, L'Hotel which a four star hotel on Hong Kong island. This hotel is very close to where our relative stay. I stay in a suite and the room is also very nice and large. The toilet is very interesting. It is an open concept. Very suitable for couples. After a very nice morning dim sum, my relatives bring us to an offshore island Cheung Chau to eat seafood. So we spent 1 whole day there on the island. The food there is very nice. This island is more or a resort and we spend a whole day exploring the island on foot.

On the third day, we went to the peak and to Madame Tussaud. It is quite interesting to see so many wax figures of famous people. I saw Jay Chou and cannot believe how short he is. Then, we went back to hotel and take a rest and about 6pm we went to shop. After a while, we went to my auntie house cos my brother never been there before. We stayed there for 2 hours and then went to eat steamboat for dinner at around 10pm. We eat until 12.30am. I love Hong Kong! So late the restaurant still open.


Last day, I quickly do some last minute shopping cos I got only an hour plus to shop as we need to leave for airport by around 2pm. At the airport, I did manage to eat the mango dessert at Xu Liu Shan. Hehe. Any way, March weather is nice. I think I will go Hong Kong at least once a year and in March.

Dinner and Dance

I just came back from my company D&D. This year I quite lucky. I got 2 awards (1 is personal and another is group award) and got 1 mp3 player during lucky draw. Haha!! Any way, I went on stage 3 times and due to this many people know me liao. Haha. Ok, must be low profile a bit.

L Change the World

Just watch L Change the World. This is a spin off of Death Note and talking about the last few days of L before he dies. I feel that this time round the battle of wits is not as good as the previous. But overall still ok lah. Got some effects not bad.

Dim Sum Dollies in The History of Singapore!

Today I went to watch a local musical production called Dim Sum Dollies in The History of Singapore! It is really wacky! My cousin initially asked me if I am interested to watch or not and I sort of go:"Hmm.. What kind of show is that? Nice meh?". But after watching the show, it really blew me off.

This 2 hours production is sort of a crash course mostly reflecting Singapore social issues and they are quite updated ranging from Ministers pay rise to Integrated resorts to F1 Singapore Grand Prix and not forgetting the winning of hosting 2010 Youth Olympic. The casts give a very solid performance. The most impressive things are the speed of changing clothes for the next scene and the imitation of how different races speak. Once again, this production is truly world class but some jokes I think only locals can appreciate. Ang moooo might not get it. Haha...

Orchard Road not crowded

I just came back from Orchard Road and guess what? Tonight is really empty. I wonder what other events are on? Is it the air show? I went to major shopping malls and the crowds is very good! Even with tonnes of sales going on but the queue at the cashier is very short! In fact, when I was in Isetan, there are no customers at the cashier when I paid up. I was 2nd over at Tangs. The walkway is also not crowded and easy to walk. The traffic is smooth. In fact, it is something like a weekday. Is it due to ERP also? Whatever it is, I feel tonight is a freak weekend for Orchard Road.

Surprise!!

Today got a pleasant surprise when someone in my company told me I won an award. This is because I feel that I did quite ok only for that category. But since they want to give me a award, I take loh! Haha. Dun question too much.

长江7号 CJ7

I just came back from watching this show. It is a bit different from previous Stephen Chow's movies. This time the story is a little bit more "serious" though also has funny elements. It is quite touching also. The story flow is good and the casts give quite a good performance. But the special effects I feel is not as good as his previous movies. Overall, it is a good family movie.

Ho Chi Minh City

I just came back from a 4D trips to Ho Chi Minh City over the Chinese New Year. This place initially I tot is quite backward. But I was wrong. I reached their international airport which is new. The counters are many to facilitate the crowds. I think got at least 10 unlike many places. Then, another stereotype thinking is that side should have no real branded goods like LV or Gucci. But I was wrong again. The place I stay is district 1 which I think equivalent to our Orchard Road. That area has no lack of branded stuffs and they are all real as their boutiques are housed inside 5 stars hotels.

The whole trip is more of educational trip. Haha. We went to see the reunification palace. This is the place where Vietnam war officially ended.


Then there is cu chi tunnel which is important to Vietnamese where they fight against US in the Vietnam war.


Then we also went to Mekong river. The boat ride gives me a National Geographic feeling. Haha. Overall, the trip is refreshing but just that I feel the food there is not suitable for me. The things are all boiled vegetable and cold tea. Maybe the tour guide did not bring us to the correct place to eat ba. Maybe I will visit this place again.

Last Pig Day

Just had my reunion dinner. Today is really a busy day for me. Busy cleaning up my room. Finally it has almost formed into the position I desired. Hee... Today is the last day of the pig year before the rat year comes. I hereby wish everyone a happy lunar new year! See you next year!

Rambo 4

I just came back from watching Rambo 4. Ok, I also dunno why I watch this. But any way, it is not as bad as I tot. The movie is quite short and the story nothing much. But the shooting, actions and story flow quite good. But quite violent also. Overall, not too bad.

Extremely busy!

Lately I am so busy with my work until no time to blog! Really feel stressful at certain times. Sometimes really feel like quitting and idle for 6 months. But my boss quite good. If leave like that, a bit no good. I will monitor for say another year. If my health get any worse due to my work, I think I really got to retire. Haha!

Bintan

I just came back from Bintan. The boat ride is about 1 hour. When you reach there, someone from the hotel you stay will come and pick you up. I feel this place is good for relaxing and nothing else. This is because the things there are not cheap. Most of the time I sit by the beach and enjoy the breeze! Very relaxing!

Busy!

This whole week I am so busy! Not too mention unlucky as well! Haha. Any way, I hope to have time to relax soon.

Bad luck!

Today really bad luck! A lot of things I feel not smooth today. Sian. Step on many people toes! Sigh.... But hope for the best tomorrow. Sleep over it!

Aliens versus Predator 2

I just came back from watching this show. Overall, I feel ok only. Not really fantastic. The story flow is good. Not boring. But I feel that the fighting scenes are not good. The end fight dunno who fight who cos it is very dark. Some scenes are also too shocking and extreme. But I feel still can watch lah if got nothing to do.

Good people

Today I lost a credit card bill in a coffee shop. I walked around and cannot find. A group of uncles saw me wondering around looking for something and then they ask me if I lost something. I said yes and they point me to right direction. Finally I found it. Haha. Who say there are no nice person around? Hee... Thank you uncles.

I am Legend

I just came back from watching I am Legend. This show I feel is extremely boring. The story plot might be nice but the story flow is really slow. The ending is bad and the computer graphics for the monsters is so computer. Over all, I feel can give it a miss.

Happy New Year 2008!

Today is the first day of 2008! Wish everyone have a good start! Happy new year!

Goodbye 2007!

Today is the last day of 2007! I have many good things happened to me in this year! Hope everyone too! See you next year!!

Inflation!

Lately everything increases price! I just bought a FHM magazine and it increases from $6 to $7! A rise of 16.67%! I am not sure if only this issue or every issue. If every issue, I will cut down from 2 FHM (Jun and Dec issue) per year to 1 FHM per year (Jun issue). So usually I will spent $12 per year on FHM. Next year onwards, I will only buy one which is $7. A cut in 41.67%.

My Nokia N80IE has bite the dust

After using it for 1 year and 1 month, my handphone suddenly got problem. When slide up and down, the screen will go blank. Sian! Of all timing, now spolit. But luckily, I got spare phone. So I can wait for good deal. Hee... The bright side is I got excuse to get that dream phone. Hoho!!