girlscantravel

China

2006-05-16T05:18:00.000-07:00

Many people have asked me how I found China and the trip on the whole. Think it wasn't as great as I had hoped, because of the following: 1. The tour guide, having a commission to earn, brought us to factory after factory - jade, silk, pearl, tea, TCM, etc. The itinery was extremely packed but as usual we were alloted more time at the factories than the attractions. Felt trapped. Frankly all these things can be found in Singapore, probably at just the same price. The group demography was such that there were three types of members: the too young to buy, the not-interested, and the done-that-bought-that. Thus, our group hardly bought anything and thus had a little "prep" talk from our guide about how she and the driver were not getting anything and she was afraid the driver wouldnt' be able to survive. Our group was indignant and replied that we were here to enjoy and see the attractions and not all were interested in buying. I'll try my best to avoid going on tour groups for the rest of my life. Felt I hardly learnt anything and once again being shepherded around. 2. Because of the 2008 Olympics, Bejing is sprucing up and many of the attractions are under renovations. Thus, some parts were closed off or sported unsightly construction. The best time to go would be in 2009 when toilet and attractions have been 'improved'. Also, as we were just in Korea, many of the ancient buildings in the palace and gardens looked like those we'd just seen in Seoul. I had this impression that the Forbidden City was incredibly large and spectacular but sad to say I wasn't impressed and the palaces in Seoul were prettier, quieter and more peaceful. 3. We went during the Golden Week so it was crowded, crowded, crowded!! Thankfully I wasn't jostled but there were people spitting left and right. Some of them youngsters too, which surprised us. We barely had any time to shop cos of the itinery of factories and activities. Also, we travelled 2.5 hrs to and 2.5hrs from Tianjin, a waste of time we felt, as we were only allowed one plus hour there to visit two streets with nothing much interesting. Thus, shopping was limited and the only shopping we did was when we missed one of the tour dinners to meet a friend. The bargaining was something! I thought I had a lesson in Turkey but this was Advanced Bargaining 101. You start at one tenth or two tenths of the price and go upwards. One lesson was never to buy anything without bargaining, even the smallest little object, unless you didn't mind paying the difference - which well, if the price was small might have only been one or two Sing dollars anyway - like 20RMB to 10 RMB would only have been $2 so spending 15 mins bargaining to halve the price may not have been worth it. We ended up only doing basically two sold hours of shopping with probably half of it spent in bargaining. We didn't have enough shopping!

2006-05-15T06:44:00.001-07:00

Some fruit I got, very sour

2006-05-15T06:44:00.000-07:00

Minnie in cheongsam!

2006-05-15T06:43:00.000-07:00

carousel

2006-05-15T06:30:00.001-07:00

character in parade

2006-05-15T06:30:00.000-07:00

the gardens

2006-05-15T06:29:00.001-07:00

sweet unreal loking buildings

2006-05-15T06:29:00.000-07:00

cute sign board @ beach

2006-05-15T06:28:00.000-07:00

night light show

2006-05-15T06:25:00.000-07:00

one of the markets in HK

2006-05-15T06:23:00.000-07:00

At Chengde's Summer Resort

2006-05-15T06:22:00.002-07:00

Garden within a garden at Summer Resort in Chengde

2006-05-15T06:22:00.001-07:00

Another breakfast.

2006-05-15T06:22:00.000-07:00

mahua, nuts and others

2006-05-15T06:21:00.000-07:00

Sweet and other sundries

2006-05-15T06:20:00.002-07:00

Sally's toys

2006-05-15T06:20:00.001-07:00

Sally, our friend's dog! Cute!!

2006-05-15T06:20:00.000-07:00

sweet potatoes...the scent was enticing but dared not try

2006-05-15T06:19:00.001-07:00

This suit had 100 children embroidered on it all with different expressions and doing different activities

2006-05-15T06:19:00.000-07:00

they had silver ones too

2006-05-15T06:18:00.003-07:00

real gold ingots!

2006-05-15T06:18:00.002-07:00

Another meal, with cabbage and Xiao bai chai, which featured in nearly every meal

2006-05-15T06:18:00.001-07:00

one of the finished products

2006-05-15T06:18:00.000-07:00

making closinne

2006-05-15T06:17:00.002-07:00

More of those roof creatures

2006-05-15T06:17:00.001-07:00

wow, the colours are stunning

2006-05-15T06:17:00.000-07:00

look like poppies

2006-05-15T06:16:00.002-07:00

pretty flowers!

2006-05-15T06:16:00.001-07:00

at the botanical gardens

2006-05-15T06:16:00.000-07:00

First meal in the Summer Palace. The rest were so similar I stopped taking the food after a while. Most dishes were too salty or oily for our palates.

2006-05-15T06:14:00.000-07:00

some funny rock structures

2006-05-14T07:21:00.000-07:00

The Great Wall...what a climb!!

2006-05-14T07:18:00.000-07:00

Beautiful colourful patches of flowers at the Botanic gardens

2006-05-14T07:15:00.001-07:00

Mudan flower. Bigger than a normal hibiscus

2006-05-14T07:15:00.000-07:00

The bridal chamber in the "lucky" red. All in silk.

2006-05-14T07:14:00.000-07:00

These are usually at the roof of each of the ancient buildings, just like in Korea. They are a mixture of creatures; phoenixes and others

2006-05-14T07:12:00.000-07:00

The ancient Chinese were big believers of Feng Shui. There are usually two lions on each side of entrances. One is a female one a male. Any guesses how to tell them apart?

2005-10-13T10:06:00.000-07:00

Chatuchak Weekend Market

2005-10-13T10:03:00.000-07:00

Going towards the direction of Bang Sue. Our next stop is Chatuchak Weekend Market.

2005-10-13T10:02:00.000-07:00

The MRT ticket is a plastic black coin that works like an EZLink card. Hmm.. how uncreative can man be when it comes to design.

2005-10-13T10:00:00.000-07:00

Caught this little Thai girl standing on a bench eating ice-cream.

2005-10-13T09:58:00.000-07:00

Joanelle applying glue on the pink slip.

2005-10-13T09:57:00.000-07:00

Uncle Lau making a donation.

2005-10-13T09:56:00.000-07:00

Beautiful fishes hang at the entrance of the temple. I'm busy taking photos while my friends are busy inside.

2005-10-13T09:52:00.000-07:00

The irony - this poor beggar sitting outside the temple waiting for donations but nobody cared. People are inside the temple too "busy" making donations to care.

2005-10-13T09:49:00.000-07:00

People making donations. Guess what do they donate? Coffins. Yes, each coffin costs 50 baht. After making a donation, you will be given a pink slip to write your name. You can go to a corner to put glue on the pink paper and stick your name onto the cardboard coffins behind. These coffins are donated to those people who died in accidents without any next-of-kins.

2005-10-13T09:46:00.000-07:00

Money-tree

2005-10-13T09:45:00.000-07:00

Inside the temple

2005-10-13T09:43:00.000-07:00

Chinese Temple

End of Day 1 - Traditional Thai Massage

2005-10-13T09:33:00.000-07:00

We ended Day 1 with traditional Thai massage which costs only 80 baht (about S$6) which is super duper cheap. The shop closes at 1am, so we went back to our hotel room to drop our shopping bags, took turns to bath and went down to the shop just next to our hotel at 12am, just in time before it closes. We went to 7-11 to buy some drinks and snacks before heading back to our hotel room. However, the massage was so good that we fell into deep sleep.

2005-10-13T09:29:00.000-07:00

Found pink eggs at 7-11 store. They look much smaller than quail eggs. Unfortunately, I can't read Thai.

2005-10-13T09:27:00.000-07:00

We still had our fill with Tom Yam soup and pineapple rice even though I found a baby cockroach on my spoon before we started eating.

2005-10-13T09:24:00.000-07:00

The seats is located on the second storey of what seems like that of a shop house in Singapore. Quite homely decor.

2005-10-13T09:23:00.000-07:00

Restaurant with interesting decor

2005-10-13T09:21:00.000-07:00

Our Thai friend explaining the menu to Uncle Lau. By the way, the Thai girl is Uncle Lau's god-sis.

2005-10-13T09:16:00.000-07:00

MBK Centre - where we did most of our shopping. The covered bridges extend from one side to another side of the road and links all the way under the MRT tracks it becomes a giant bridge.

2005-10-13T09:09:00.000-07:00

Empty street - a rare sight

2005-10-13T09:07:00.000-07:00

4 different ways of cooking bird's nest - 250 baht per bowl (S$20) This is the something that I regret spending so much money on.

2005-10-13T09:02:00.000-07:00

Pretty chrysanthemum tea that is so tasteless I thought it was plain water with yellow colouring added. We were grateful for the ice that took away the heat though.

2005-10-13T09:00:00.000-07:00

Resting our feet at a bird's nest shop

2005-10-13T08:57:00.000-07:00

Chinatown

2005-10-13T08:56:00.000-07:00

What a bargain at the hair accessory wholesaler. S$1 for a whole bunch! Most of the stuff here we see are available in Singapore with prices not 10-fold, but 300 times the cost price! Now you know how much those shops make when they sell you a hair clip for $6 when the cost price is probably only 20 cents.

2005-10-13T08:50:00.000-07:00

At the wholesale market with our Thai friend.

2005-10-13T08:42:00.000-07:00

Thai Coconut Ice-cream with peanut topping. The coconut taste is super-duper fragrant. We love it!

2005-10-13T08:40:00.000-07:00

Ice kacang lookalike!

2005-10-13T08:27:00.000-07:00

Thai chilli padi, Thai lime and garlic. To be added to the dip according to each's tastes. The dip tastes like ultra-sweet satay sauce. Quite nice for someone like me who's got a sweet tooth.

2005-10-13T08:22:00.000-07:00

Our first meal - Thai steamboat. The raw ingredients are dipped in boiling water on the sides of the grill before putting them on the grill to cook. End result is half-steam-half-grill.

2005-10-13T08:08:00.000-07:00

A Tut-Tut. It has a sign on top that reads "Taxi". Normally, you can tell the driver your destination and ask how much. Bargain and come to an agreement before getting on. There is no limit on the number of people you can squeeze on it. So squeeze! This is a much cheaper form of transport as compared to the actual taxi. But if the journey is too long, it can be very tiring if someone needs to sit on your lap. And especially so if that someone is very heavy-weight. Each trip costs between 30 - 70 baht, depending on distance and peak hour. No dependence on number of persons though.

2005-10-13T07:52:00.000-07:00

MBK River

2005-10-13T07:34:00.000-07:00

Strange to see a pillar with 4 elephant heads by the roadside. I am not sure what that is for but it looks like a religious symbol.

2005-10-13T07:27:00.000-07:00

My friends sped off after dropping the luggage at Asia Hotel. Walking towards our first shopping spot - MBK. The weather was incredibly hot. I seriously suspect the temperature to be more than 40 degrees celsius! Sunglasses, sunscreen and skippy clothes are essentials. I can feel my skin being burnt by the scotching heat. Serious air pollution is also another contributing factor to the heat. If you think Jurong industrial area is bad, the air pollution here is 20 times worse.

2005-10-13T07:12:00.000-07:00

Inside the cab, the number plate was actually nailed to the side of the left door. Kind of strange. According to the travel guide, the cab fare from the airport to hotel was approximately 350 baht. The cab driver asked for 400 baht and we hopped on without bargaining. The meter was switched off. After calculating, this trip costs us around S$32. Expensive!! However, with the kind of traffic jam on the highways, it might cost even more with the meter readings.

2005-10-13T06:56:00.000-07:00

There was no photographs of the airport at Bangkok as we left hurriedly after getting on to the taxi. We were pestered by a lot of local tour guides trying to persuade us to take on their packages. We felt like 4 lambs being hounded by hungry wolves!

Bangkok Trip for JJDL

2005-10-13T06:16:00.000-07:00

We thank Slushy for her beautiful pictures and wonderful description of her Korea trip. I guess you girls can't wait to see my entries for my Thailand trip. It was a short 3 days 2 nights weekend stay for a break for me and my colleagues. We named ourselves JJDL with the initials of our names - Jerlynn, Joanelle, Dawn, Uncle Lau. Here we go!

How this trip actually went - a summary

2005-09-14T18:24:00.000-07:00

This trip was the first one that we took by ourselves, free and easy, without tour group or parents, relatives or friends. It was very surreal when we arrived and walked around by ourselves on Korean soil. Strange feeling to have finally arrived after discussing, preparing and worrying for the weeks prior. The weather was hotter than we expected, very similar to Singapore's. We were prepared for commmunication/language barriers and true enough, most Koreans except a few in the service line (hotels, shops, information counters) did not speak English. However, most were wiling to try to help with hand signals and pointing. Nearing the end of the trip, I was looking forward to coming back, which is really strange and new for me because holidays are really a big escape. This time I just missed baby too much and needed to come back and see, hold, hug and kiss her. Must of made people's hairs stand up repeating that. I changed a lot more currency than usual expecting to shop till I dropped, but that wasn't the case when I realised most of the things were expensive and could probably be found in Singapore. Most of my days were occupied and time was too rushed to search for good deals. We are very grateful to Dr Baik, Dr Kim and Mr Yong for spending their precious time with us on our first day there. We were also glad to have befriended Ally, a young korean lady, who shared about Korean culture.

2005-09-14T06:04:00.001-07:00

At Insadong, there are some art galleries and tea houses. This is a picture of some of the exhibits - painted rocks. Quite nicely done. There are also a lot of shops selling paper and other odds and ends but our Korean friend, Ally, said that locals dont' really come here to shop and it's mostly for the tourists.

2005-09-14T06:04:00.000-07:00

After seeing the giraffes in our zoo after their recent introduction back, it's interesting to see the giraffes here. They look different, as they are darker than the ones we have. But we didn't know enough about giraffes to tell if they were a different species/type.

2005-09-14T06:01:00.000-07:00

roadside fare
slushy n babes

2005-09-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

small garden feature
slushy n babes

2005-09-14T05:59:00.001-07:00

At the Seoul Grand Park, the first animals we see are the primates. The conditions are so different from that of the primates in the Singapore Zoo. We are saddened to see them housed in run down concrete "boxes" without windows or other natural features. Food was thrown all over the floor and included onions cabbages and apples. In other cages, the food was mixed with the water into a glop. I fought back tears as we walked around the primate area; there is the dilemma with zoos, they are imprisonment. I know the arguments and I can't take either side, whether there should be zoos are not.

2005-09-14T05:59:00.000-07:00

crop garden
slushy n babes

2005-09-14T05:58:00.001-07:00

beuyiful bright flowers
slushy n babes

2005-09-14T05:58:00.000-07:00

At the palaces and this Great South Gate (Namdaemun), there is a changing of the royal guards. Something like what we have at the Istana, I suppose, but these are dressed in their traditional garb.

2005-09-14T05:57:00.001-07:00

stay off grass
slushy n babes

2005-09-14T05:57:00.000-07:00

huge aloe vera
slushy n babes

2005-09-14T05:56:00.002-07:00

in the palace
slushy n babes

2005-09-14T05:56:00.001-07:00

Spotted this sun dial (at least that's what we think it is) at Cheongdeok Palace. Didn't have time to figure out how it works though.

2005-09-14T05:56:00.000-07:00

Using water power was the traditional way in which the Koreans milled.

2005-09-12T07:58:00.000-07:00

What does that say?
slushy n babes

2005-09-12T07:57:00.000-07:00

The secret garden in Cheongdeok palace, supposed to be one of the most beautiful places in the palace.
slushy n babes

2005-09-12T07:55:00.000-07:00

Close up of the tiles. Some of them have plant or flower imprints
slushy n babes

2005-09-12T07:54:00.000-07:00

Cheongdeok Palace. Looks like Gyeongbok. The architecture is pretty much the same
slushy n babes

2005-09-12T07:53:00.000-07:00

There is this dish that is sold on the streets; I think it's some kind of maggot or larvae
slushy n babes

2005-09-12T07:52:00.000-07:00

Cheongdeok Palace is the second palace we visited. One can only go in on a guided tour - no prizes for guessing who the lady is.
slushy n babes

2005-09-12T07:51:00.000-07:00

Gyeongbok Palace is the principal palace. It's a rather large place and takes a long time to walk around.
slushy n babes

2005-09-12T07:50:00.000-07:00

The city is quite hazy, especially in the mornings
slushy n babes

2005-09-12T07:49:00.000-07:00

The Dongdaemun market operates 24 hours, but not all the shops are open at any one time. With our limited time, we were only able to go at night. The stuff there is expensive, with shoes going at around $US85. This is a picture of baby's clothes which look like they come straight out of Adams family
slushy n babes

2005-09-12T07:47:00.000-07:00

They sure have the room for stadiums; this one's for baseball. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the baseball game. The girls were just as, if not more, excited as the guys and screamed and clapped and made much noise with their cheering balloons.

2005-09-12T07:46:00.000-07:00

The subway is very much like our MRT. Cept the people are so disciplined. ALL of them stand on the right on the escalator and they line up, yes LINE up to get on. It's pretty scary to get in the Koreans' way when they are on the move, especially at the subway, so you'd better stick to the right if you're stationary on the escalator and line up proper. And don't sit on their seats reserved for pregnant women, disabled and elderly - you might get started at in the least and might even get shouted at! Wow..and here, people don't even stand up for you...We were asked for directions a few times at the sub and on the streets, apparently we look really Korean. I think I've been asked more for directions there than in my years in Singapore!
slushy n babes

2005-09-12T07:43:00.000-07:00

Of course there is mac's and burger king and what have you, you don't have to eat kimchi every day ya know!
slushy n babes