Alright spent the weekend out!!! breaking free of this sheltered place, meeting other interns in beijing! haha they call me the foreigner of the foreigner. tsktsk

saw the 'real' beijing for the first time. the better than singapore subway, the packed like sardines buses n trains, the smoking everywhere, the cheap beer, the friendly and the cold people, the walking, the haggling, the tuktuk, etc etc etc

went to 西单，国贸， 三里屯 on saturday.

Went to 西单 with the intention of staying there the whole day. Had shabu shabu for lunch then the two homeless interns joined us. Just as they come, the 烧饼店 uncle they made friends with the day before called them and told them there's a house for rental. Sounds dubious right.. So we followed them to where they were supposed to meet 国贸. OMG the walk to the place is winding and full of turns. it worries me. but turns out, the uncle had good intentions. Just that the place is really bad. Dirty and broken. Looks like it's squattles for drug addicts. Reminds me of how fortunate I am.

After that, the 2 homeless girls left in search of better houses while we shopped at Silk Street. Bought a lot of things. I cut the price by 1/3 but still think I got conned. LOL

Stopped at a pastry shop for a rest and met this Algerian guy with his daughter. The daughter is really cute! she's not photogenic i think :P














In the end, the guy introduced us to 三里屯 and we went there in search of the places he recommend. But well, we couldnt find the restaurants n bars he recommended. And ended up in a Shanghai restaurant.

Way back home was suffocating. (They dun let me take cab cuz they said it's dangerous. But after that, Xiaoting says it's safe here) Anw, first, we walked all around to find the bus stop. Then I boarded the bus where there's barely standing space. Then took a 'tuktuk' from the bus stop i alighted at cuz xiaoting is bathing when i called. It's damn exciting taking a tuktuk. You never know how hard the next bump will be! Haha shd hv taken a pic of it! It's like a cupboard with a scooter in front.

Sunday, walked one WHOLE afternoon to find a 图书城. Turns out they dont sell english books. Disappointing eh. Guess what?!?!! I bought 三国演义 teens version with pictures! Haha cant make it a wasted trip eh

Anws had gigantic 串羊肉!! It's real good. I like. And, the beer 4rmb for 600ml 10% beer. Sponsor of beijing olympics! Haha took a cab back after that. 31yuan. considered ex since a proper meal at a restaurant is 20+ only.

Beijing is a big place. Distance is near by local's standard is considered far for us.

Work is boring. There's nth to do. The boss ignores me after the first day when he treated lunch. They say it's normal! O man!

Ate at staff canteen alone yesterday. Xiaoting cooked dinner yesterday. She's a good cook! :D
Today, went for lunch outside with people from other departments; Xiaoting's friends (colleagues, colleague's wife). tried beijing duck, and this pot of pig intestines, duck blood etc soaked in chilli oil. It's damn nice! They treated again!

I feel bad eh.. People cooking, paying for my meals. Like this, I only need to spend during wkends. Except for occasional buying of coffee 3in1 mix, shampoo from the supermarket at the clubhouse. Bad choice la. They're definitely higher priced Haha

I'm so totally bored again. After blogging. LOL

I’ve safely reached Beijing after 2 terribly long flights! Talked to one Singaporean consultant sitting beside me on the plane and got some tips about surviving China. Makes the flight less boring ha!

It was raining and 12 degrees when I got here! The driver who came pick me up at the airport said the 绿化 is fantastic and true enough, Beijing Riviera is a GREAT BEAUTIFUL place. The villas, townhouse and apartments are real good. Hong Leong Finance is the mastermind and power behind the whole concept!

Took pictures of room and toilet only:

Anws, put down my luggage and went for lunch with the boss at the country club. Halfway the CEO and GM came in for lunch. Nice and friendly people really. 3 Singaporeans and 1 Hongkonger at a table in Beijing. It really is a ATAS place lah. They were talking about golf and aquarium and all.

I came back after lunch to find bath tub which I can dive into! O man.. only one word to describe: SHIOK. Hahaha the SMU grad I’m staying with was on leave and went to Tianjin for the day. So I settled into the room she cleaned and prepared for me, called home, and slept! Woke up trembling, found my apartment mate (Xiaoting) back with her boyfriend, and went for a nice Italian dinner. Seems like it’s the norm to build 关系 over meals. Well, I spent nothing and had 2 great meals today! Really appreciate these kind souls. J Riviera is very sheltered from the real Beijing and she told me that I will get a cultural shock when I go out on weekends. Well, most of the time, I’ll be here in this haven and it’s good to get shock once in a while? Haha

Gonna start work tomorrow.

Cant wait for summer.. I brought three bikinis over! I’ll fully utilize the swimming pools and the gym!

Oh man.. less than 24hrs to departure and I still havent pack my stuff!

Exams just ended and I haven't even started playing. HAHA guess life is more than just play only. I'm real excited about going to Beijing now. A new way of life. :)

Well, had my last paper on Monday. Thank god it's over! Went for lunch before marking papers for 5 straight hours. Even my back aches. Growing old already... Sigh

It was all worth it though. After a long day of work, we had a fabulous meal at sushi tei, chatting and eating and drinking. Prof's treat!

Was tricked into a mahjong session after that. I thought the guys were drunk and maria had to take care of them. Turns out they weren't drunk. Sigh stayed the whole night there cuz there's no transport home. It'll cost 30+ if I take a cab home :(

Watched 17 again today!!! Zac Efron!! Haha.. Nice show strongly recommended. Had jap food again today at ichiban. Haha different type though.

Came back home and finished up TA work. Just completed it. Hopefully nothing goes wrong.

AHHHH I really needa pack... Havent even changed rmb yet!! Anxiety attacks
Anws, look out for pictures ;) I'll probably upload them if I've nothing better to do there. Haha already there's one other intern trying to organize a trip to their zoo to see the pandas!

I've been pretty busy nowadays.

Going overseas is distracting. hahaha with such short notice, i have to get so many things done before flying off to uncertainty. As much as I anticipate what I'll see, hear, do over there, I don't know what to expect. That's the scary part. Well, that's also the exciting part! To be thrown into a foreign land with not much support. The only support you know of is the company you'll be working for, and your peers who'll also be going to Bejing, working in different companies. Beijing is so big. They might be miles away. Who knows?

I hope for the best. Just hope it'll be a really great experience and nothing turns out ugly. I just wanna immerse in their culture, live their lives, appreciate the locals, act like a tourist, then like a local. hahaha I doubt I can though; my mandarin isnt that fantastic. Hurhur. I'm also looking forward to all the sightseeing, shopping, nightlife, mingling with colleagues etc.

But for now, I think I really should focus on my much neglected work. I cant flunk my exams!