q. but you know what the hardest part of the travelling is?
a. the language barrier
so you know, coming to china has really made me wish that i spoke chinese. and it is kinda sad that it's taken me this long to figure that out. just last night when we checked into our shanghai hotel, the fridge was turned off because it's winter here, so the hotel tries to conserve energy (oh how ironically greenie of them!). there was a notice on the front of the fridge saying to call the front desk if you wanted to have it turned on. so, of course i called the front desk and it was shocking. the lady did not know what a "fridge" or "refridgerator" or "freezer" meant, and i had absolutely no idea how to say it in mandarin! she thought i meant air-con, which okay i applaud her for that deduction, but still! i had to ask my mum to call the front desk for me, and then they told her that all we had to do was turn the dial at the back of the fridge (duh!). so now i just think, instead of having the notice say for people to call the front desk, why didn't they just say to turn the dial in the first place!?! it all just seems so crazy. =.= and don't even get me started on the haggling!
okay, well so much has happened over the past week, we've been to so many amazing places, eaten at some pretty awesome restaurants and just witnessed a whole new way of life. i was told the other day that china girls get married really young, usually at around 21/22, and then they have a kid the next year. and coz they're still so young and they need to work,they leave their baby with their parents in the villages and then leave to the city because the pay is better there. i just can't imagine growing up in such a lifestyle. really.
so that's another thing that this trip has taught me: APPRECIATION.
here's the five things that i need to appreciate more:
(1) God
(2) family
(3) friends
(4) work
(5) love
who knows, maybe God has planned for 2009 to be a better year than this one. in any case, i'm definitely looking forward to it!
so as usual, i'll close off this post with a bazillion photos. and yup this time it WILL be a bazillion coz travelling for 7 days has let me take over 900 photos!!!
so here goes:
Day Five, Six, Seven, Eight and Nine: Hong Kong
signage in mong kok, hong kong is absolutely crazy!! it's not quite as funny as the chinese, because surprise surprise, hong kong people actually can spell in english quite well!
but before i speak too soon! that doesn't mean dodginess doesn't make it up there!
nice photo of rach and i on our little trek up to catch the peak tram. we were both having such good hair days! hehe.
now once we were up on the peak - we were so amazed by the view. there's a little viewing gallery which you have to pay a little extra for, called the "sky terrace". it was amazing though because they built a glass "wall" around the side to block the wind. but once you stuck your head over the glass, the wind hit you like a tonne of bricks! such good engineers/designers hey. i always love people who help my hair look good in photos! =p but this snap just goes to show that no matter where you go, the rude/inconsiderate tourists always seem to be around.
same day as the peak, we jumped on the train and went to disneyland!!! now all i can say after our mere 5 hours there, is that i really really wished that i was 10 years old again. i can just imagine, it would've been ten times as magical and 50 times more amazing! even then, it was still cool. and i can finally say that i've been on space mountain! and gosh, i really hope the LA one is better coz by my standards of roller coasters, the HK one just did not compare!!!
on our last night in HK, we were so hungry that we decided to stop for eats at a restaurant in langham place. now this building i'm pretty sure is home to the world's longest escalators. the building houses two of them which each transcend past 5 storeys. that's pretty mighty hey! this restaurant, which shall remain nameless simply because i can't remember the name, by far wins the Most Confusing Asian Menus everrrrrrr!!! in total, between the five of us dining there, we were given 17 menus, 18 if you count the drinks one that was left standing on the table. and surprise again, the food really wasn't all that good.
now we also took a day trip to macau on Christmas Day. this was funnnnn! hahah. it was only a short trip because we went sometime in the afternoon, but i still feel like i saw enough. =p
i can also say that we ate well, because this was by far the best congee i have ever tasted in my life. and for those of you who know me well, congee is one of my favorite foods, so needless to say, i was pretty stoked when i tasted it. =p
and of course, the portuguese egg tarts just HAD to be tasted. now there were six in this box, but five seconds after mom brought them to us, two of them were appreciatively devoured! so travel hint no 1: if you ever travel to macau, you MUST eat these egg tarts! and travel hint no 2: yes, they are meant to look a little burnt - they're good that way!
so a visit to macau wouldn't be complete without a trip to the venetian resort. only three letters can describe it: O.M.G. it's HUGE! massive! ginormous! this photo is of their gondola ride canal which they built on the inside of the east wing of the resort. you see the sky? yes. it's fake. but wow. you sure do feel like you're outside when you're inside! amazing huh!
the SLR took awesome photos of our family from outside the resort - but i haven't yet got my hands on them! but once i do! this is there first place they're going! so stay tuned, they'll be up here soon.
the family on the turbojet ferry ride back from macau. yes, we're all happy chappies!
whooooops!
okie. forgot to look at the time. i've got to go!
hope you've enjoyed reading what i've been up to so far! =D and i just want to put it out there, feel free to comment okie?
will write soon,
love, pheebs.
