Visiting Beijing - Day 3

Day 3 of Beijing was my favorite day!!! Thinking about it still makes me grin from ear to ear. *Happiness*

As it was windy the previous night, smog had been blown away and what was left was clear blue sky!! Even our tour guide commented that such prefect day was hard to come by.

After breakfast, we set off at 8 in the morning. Like any other tour, we were brought to some traditional Chinese medicine factory. It was no fun and a waste of time in my opinion since the visit was not in our intended itinerary. I did not take many photos since we did not buy anything. We were supposed to set off for the Great Wall but again, some tour members spent too much time that we can only push the visit till after lunch.

A traditional TCM factory that sell miracle cream 

So that was when the excitement began. As our bus drove closer towards the Great wall, I could no longer contain my excitement, I can’t wait to get off the bus. I was ecstatic!! I jumped around like a little kid and can’t wait to conquer the wall. After a couple of group shots and a toilet break, we began the journey. Time check – 1.30 pm.

View from the carpark

Entrance to the Great Wall and that lady was our tour guide

Isn't it lovely?

Crowded at the beginning

Prefect day!!

It was an amazing feeling to be stepping on something built 600 years ago. Every step was a challenge because it was so steep. The higher I climb the lesser clothes I wore…  Haha!! It was a great workout and I was sweating like mad. LZ was so nice that he helped me carry my sweater and whatever extra load on me. 

A little more to go~

We never thought of giving up and were determined to complete the loop. Finally, after almost an hour, we reached the highest tower. It was surreal. The view from the tower was breathtaking and I was literally out of breath!! Yay, we conquered the Great wall of China!! Time check – 2.20pm. Since we were supposed to meet at the bus at 2.45 pm, we went into the *Ohh shit* mode.

 We reached the top!!

So we began to descend and the faster I walked, the scarier the steps seemed to me. I felt like my legs didn't belonged to me and my eyes could not differentiate steps from flat path. My calf started to ache and the journey seemed never ending.  By the time we reach the bus, it was already 3 pm. We already did our very best to be on time, and we’re glad everyone were genuinely happy for us that we conquered the loop, instead of blaming us for being late. =)

The next place we will be visiting was also one that I looked forward to. It was Empress Dowager Cixi’s favorite place and mine too!! The Summer Palace. Visiting the summer palace in the evening made it extra mesmerizing. As the sun sets behind the impressive lake, our hearts were captivated by the wondrous landscape. What a romantic place!!

Summer Palace

Willow tress swaying in the refreshing wind

The lake

Romantic sunset

The day finally ended after dinner but being extra energetic after our workout at the Great wall, we think it is not time to conclude the night just yet. So, together with another couple, we set off on our own again. This time, we went back to Wangfujin shopping street.

At Wangfujing 

Just fooling around while waiting for the lift

It was a relaxing night just strolling with LZ hand in hand, wandering aimlessly in the busy street of Beijing. That concluded our last night in Beijing. =)

Tip: Bring lip balm and hand moisturizer!! It was extremely dry and if u fancy a romantic kiss, keep your lips sexy~

Visiting Beijing - Day 2

Rise and shine!! Polluted air was causing some irritation to many of us and the golden red sun dawned upon the mystic city of Beijing. Our first stop of the day was the Grand Theatre, a dome shaped egg-like structure surrounded by man-made lake. Willow trees danced and swayed in the cool morning wind. We took a couple of shots before walking towards the first highlight of the day – Tiananmen Square.

Grand theatre

Willow tree swaying in the wind

Tiananmen Square was a short walk away and as the closer we were, the touristier it became. As China just celebrated National Day, the entire Square was well decorated with flowers! Great!! We were just in time to capture the sight.

Walking towards Tiananmen Square

China’s national flag stood proudly in the middle of the Square, welcoming tourist from around the world. In front of the Square was unmistakably the most recognizable portrait of the world – Mao Zedong. That was also the southern gate, or front gate of the Forbidden City.

Giant vase of flowers

Flag and us at Tiananmen Square

Southern Gate and Mao Zedong

Forbidden City is also known as 故宫. All I can say about that place was one word – magnificant!! I love the architecture and it was really a sight to behold. From the courts where high ranking officials met the emperor to the concubine’s chamber, every inch of the palace seemed to have an untold story.

Forbidden City

Hall of Supreme Harmony

The Han Chinese language and Manchu language 

Next up, we took a stroll at the imperial garden where members of the imperial family play chess and sip tea. Our tour guide mentioned that the imperial garden was the venue where the emperor selects his concubines between 13 to 18 years old from the best Manchu families.  

Very tall tree at the Imperial Garden

After an eventful morning, we had lunch before heading to a silk factory. I am not sure about other tour members, but I was not exactly awed by silk production since I had already seen it many times. As other women were busy picking up silk made quilt cover and shirts for their beloved husbands, LZ and I had a really nice and insightful chat with Uncle Mok. He is a man, who isn’t selfish about sharing his experiences to younger generations like us, and I like his sense of humor!!

Products of the silk factory

Some of our tour members were so engrossed with shopping that we exceed the time frame so much that the sun was setting.  See that, the power of shopping!! Haha!! Again, we had to postpone one attraction for another day. The bus took us to Chaoyang Theater for the acrobatics show and we barely made it on time. It was not really a must-watch, but I have to admit that some stuns really sent shivers ticking down my spine!! Like 8 motorbikes in a confined sphere?? Madness!! Personally, I like the segment – ballet on shoulders. I thought it was really a whole new level of art.   

Acrobatic Show

Dinner that night includes the highly anticipated Peking duck!!! Forget about diet, thinking about it already make me drool. To be honest, I can’t really recall much about the other dishes except the duck. That actually concluded the end of Day 2, but the night was still young. How can we waste the precious night lazing in bed? So off we went, with another 3 tour members, to explore the city. One thing good about the train system is that it can get us pretty much anywhere around the city, for just RMB 2.

 Perking Duck!! *Slurp*

The extensive network

This is the place, called The Place. Haha!! It is one of the best known shopping mall with a massive LED sky screen. So huge it fits a blue whale. There was also a mermaid and several dolphins. I was so bewildered that I stood with my head up for a while. We also tried the Bing Tang Hu Lu and it was sweetness overdosed. After catching the last train, we finally concluded the night. 

 Lovely Night at The Place

 See? Blue whale swimming in the LED screen

Bing Tang Hu Lu

Stay tuned for my favorite part of the trip - Great Wall and Summer Palace!!

Tips: For the ladies, equip yourself with tissue paper!! Toilets can be a scene out from a horror movie. Hand sanitizers are very useful too!! 

Visiting Beijing - Day 1

So we’ve decided that for our annual trip, the destination would be Beijing, the capital city of China. We flew Air China and arrived at 6 plus in the morning. Cold wind greeted us. We’re thrilled!!

Good Morning Beijing!!

The airport was humongous… and modern!!  After disembarking, we took a sky train to another complex for custom clearance and retrieve our luggage. My guess is that this system buys time for security scans and what not. Impressive airport, but why no air con?? Another 2 full loads of passengers disembarked around the same time and the queue for custom clearance was ridiculous. By the time we were out, it was near 8 in the morning. Our luggage was still nowhere in sight, yet…

Bad traffic greeted us

We were greeted by our tour guide and due to some miscommunication, we had 2 missing members. They were not on the flight!! So they were abandoned, and the rest of us were transported to our hotel. As expected, traffic jam. I was feeling really dreadful and was glad that the day’s activity was postponed, due to our missing tour members. Friends who had travelled with me know that I hardly fell asleep onboard the plane and what’s worst, Air China do not come with in-flight entertainment. Thus, I was grumpy and ready to crush into the pillow. Forget about pictures, sleep is more important. The pictures were taken on our last day after our room was tidied. We had some rest and our stomachs started their protest. So our first meal *drum roll* - Mac Donald’s!!! Again, can’t be bothered to take pictures since burgers can’t differ too much from countries. =P

Our hotel room

So off we went for some self-exploration. And for a start, we were conned. Hahaha!!! Who will pay RMB12 for a bottle of water? Silly us!! Actually I knew that bottle of water was overpriced because I went to another city of China just a few months ago. For that price, we bought a dozen bottles of water from the supermarket that very same night.

Exploring on our own

The surrounding of our hotel isn't as happening as advertised, and I suspected we went in the wrong direction. “Beijing can’t be this boring!!”, we thought. So we traced our path towards the train station and took a few stops down to the more happening area. RMB2 per pax, dirt cheap.

The famous CCTV building. Really impressive architecture

Town area was impressive. Huge, tall and mighty buildings towering over us. Roads were congested and people everywhere. Well, I expected and welcome that. By chance, we landed at Wangfujing shopping street and that was how we spent our first day in Beijing.

 Street of Beijing

Shopping Area at Wangfujing

Street food - Scorpion, starfish and seahorse!

Along one of the small alley

We headed back to the hotel at 6 pm to meet up with the rest for dinner, before dropping by a supermarket and bought bottled water and a bag of grapes for our own consumption.  

Our dinner - Not authentic Beijing food, but catered to foreigners to suit our taste bud  Nevertheless, it was a delicious meal.   

Stay tuned for the rest of our journey. =)

Tips: Tap water is not potable in China, and a bottle of water usually cost RMB 2. Anything more than that, you have been conned. My recommendation - NongFu Spring water, because it is tasteless. Go google!!

Legoland Malaysia

Out of the blue , LZ and I decided to head to Legoland Malaysia to find out what the big hoo haa was about with the new theme park. We booked our tickets online, crawled out of bed on a Friday morning and headed straight across the causeway. Clear traffic, smooth ride and within an hour, we arrived at Legoland Malaysia. Time check – 9.40 am. Shutters were still down.

Legoland Malaysia!!

We had breakfast and walked around for some touristy pictures before beginning our adventure. As expected, there wasn’t a crowded as we strolled leisurely into the park, armed with camera, shades and sun block.

Yes, we looked just like them!

Piegon feeding old lady

I love how colorful the place is, and it is really fascinating to see figures created out from little blocks everywhere at every corner of the park. It can truly brighten up your spirit and tickles your creativity. Kiddy rides like aeroplane also brings out the child in us. I thought it was really cute that LZ wanted to be a pilot and sat in a toy plane, while I rode on the next plane tailgating him in circles.

Colorful aeroplanes flying in circles

Rescue Academy

As the park was really quiet and spacious, we didn’t have to queue. However, as most rides were tailored for children, we had to go on the rides separately. For example – Power tower and bettle bounce. But that wasn’t an issue since we got to laugh at each other. Playgrounds were scattered around the park and they are great bonding places for families with small children and excellent shelters from the scorching sun.

LZ tried to pull off a lion's tooth

Yes, this place is hot like a desert!!

Morning was nice but after 11am, I literally melted. We visited Miniland in the afternoon and I had episodes of dizziness due to the weather. I reckoned that if I had stayed on in the sun for another minute, I will end up in the hospital the very next. Luckily, LZ bought me an ice cream and dragged me to watch the 4D show. Yay!! Aircon, my savior!!

Do you have chocolate flavoured ice-cream?

Outside the 4D theatre

Legoland Express goes around the park, passing various landmarks. It was refreshing to be in a kiddy ride as we planned where to go next. I know LZ loves thrill, while I cannot get over the fact that I lost my voice for 2 days after visiting universal studio. Yes, that was how hard I screamed. LZ totally enjoyed watching me scream and laughed throughout the thrilling rides.

Onboard Legoland Express

The Dragon is one such ride, but the level of scariness is bearable. We went on it twice and had fun throughout. For a scale of 10, I will rate it a 5. The scariest ride is no other than Project X! Looking at it already made me tremble in fear. But how can I say I’ve been to Legoland if I skip the most thrilling ride? So off we went, into a yellow car to experience the adrenaline rush. Frankly speaking, except for the very first free fall, the ride was actually quite fun.

The scariest ride - Project X

More pictures from Miniland!

Tanah Lot

Forbidden City and Great Wall of China

Petronas Tower

Merlion

Visit Malaysia after visiting Singapore Flyer

Passengers boarding the Lego plane

Afternoon tea. Women with boobs!!

Mummy and baby elephant at work

So in all, our experience at Legoland was a pleasant one, except that if the weather was a little more bearable, and if there were more air conditioned areas, the experience would have been better. It will be unfair to compare Legoland Malaysia with Universal Studio Singapore, since the target audiences were vastly different. But I still want to compare the two theme parks. =P Personally, I think young adults would prefer USS to Legoland because a lot of rides are not suitable for teens onwards. Like driving school, horse riding etc. Secondly, each attraction was situated quite far apart and the non-existence water cooler and shelter force visitors to purchase grossly over-priced beverages at Legoland.

We ended out visit at 6pm and went for dessert before heading back home.

Just do it

My life for the past 5 days had been waiting desperately for the painkiller to kick in and numb me from pain. The decision to rob my bank for a greater purpose – that is beauty, had finally been made. I won’t be going through the pain for nothing because I know all the advantages that will come with a nice set of teeth. =) What motivates me even more is rus’s msn status that read – “if you can’t find 3 reasons not to do it then just do it”. Yes madam, I hear you.

Actually, I have been contemplating for years about braces and kept putting it off until recently. The dentist I visited conned encouraged me to correct the alignments as my tongue had been deprived from its rightful space due to a dislocated tooth. Also, a lot of plague can form behind the teeth on my lower jaw due to the V-shaped like valley which encouraged bacteria and plague, making my gums unhealthy. So after googling and collecting some information from friends that have wore braces, I’m going for it.

The first step to a nice set of teeth is extraction, and there can only be one word to describe the process – barbaric!! Both my jaws were overpopulated and judging from the space limit, I need a total of 3 extractions, of which 2 were done. The process was traumatizing and I would have ended up in a mental hospital if I hadn’t closed my eyes. Seriously don’t wish to describe the process in details… I also saw my wisdom teeth on the X-ray films, and felt like I’m seeing my unborn babies. Haha.. They were heavily deprived from space and remained deeply buried inside my gums. It was actually a blessing because all my babies were horrendously positioned and I can’t imagine the pain I will have to go through to get them aborted.

Till now, the extractions sites hurt on and off pretty much and occasionally, there will be bitter liquid oozing out!! I reckon they are blood platelets for healing. But the jaws… arghhhh…a struggle!! I wondered how bruised my jaw bones were as they were aching and sore regardless of whether or not I take the medications. I was paranoid that my jaws will literally drop when I felt them moving while having the first meal after extractions!! Sadly, it is still moving now. Not looking forward to my next extraction. =(

As for LZ, I guess he gotta put up with my foul temper for a while. Though he didn’t see me for days until yesterday, I know he is still a very good liar when I asked how ugly I look.