BEIJING TRIP

As many of you would know, I just came back from Beijing 3 days ago! (Right, now that it's 12am, it would be 4 days.) Didn't really have a chance to blog about it because I was procrastinating and on the other hand, I only had the day itself to rest and right after came parties after parties and celebrations after celebrations. The only reason why I'm able to blog about it now is because I came back early from a party/gathering and decided to force my lazy ass up to get my blog post going. Right now, I'm so damn tired I really wanna sleep ):

Anyhowzzzzzzzzzzz
AFTER 18 YEARS, I WENT TO BEIJING AGAIN!!

You must be really confused now wondering how did I even go to Beijing 18 years ago when I am 18 now. But well, I did! I went to Beijing when I was just 5 months old with my mummy to visit my dad who was handling a project over there!

This time, 2 of my brothers joined me and we went there together as a family.

This was really a contradicting decision for my family because my mum, doesn't buy things that are made/produced in China! Especially food. (YES I AM DAMN SERIOUS) Come to my house and check where all the food I've got at home were produced and you won't, I am pretty sure, YOU WON'T find one which was produced in China. (Unless my dad buys it but my mum would start nagging at him and get him to finish it on his own.)

She doesn't even buy the Japanese instant noodles which was my favorite brand of maggi mee now because they have stopped producing it in Japan and now changed to produce it in China ):
Probably a good thing though.
Because I used love eating instant noodles and I could have it on a daily basis. Now that she no longer allow us to buy it, I stopped eating it as often. (I think I only had it 8 times this year?!?!)

My dad was the one who was extremely happy when we decided to go to Beijing because he could meet up with his ex staffs and bring us around to see where his apartment was and where he used to work.

Pardon my following spam snaps of the plane and the clouds.
It has been 4 years since I last took the plane because during these 4 years, we only went by sea for our vacation, going on cruise to different countries or taking the ferry to Batam for a vacation at ClubMed.

Really dislike airplane's food. For my 6hrs trip there and back, I only took a mouthful of bread and didn't touch the rest of my food.

The bread was stale, the fish was dry and the tea was tasteless.
I know I shouldn't be expecting a lot from airplane's food but really, no matter how much I wanted to eat at the point of time, my appetite will just go from 100 to 0 the moment I take the first mouth.

Our trip was 11 days?! I'm confused myself as we took the plane on the 17th in the afternoon but only arrived there at 1am in the night. And we left on the 25th at 12am so it's technically 26th right?
HAHAH. Okay, now I probably got you people confused too.

We embarked on our trip in Beijing starting with a 4 day tour.

Reached Beijing at around 1am in the night and only arrived at the hotel around 2am. On the way to our hotel, we were told that there's a change in location.
This is what I call the "China Style" where even when you have booked the hotel, it is NOT CONFIRMED and you have to be at the hotel to confirm it or they will give your slot to other people.
So the tour agency told us that there was a last minute change in hotel location and we were being drove to this other hotel.

I haven't stayed in a 4 stars hotel before and have all along stayed in a 5 stars one. But I wouldn't say the hotel is lousy because from the flooring some of the materials used for the room, I can tell that it was once a good hotel but now, it's just old.

But honestly, the bed is shit I can feel the wire framing when I lie on it.

Woke up early after only a few hours of sleep for the tour.

And we went to visit the Palace.

The palace was hugeeee! But as far as I can remember, there wasn't as much to see as compared to Korea's palace.

I have this thing for snowman I got no idea why. They just look really cute and happy but sad at the same time.

OHOH.
And I'm not really in for going to cold countries because it's such a hassle. You have to put on numerous piece of clothing on and when you go indoors, you have to take it off and put it back on when you're going out again.

When I was in korea, it was such a hassle to put on and take off clothing especially because it would be really warm indoors as they would switch off the aircon and turn on the heater during winter seasons. But I guess it's better than having to feel cold even when you're indoors so I decided to make do with it.

BUTTTTT. Some shops in Beijing are seriously damn smart??!?! Not only did they not turn on the heater indoors, they freaking still have the aircon on and blowing. So each time I go indoors hoping to get away from the cold outside, I go indoors feeling just as cold. Zzz

Went for some shopping after that.
And because my brothers and I have always been hearing "ping tang hu lu" when ever we watch some shows of the olden days, we decided to try it!
It costs $3-4 for a stick.

Next day, we went to visit the Great Wall of China and be good soldiers.

Because there were leftover snow from the snowstorm a few days ago, the ice that were melting made it so damn slippery. Plus the steps were really steep and not all of the stairs have railings to hold on too, I was damn scared to fall and gave up halfway while my brothers and my mum went all the way to the top for that part of the Great Wall.

Went to take a walk along the "bu xing jie" at night. It's some place like orchard but cars are not allowed to travel side and to get to places, you have to walk.

Had "bing tang hu lu" again!

The 3rd day we were invited to this part of the palace which isn't opened to public.

No photography was allowed inside though. We went in and we were taught fengshui and how Beijing is a city made up of fengshui. And yes seriously, every single building in Beijing has it's purpose for the structure and the reason for where it is located because of their fengshui. lol.

So we were told to tell the fengshui teacher our year of birth and she could tell our fengshui.
And this was the exact words she said to me "Ni zhe ge ren de ge xing hen qiang. Hen zhi shuo. Ye fei chang shan liang. Sheng bian hen duo peng you. Dan ni xu yao zhu yi xiao ren. *turns to my mum* ji de yao zhu yi xiao ren. *turns back to me* yao zhu yi xiao ren.

After asking numerous number of people for their translation of what it could mean, I finally understood clearly.
She said "You have a strong personality. And you are very straight forward. (WA. Okay, true!) You are also extremely kind hearted. (HUH?!?! REALLY MEH!!) You have many friends around you but you have to beware of two headed snakes. *turns to my mum* Remember to be cautious of two headed snakes. *turns back to me* Must be cautious of two headed snakes.

Not sure how far I could trust what she said but she has got some degree or PHD in the studies of Fengshui. Yes, fengshui is not a believe or superstition but a study. Too lazy to explain here or find out more but I'll leave it as that.

We were brought to this health study building where the President of China has his health taken care of in the opposite building. And had foot massage. While having foot massage, there would be a few physicians going around to check our health. And there was this senior physician who came to me and immediately said I had a problem and started taking my pulse rate. He said my blood isn't circulating well and it would cause me problems.
OF COURSE MY PARENTS KNEW. But they just pretended they didn't know and asked what they should do. Then the physician started prescribing me this medicine which cost $800. SIAO LOR. And my dad sad no. After which, the physician doctor started lowering the price of the medicine and bargained with my dad.
DOCTORS GOT LIKE THAT ONE MEH!!?!??!

A few other of the people who were from our tour were also asked to buy some medication and theirs cost up to $1000. Of course we were smart enough not to.

And that's when my dad said to all of us, "This is how Beijing is like".
My dad's cousin is a doctor in China and she told my dad before that she wouldn't help a patient unless her patient gives her a red packet. Which is true. Our tour guide also told us the same thing. That in China, if you do not have money to pay for your medical fees, the doctors would basically leave you to die.

I HONESTLY THANK GOD FOR SINGAPORE. For the government who would help us pay some of our medical bills.
AND TO ALL THOSE DOCTORS WHO REALLY DO HAVE THE PASSION TO SAVE PEOPLE, THANK YOU.

I wanted so much to cry at the point of time seeing how the doctors were behaving. Getting us buy the medicine and trying to negotiate a good price so that we would buy the meds.
Really?
Is this what all doctors in Beijing are made for?

You are a doctor because you want to save lives.
Not because you want money.
Ah, whatever about that, don't wanna make this post all about how inhumane and twisted the doctors are.

We went on to our next location and found Saprino while we were in this "Fake goods mall"
And of course, after eating shitty food for so many days, we had to go in and get some good pizzas.

Plus I was real happy they had my favorite tabasco sauce! ^^

I'm not a fan of Chinese food. Like I have mentioned in my previous post, I don't like going to chinese restaurants at all. I'm okay with home cook food and I kinda love them. But I just don't like chinese food I got no idea why. Not talking about laksa or hokkien mee etc. Just talking about those individual dishes they serve in restaurants like fish, veggie etc.

Awhile later while we were having dinner, it started to snow!!
From what I know, it's a "miracle" to have snow! So in Singapore, it's like a double miracle if it snows here! Because for it to snow, 2 criteria must be fulfilled. 1st, the temperature must be at least 0 degrees. 2nd, it must rain. So snow comes down as a form of rain. But in the cold, it hardly rains and therefore, it rarely snows!

I didn't have a chance to see snow falling when I was in Korea and this time, I was lucky enough to see it in Beijing! I rushed out of the restaurant immediately trying to capture shots of it but failed ):

The fourth day was our last day with the tour before we go off to explore Beijing on our own.

The first stop was this factory that produces silk. Which ruined our whole mood early in the morning.
Basically, the whole of the 4 days with the tour showed us a lot about the bad side of China.
Our tour guide was good though. And so is the bus driver. I want to believe that every single one from China are good people just that they have a different culture.

Why did I say the bad side of China then?
Because for our 4 days of tour, my family and other 3 other families from our tour group have been buying all sorts of rubbish we didn't need for A HIGHER PRICE than what we can actually get it for. -Only because we wanted to help our tour guide save his face. So that the factories that our tour guide's agency made him bring us to would not be angry with him because his group of tourist didn't buy anything.

YES, it works like that in China.
And every time we were brought to a factory, the salesgirls would be begging us/negotiating with us, trying to get us to buy their stuffs.
Plus because they are being paid by commission, they would sell the things to us at like triple the actual price? DAMN BITCHES.

The factory we went to on the last day was the worst. They wouldn't let us and the tour guide leave as long as we didn't buy anything. We didn't need bed sheet covers or quilt covers!??! SO BUY FOR WHAT.

Nvm about that. My mum was interested in a silk cover and asked how much it is. The girl immediately  told my mum, 50000 RMB which is $1000 Sg.
My brothers and I were like "Go fuck yourselves!" Before that, their manger told us all the silk covers would be sold at 600RMB which is only like $200. So we asked the salesgirl why that difference and she said "oh, it's because this is the last piece" Last your lj! How can like that one? Oh, because it's the last piece so I shall x5 the amount and sell it to you.

My mum immediately said "no" and she started following my mum all over the place to persuade my mum. She thinks we're Bill Gates can sleep under a $1000 blanket. She finally asked my mum why we can't buy and my mum told her we can't afford.
Without hesitation, she decreased the price to $400. WOAH. SUCH A BIG DIFFERENCE. SO NOW, HOW DO WE TRUST YOU. And we refused to buy. We spent like 2hrs inside before they finally gave up and let us go. After which, when we were about to go off, they spoke ill about us. My brothers were all so pissed and they wanted to insult them.
Whatever lah, no pride beg people already then later wanna bad mouth us cause we didn't want to let you earn our money.

Can't blame them though, because their pay is really low and they only earn by commission.

My tour guide was held back for pretty long and he finally managed to get out.
Seeing us all unhappy back on the bus because of what happened, he tried to reschedule our trip for the day and took out all the factories that isn't compulsory for us to go to so that we would be able to enjoy our trip better.

Before we left the tour, we were brought to this jewelry shop which was huge.
This shop was being opened by the government for this family business after they sponsored jades for the Beijing Olympic.

When we were inside, the "shao dong" which means the son of the CEO of the company came to entertain us and brought us around personally. He also taught us how to differentiate a real pearl, jadeite and jade from a fake.

So because he humbled himself and brought us around, my dad decided to buy us all a piece of jade as souvenirs. The CEO's son also gave us each a pearl ring.

Left the tour group after that and we headed to our hotel.
Novotel.

Wished we could stay at St Regis there or Shangri La though. But because we had to go tour around ourselves for the next few days, my parents decided to choose one which is located at the Central area and just beside the subway.

The hotel was small but it was pretty good. Spring shower water and it is 5 stars.
Rested in the hotel for a little while and later on, my dad ex staffs came over to pick us up.

Like I said, my dad used to work in Beijing because he had to handle projects there.
And this time, because his staffs all heard about us going over to Beijing for a trip, they all flew back to Beijing to meet my dad.

The guy who picked us up book a room for us to have our dinner and I was in awe the moment I stepped in.
The room itself consist of a big dining hall, a living room and also a personal toilet!

Dinner was served and it was the first time my brothers and I saw such a huge suzy table!

Being my dad, he went to ask for the amount of the dinner and it cost $1000 O:
Of course they didn't allow my dad to pay but wow.
Most of my dad's ex staffs are now running their own business. And because my dad took real good care of them in the past and treated him as a part of his family (because we weren't with our dad when he was working and he were all alone there) so they were really nice to him.

My dad's staff got his driver to send us back while my dad went drinking with them after that.

Here's the jade my dad got for me!

And the pearl ring the shao dong gave us.

I pestered my parents many days to get an animal beanie. lol.

Breakfast next day was delightful.

I miss international breakfast so much!

I was so happy to hear from my mum that I don't have to eat chinese food anymore!!

Headed to the subway after breakfast and daddy took us to where his office was.

The next day, we took a bullet train to Tian Jin to visit the English Village.

Got the first class cabin!
Some people in China are really dkjfhsdkfh
They wanna sit in the first class seats but refuse to pay for it. There were a couple of times when my brother went to the toilet and some from the 2nd/3rd class cabin came and took my brothers seat till my mother told them to go away. ZZZ

Princesses have square faces too!! :P

Back in the city and we went to try Beijing's speciality.
Beijing's roasted duck!

We went to take the public bus the next day to the skiing resort because my brothers have been wanting to ski ever since we got break from our Korea trip.

And I made my first snowball!!

On our way back which was on Christmas Eve, we found RafflesCity!!
Such saving grace. It felt so family and so homely. I was so proud to be a Singaporean because the mall   is so much better than the rest of the mall in Beijing! (sorry, bias is me)

And like how it is like in Singapore, they got people to perform on the first level. Definitely a familiar sight.

It honestly made me appreciate Singapore so much more. The weather, the things, the government and all. 3rd day was just walking around the city and waiting for time to pass before we go to the airport.

OH. And I would like to clear the misconceptions many people have. Though Beijing is China, stuffs in Beijing aren't as cheap as China because Beijing is their capital. You can expect to be rich and of a higher class when you go to China but not Beijing. Because people in Beijing are rich. The average price of a top there cost $200 and stuffs in Singapore are much cheaper than in Beijing.
SO YUP! I'm happy to be back and to shop!

And it was really cold her me there. The temperature goes from 0 degrees to -16 degrees.
My brothers and I wore 5 layers and it was fine for my brothers but still freezing for me. I disliked the weather there so bad! I was shivering every single day!

Overall, it was a good experience though. But I don't think I'll ever have a reason to go back again.
1) Because I suck in Chinese and I couldn't read the menus there. 2) It's dirty and I don't like dirty places. 3) Every guy there smokes so I started coughing as soon as I got there. 4) I don't like Chinese food esp food from China. 5) I got laughed at a few times when I tried to communicate in chinese.
Oh, but my chinese did improve!!

Byeeeeeeeeeeeeee.