Rickshaws
Saturday, August 22, 2009
What to do when you are at a loss about what to write next for the blog? Hmmm... find some random photos, and stick them in...Rickshaw in Beijing, China. We rode in it to explore a hutong. Not a bad ride. Next... colourfully decorated trishaws in Melaka, Malaysia. Only for tourists. Yes, we were sor.. .. read more..
Three-Wheelers
Saturday, June 6, 2009
These cute little Chinese three-wheelers were hardly seen in busy Beijing, but they were all over in other parts of China, especially when we were in Inner Mongolia, and in the north-eastern cities.I think they\'re not classified as cars (since they do not have four wheels!), but are licenced as moto.. .. read more..
Too Much Food
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
I\'m trying to diet before church camp week but it\'s quite depressing when the weighing scales tells me I\'ve gained one kg in the last week... SOBS!Does thinking about food make one put on weight? Because...... here\'s something from two years ago, when we were in the city of everlasting spring (altho.. .. read more..
PicK Of The Day: Little Lambs
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Unlike some people whom I\'ve travelled with on trips who would not give furry four-legged animals a chance at all (You know who you are, squealing like a fire-engine whenever a cute little doggie passed by!), I don\'t mind them most of the time. I like dogs. I don\'t mind cats. I will squeal, though, .. .. read more..
China Celebrates
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
In celebration of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which will begin two days from today, here are some pics from my previous trip to China.Clockwise from top right: at the egg-shaped Beijing National Theatre; Tiananmen Square; our hotel in Beijing; outside the Forbidden City; outside the Beijing subway.Ab.. .. read more..
Ice Cream Tales
Saturday, June 21, 2008
It had been so hot lately that I have been putting on weight. Oh yes, waistline expanding, due to eating too many ice creams. If you want some, come to my house and look into the freezer - my parents prefer vanilla ice cream in a tub, but I\'d much rather have the chocolate cones (pictured). I try to.. .. read more..
Tiananmen Square
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Beijing must be very busy spruncing up with the 2008 Olympics just around the corner, so these photos taken during my visit last year may not be reflective of what you may find if you go there now. Above was our first glimpse of Tiananmen Square from the airport bus. A very smoggy (coff, coff!) day... .. read more..
The GSS Is Back But...
Saturday, May 24, 2008
The start of this year\'s GSS i.e. the Great Singapore Sale was yesterday, 23rd May, and I didn\'t bother about it. Singapore\'s not really my favourite place to shop, unfortunately. I live here, I WORK here, I have too many things to do and not much leisure time. Whatever time I have, I sit in my room.. .. read more..
Visa Or No Visa
Saturday, April 26, 2008
A couple of weeks ago there was a big hoo-ha in my office and everyone forgot to work for a while - one of my colleagues was preparing for a business trip to China and she received conflicting advice; someone said, You don\'t need a visa because your trip is less than fourteen days, another said, The.. .. read more..
Great Wall Of China
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Enough of weird fruits and nasty eggs, here\'s something different... and awesome for a change. I spent three days in Beijing last July, and here are highlights of the visit to one of the Seven Wonders of the World - the Great Wall Of China.©@F2008.5 All rights reserved.Related Post:The Great Wall Of.. .. read more..
Yurt
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
I\'ve never heard of the word \'yurt\' before, and I certainly didn\'t know what it meant until I went to northern China last year. The \'yurt\' is to the Mongolians what the \'igloo\' is to the Eskimos. Genghis Khan, who conquered nearly all the known world in the thirteenth century, lived in one, and so .. .. read more..
PicK Of The Day: Underground
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
During our recent three-day tour of Beijing, China, we walked a great deal. Many of the roads were very wide, with motorists hell-bent on running over anything and anyone in their way. Of course we didn\'t want to risk our lives, so, like everyone else, we used the underpasses to get from one side of.. .. read more..
PicK Of The Day: No, No, No!
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
That\'s a word we often use on small children and dogs. A word small children (throwing tantrums, accompanied by stamping feet and piercing screams) use back on us. And then, it\'s also a word the authorities (or those who think they\'re in authority) use indirectly on everybody else. We were filling u.. .. read more..
Mountain Top Experience Part 2
Thursday, October 18, 2007
I\'m still lost in my latest Koh Kong adventures but at the end of Part 1, I did promise Part 2 of the mountain top story in inner Mongolia, so... here goes. The title would have given you a big clue whether I made it to the top or not. How could I write about a \'mountain top experience\' if I was sit.. .. read more..
Lake
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Somewhere in inner Mongolia. In this landlocked autonomous region in north China, all they have is grass. So I think they get pretty excited when they find a big blue fresh-water lake in the midst of the grasslands, and some decent trees. The tour guide from the traditional yurt hotel said she would.. .. read more..
Mountain Top Experience Part 1
Saturday, October 6, 2007
We were up bright and early the next morning and went down for breakfast. Ranie was very popular in the dining hall, and we soon found out that it was because of the instant coffee she had bought at the supermarket the previous evening. Coffee is not a popular beverage in this part of the world. We .. .. read more..
In the Grasslands Briefly
Thursday, October 4, 2007
While we were feasting upon an endless line-up of dishes at dinner, VG, our tour manager, disappeared and did not join us. Some of us wondered if the poor fellow had lost his way, until Uncle R told us he had gone scrambling to find alternative accomodation for us for the night. Eh... what alternati.. .. read more..
Somewhere In Inner Mongolia
Saturday, September 29, 2007
From hereon I\'m going to be vague about where we went and the people we met, in order that our work in this region may continue and grow without hindrance. If you hadn\'t realised it yet, the purpose of our trip wasn\'t to climb great walls or indulge in too much shopping and eating; it just happened .. .. read more..
Shopping And Eating In Beijing
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
A leisurely evening stroll in Tiananmen Square became a shopping spree for many in our group.It was our last day in Beijing. We went out before dinner to see the sights, and the touts swooped upon the Americans in our group like vultures after a fresh kill! Hah, Vivien and I had been in Tiananmen Sq.. .. read more..
PicK Of The Day: An Accident Waiting To Happen
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Hohhot City Inner Mongolia China. Here\'s a photo Vivien took of one of our bus drivers as he drove us through the city. You can click here to read and see more photos of our bus journey through inner Mongolia. While we all had to look out for VG (our tour manager who had bad eye-sight) in case he fe.. .. read more..
Hutong Tour Part 2
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
We continue from part one with the hutong tour in the second ring of the city. After visiting that very nice couple who lives in a beautiful home with their brand-new flat-screen TV and other 21st century comforts, we returned to our rickshaw. It was almost 2pm, we still hadn\'t had lunch, but the to.. .. read more..
Hutong Tour Part 1
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Vivien arranged for a hutong tour with the tour guide on the return trip from the Great Wall. As for the others in our group, PP told them that the bus would drop them off at Wangfujing shopping street so that they could find their own lunch and get more shopping done.We got off in the second ring o.. .. read more..
On The Road
Thursday, September 13, 2007
The hot springs hotel was our last stop in a civilised city. Because after that we left the city far, far behind and headed for the Mongolian grasslands, and we were supposed to spend two nights in a traditional yurt, just like the normadic Mongols. However, that yurt had no water and electricity an.. .. read more..
Our Hotels In Beijing, Baotou, Hohhot
Sunday, September 9, 2007
I should start a series on accomodation, because some folk who talked to me during Sunday lunch have reeeeally, really strange ideas about where we slept when we go on m-trips. Who gave you those ideas, huh? Hudson Taylor? That\'s soooo 18th century! We\'re less than a year away from Beijing 2008 Olym.. .. read more..
Getting Around: Rickshaw Ride
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Our first encounter with a rickshaw was on our first day in Beijing, right in the middle of the city. We had walked around the Egg... I mean the National Grand Theatre and Tiananmen Square the entire afternoon, looking for an elusive art gallery, and it was time to get back. We knew our hotel was no.. .. read more..