Mai Lin Talks

Beijing Food – Quan Jude Peking Duck

Mai — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 06:40:15 +0000

At Quan Jude Wangfujing (Beijing, China) Roast Duck Restaurant

Today I went to Quan Jude Roast Duck restaurant. I have been told by my colleagues and guide books that this is a must when visiting Beijing. Quan Jude restaurant is located at a very popular tourist st of Wangfujing.

On Arrival, our Quan Jude waiter greeted us in English which suprised me as the chinese spoke little to no english. We decided to chose the duck menu package.

So, the degustation menu items arrived one after the other-

Peking Duck Liver, Feet and Tounge accompanied by dried fruit

Peking Duck's Liver and Feet accompanied by dried fruit

Peking Duck Tounge

I am usually an adventurous person when it comes to food, however I was unable to eat any of the above :S

Selection of Sweets Jelly

A selection of chinese fruit flavoured jelly - including a red bean jelly

Colourful rectangular food items arrived at the same time as the duck’s liver, tounge and feet dishes. We were told that they were sweets. Odd to eat sweets before the main course but I didn’t really mind.

Peking Duck Meat San Choi Bao

Peking Duck San Choi Bao

Peking Duck Meat San Choi Bao – finely chopped peking duck meat with some vegetables wrapped in lettuce cup. It was good, the dish came out cold though.

Peking Duck

Our Peking Duck - The star has arrived.

Then the star of the night arrived, the duck itself. The Peking Duck Master gave us a little show by cutting the peking duck in front of us. Unlike in most places in Melbourne, Australia, the the skin is sperated from the meat. Another difference is that back home the peking duck is usually served with condiments such as cucumber, spring onions, hoisin sauce and then wrapped in a pancake. However, in Beijing, they omit the cucumber.

Quan Jude Peking Duck Meat

Peking Duck Skin

Hoisin sauce and Spring Onions (no cucumber slices)

Peking Duck Pancake

A complete Peking Duck ready to be consumed

How was it?

Whether it was because I had such high expectations, I was left feeling quite dissapointed with the Peking Duck. Infact given the choice I prefer the ones back home (Melbourne). For example the ducks served here in Quan Jude seems cold. The meat isn’t bursting with juices and the pancake isn’t as soft. I really don’t know what the big fuss is about.

Chinese Brocolli

Chinese Brocolli

Another nice dish. For some reason most of the dishes here are not served pipping hot but border line cold. I’m not sure why this is the case.

Mixed Fruits (Dessert)

Fruit Platter - I'm not really sure the tiny round ones called nor did I try

In any chinese banquet, they will finish the meal with a fruit platter.

When the bill arrived it turned out to be about about US$40 per person which is quite expensive to be honest. Before leaving we were given a certificate to commemorate our Peking Duck experience.

Quan Jude Certificate for the real Peking Duck

Quan Jude Wangfujing (Beijing, China)

Quan Jude Dining Room

China Travel – Panjiyuan and Silk Market (Beijing)

Mai — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 14:53:59 +0000

Horse hair brushes on sale in Panjiyuan market (Beijing Flea and Antique Market)

Today was my last day in Beijing, I had to catch a flight later in the evening to return to Melbourne. A local colleague recommended that I visit the Beijing Flea and Antique Market (Panjiyuan). Seeing that I hadn’t scheduled anything for the day I decided to go.

Beijing Flea and Antique Market (Panjiyuan)

Panjiyuan Market

If you’re after antiques and tinkets, I’d highly recommend a trip to the Beijing Flea and Antique Market (Panjiyuan). It opens everyday but the best time to go are on the weekend or early mornings.

On my arrival, I was faced with rows and rows of stalls. The market stalls are very much organised. For example, if you are after bronze items, variety of stones, brushes, porcelains, they are organised together. There were soo much stuff that I was pretending that I was a collector or an interior designer scouring the stalls for nice items.

Stalls after stalls - I found myself spending hours here browsing

I found myself wondering through stall after stall and row after row. It seemed to be never ending! There were so many things that kept my interest which was fantastic.

A Chairman Mao statue in the lounge or study maybe?

Bronze items

Procelains

Some tribal necklace or decorations

Old school tin toys

Some statues made of jades and chinese stones

Modern arts from local artists

Fast forward 3 hours later I decided it was time to head inside and try to score a bargain at the Silk Market.

Beijing Silk Market (Xiushui)

Silk market - indoor multi level of "bargains' (fake brands), tailors, silk scarves, jewelleries

The Beijing Silk Market is indoors, it is a multi-level shopping warehouse in which you can find anything silk related, tailor made clothes, jewelleries, bargain fake designer clothes and bags. There is floor for both male and female.

I started with the ground floor which sold both men and women shirts. The one that struck my interest’ was the ski jackets. I saw the price, it was US$100. I thought to myself that this was quite cheap. Although already owning a pair I couldn’t resist the temptation and bought it;p. It is a striking purple coloured ‘Columbia’ brand ski jacket.

I continued on to the jewellery section of the market. I ended up with a bunch of jewellery. They are gorgeous. Next up was the scarf shop. I ended up buying a couple.

I thought to myself it was time to go. As I was walking out, I got approached by a lady who asked whether I was interested in fake designer handbags. Unfortunetly I happily obliged It was time to go for real this time!

Overall I was very happy with my purchases. I feel I have scored a bargain. I caught a taxi straight to the Airport and had a big smile on my face.

I found myself enjoying the atmosphere and goods on offer at the market. If you have only time to visit one market, Panjiyuan market is definetely the place to go.

Here are some more photos from my markets visit -

China Travel – Terracota Army and Xian City Wall (Xian, China)

Mai — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 07:26:01 +0000

Where's Me? (Terracota Army - Xian)

Today my plan was to return to the city of Xian to visit the Terracota Army and Xian City Wall . I caught an earliest flight out of Beijing to Xian. The flight took 2 hours.

Tending to the local Chinese market - Aeroplane food that serves congee with preserved vegetables (This is my first! )

On arrival in Xian, I was greeted by my local private tour guide which I had arranged prior to arriving in China. As always the private tour guide includes car hire and a chauffeur. If you have limited time like me, I definitely recommend you get a private tour guide. It’s definitely money worth spending.

Terracota Qin Shi Huang Army

At a reconstruction section of Terracota Army

The first place I visited was a government operated Terracota Army factory. Luckily for me, during my 14 hour flight to Beijing from Melbourne, I so happened to watch a National Geography documentry about the Terracota Army so I was very well educated about the pieces. The Terracota Army is made individually by hand and without any moulds. None of the warrior’s face are the same. They are all different as they are modeled based on each individual army personnel. This is amazing considering the extensive number of the warriors.

The pieces in this factory however are constructed using mould for mass production.

At Terracota Army Factory which utilises the same type of clay used to make the buried Terracota Army

After lunch, I finally make it to the Qin’s tomb which is also the home of the World Heritage (UNESCO) site of Terracota Qin Shi Huang Army.

There are four pits which are open to the public. This one is the biggest pit

Qin Shi Huang was the first emperor of China. When he died he was buried with all these Terracota Warriors and Horses. Back then, everyone believed in the after life (many still do). So the terracota warriors and horses are there to protect the Emperor in the after life. These terracota army’s dated 3BC. The Terracota warriors are modelled as full size humans so the height varied. There are four pits at the moment. It has been estimated that over 8,000 warriors, 130 chariots, 520 horses, 150 cavalry horses have been uncovered with many still to be dug up.

The Terracota Army was discovered by a farmer in 1974 when he was digging for a well construction. When I was there, the old farmer who discovered the tomb was signing souvenir books for tourists. When the tomb was uncovered, most of the terracota warriors were broken to pieces. Some of the broken pieces were damaged back in the old days by the farmers who rebelled against the emperor. Some burnt marks were also found.

The black mark from the rebel farmers who burnt and destroyed the tomb

The state of the Terracota Army when they were found - lots of broken pieces that required pain staking restorations.

The bronze statue buried at the Terracota Army - It was considered advance technology to be able to sculpt bronze statues hence the difficulties resulted in half size horses.

Also found buried - crossbow triggers, spears head all made of bronze

One of the key piece is a kneeling archer warrior. It is a very special piece because it was found unbroken with its colour and details still intact. It was amazing to see the fine deatails including the nails, shoelace, eyelids and the colour (which was originally in lacquer finish).

The most important piece of the site - A kneeling archer as it was found

The kneeling archer terracota army statue - lots of detailings

The Terracota warriors were arranged in a pit according to its rank and its function. I was impressed with the craftmanships and constructions considering this was constructed in the year 3 BC.

At the biggest pit of Terracota Army burial

I was amazed with the number of Terracota Warriors and their individualities

Terracota Army

Xian City Wall

At Xian City Wall - was so lucky not many people

I made a comment to my guide about how similar in terms of the layout and name Xian was to Beijing. He told me that all ancient capital cities have similar layout and street names. Ancient Capital Cities include Xian, Nanjing and Beijing. The way the cities were named was based on its directions. Xi = west, so Xian is a west city. While Bei = North, so Beijing is a northern city. Beijing went through 8 dynasties while Xian went to 21 dynasties. Xian has a lot more history than Beijing. Xian is a city of 7 million people while Beijing has 20 million.

My next visit is to Xian City Wall. It does looks very impressive. There used to be one inside Beijing but they decided to demolished it. What ashame. Luckily the one in Xian is still very much preserved – it’s regarded to be the oldest and best preserved in China. The wall was built based on Chinese Feng Shui philosophy incorporating the important 5 natural elements of water, earth, wind, fire and wood. The wall was built during the Ming Dynasty in 1370 and surrounded the city of 14 km2. The wall measures 13.7 km in circumference, 12 meters high, and 15-18 meters thick at the base.

Xian City Wall

Xian City Wall (Old and New buildings)

Walking around Xian City Wall

Xian City Wall

The moat surrounding the Xian City Wall

The end of the Xian City Wall also concluded my day trip to Xian. Before catching a late flight back to Beijing my guide took me for a traditional chinese dinner which I was glad I did because my flight was delayed 3 hours!

Here are some more photos from my Xian day trip -

China Travel – Hou Hai and Hutongs (Beijing)

Mai — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 02:53:15 +0000

Silver Ingot Bridge (Hou Hai) - dates from the time of the Yuan dynasty (1279 - 1368)

Hou Hai is an area in Beijing that surrounds Qian Hai and Hou Hai Lake. The area used to be the home to nobles and wealthy merchants. There is still some remaining traditional homes that surivived by hidding in old lanes known as Hutongs. These days, Hou Hai is home to many bars and restaurants.

Frozen lake in Hou Hai - an opportunity for ice skaters

I visited Hou Hai at the beginning of the week for late night bar hopping with colleagues when I first arrived in Beijing. I was really keen to explore the area during the day. Hou Hai is very different during the day than the one I experienced in the evening.

During the day, all the bars are closed and I get to see the daily life of ordinary people.

What a contrast - Hou Hai during the day as opposed to the evening bar parties

What an inspiration - this guy is running in -9C with his shirt off!!

I was planning to explore Hou Hai on foot but was approached by one of the Rickshaw driver. I decided that he looked friendly enough I agreed to get into his Rickshaw. My guidebook suggested that the best way to explore Hou Hai is on a Rickshaw. My Rickshaw driver told me that he will take me to places that I wouldn’t have been able to find myself.

Off we went. My Rickshaw driver spoke very little English and similarly, I spoke very little Mandarin. However, I was surprised on how well we managed to communicate and understood each other. So far I am enjoying my Rickshaw ride and my driver’s commentaries .

The best way to explore Hutong is by riding on a Rickshaw

Rickshaw at Hutong

Kung Fu Master (Hou Hai)

There are several places of interests in Hou Hai. The one that I enjoyed most is Hutongs.

Hutongs

Traditional Beijing Homes (Hutongs)

Hutongs are traditional alleyways and along them lie Traditional Beijing Homes (also known as Shiheyuan). I first encountered Shiheyuan on an Australian Television program called Asia Pacific Focus. They were doing a feature on how select groups of people are fighting to preserve these Traditional Beijing Homes from the threat of demolition to make ways for apartments. There are still a few remaining Shiheyuan in Hou Hai although this may not be case soon. Some of the shiheyuans have been converted into hotels.

Shiheyuan are arranged around a central courtyard. The main dwelling is in the north, with lesser halls on the other three ides. Originally homes of the well-to-do, over time many shiheyuan were occupied by poorer families, who squeezed several households into the space foremerly occupied by one. With a small fee, I got to see the inside of one of these traditional beijing home.

At a courtyard of a Traditional Beijing Home (Shiheyuan)

Courthouse of Traditional Beijing Homes (Shiheyuan)

Courthouse of Shiheyuan (Hutong)

Courthouse in Hutong

Entrance to the living area (Shiheyuan)

Traditional furniture (Shiheyuan)

Living room

The Chinese believe gold fish brings good luck

Bedroom (Shiheyuan)

Convinient Store in Hutong

China Travel – Temple of Heaven (Tiantan) and Summer Palace (Yiheyuan)

Mai — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 22:26:14 +0000

In front of the Temple of Heaven

This morning my plan was to visit Tian’an Men Square, The Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven and the Summer Place.

Temple of Heaven (Tiantan)

The Temple of Heaven (Tiantan)

The Temple of Heaven refers to the whole complex as appose a particular temple building. The Emperor is seen as the link between Heaven and Earth. The Temple of Heaven was the place where the Emperor would make sacrifices and pray to the heaven and his ancestors. During Ming and Qin dynasty, the temple was off-limit to the common people.

Instead of getting an audio guide, I was privileged enough to have a local tourist guide (who spoke english well). My guide took me to see one of the prettiest building I have see in Beijing – Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests. The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests is a circular tower and was built in 1420 then rebuilt in 1889. I was told that following the trend of ‘no nails’, this building was built without any nails. When I visited the Forbidden Palace, most of the buildings are square but I find the Hall of prayer for Good Harvests is circular. My guide told me that Square symbolises the Earth while Circular symbolises the Heaven.

Heaven is round and Earth is Square

Another striking feature of the Hall of Paryer for Good Harvests is the three tier of marbles that circulates the building. It’s a circle of 300 ft (90 meters) in diameter and 20 ft (6 meters) high. It looks like a very beautiful wedding cake .

These blue coated shiny tiles cost a fortune back then

These days the Temple of Heaven host locals doing martial arts or many form of exercises. When I visited the place, there’s a choir by the local people.

Impromptu choir by the locals

Summer Palace (Yiheyuan)

At Summer Palace

Summer Palace is where the Imperial family spent summer. It is located 10km (6 miles) out of Beijing. It has a beautiful lake, however as the temperature is below 0 degrees it is now a perfect venue for ice skaters.

Ice skating at the summer palace lake

Summer Palace is closely associated with one of the most powerful women in the history of China – Empress Cixi. Empress Cixi is an imperial concubine who bore an emperor’s son. She became the power of the throne. Empress Cixi is so powerful she could controlled all the male in important places.

Empress Cixi's quarter in the Summer Palace - her place looks so much better than the Emperor's

My guide explained to me that some of the materials and decorations used in the Summer Palace’s was quite extravaganza. For example, in one of the palace there were glass windows to overlook the lake from Empress Cixi’s courtyard. Back then glass windows were a luxury item.

Glass windows were a luxury item back in the days of Empress Cixi

: Frozen Lake at Summer Palace

As I had a limited time, my guide suggested that we visit three important places – where the Emperor lived, the Empress’ quarter and the beautiful Long Coridor. Empress Cixi likes to take long walks after dinner to aid with digestion. The Long coridor as the name suggests is a long covered walk ways in parallel with the lake. It allowed Empress Cixi to take a stroll to the beautiful lake rain hail or shine. The Long coridor is decorated with beautiful paintings.

Painted ceiling in the Long CoridorSummer Palace Long Coridor

As I was approaching the end of my visit to the Summer Palace, my guide pointed out the beautiful Marble Boat. Empress Cixi took the funds that was meant for the Imperial Navy to purchase this Marble Boat. The boat is actually not made from Marble. It was constructed from wood but it is the paint that makes it look like marble.

Marble Boat

Summer Palace

China Travel – Tian’an Men square, Imperial Garden (Bei Hai Park), Forbidden City

Mai — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 11:38:44 +0000

Standing at Tian'an Men Square

Today I woke up especially early because I wanted to beat the tourist crowds and I wanted to fit in as many sightseeing as possible. I will be doing the Beijing quenessentials which includes -

Tian’an Men Square
Forbidden City and The Imperial Garden (Bei Hai Park)
Temple of Heaven (Tiantan)
Summer Palace (Yiheyuan)

I hired a local certified tour guide to take me around. I really do think its well worth the money as you will be leveraging on his local knowledge. This will save me from reading guide books or listening to any audio guide. The local guide came with a private car which was a bonus.

Tian’an Men Square

Tian'an Men Square

We were dropped off by our driver across the Tian’an Men Square. Although not the most attractive square it marks a very significant event, the 1989′s pro-democracy protest. The event caused a many casualities, mostly students of China. Today, the square is surrounded by important government buildings including Chinese Parliament house and the Chinese National Museum. The Chinese National Museum happens to be the Mausoleum of Chairman Mao (the founding of the People of Republic of China). I was told by my guide that visitors can see Chairman Mao’s body in glass box.

Chairman Mao's photo on display (Chairman Mao's the founding of The Republic of China)

Tian'an Men Square - this is where the 1989 protest happened

Forbidden City and The Imperial Garden (Bei Hai Park)

At the Forbidden City

The Forbidden City was an exclusive home of the imperial court. It’s construction was completed in 1420. The general public were allowed inside in 1949 (after the Last Emperor was evicted by the Republican revolution in the early of 20th century. On the way to my trip to China, I re-watched the movie ‘The Last Emperor“. The Last Emperor (Pu Yi) became an emperor at the age of just three years old at 1908.

The Forbidden City

I was admitted to the Forbidden City via the Meridian Gate. Imagine an army of thousands!

Meridian Gate

The Forbidden city was built based on confucianism. The whole ‘city’ looks amazing. The buildings were built without nails.

No nails - amazing architectureWhere the Emperor rules

The palace was split into two major areas – the outer and inner court. The outer court was mainly used for officials ruling and gatherings while the inner court (private) was where the emperor, empress and concubines lived.

Unfortunately most of the treasures of The Forbidden Palace no longer resides in China. They were looted away during the revolution war. Most the treasures now reside in Taiwan.

One of the most striking features of the Forbidden Palace was the bronze lion. There are always two lions near the entrance of each building. My guide told me that this symbolises power and dignity. There are two lions – a male and female. The male lion has a ball on his foot while the female lion has a cub under hers.

Posing in front of the female guardian bronze lion

We continued on towards the Imperial Garden. I can picture the emperor children, empress and concubines relaxing and playing in this garden. It’s simply beautiful with lovely trees and stone features.

The amazing stone structure at the Imperial Garden.

As we walked out of the Forbidden city, I came across Bei Hai Park (Imperial Garden). Bei Hai Park has been an imperial garden for more than a thousand years. It was first opened to the public in 1925. There are temples, artifical hills, and pavillions.

I noticed in the middle of the park, there’s a white stupa (White Dagoba) in the middle of the Jade Island. It’s 36 meters high and is a Tibetan style to honour Dalai Lama visit in 1651.

White Dagoba (in the middle of the Jade Island) of Bei Hai Park

My toes were freezing and it was perfect timing to get into the car and drive to the Temple of Heaven (Tiantan). My blog post continues…

China Travel – The Great Wall of China and Ming’s Tomb

Mai — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 10:21:33 +0000

Freezing cold at The Great Wall China

After several days of work I finally managed to find time to do some sightseeing.

The Great Wall of China

Today my plan is to climb The Great Wall of China. The hotel arranged a driver to take me.

The Great Wall

The first Great Wall was built in the 7th century BC by the Chinese Emperor of Qin Shi Huang. The wall was built to protect the chinese from the nomads. It also served as a communication protocol by lighting fire at specific bases, the smoke can be seen from point to point along the wall to alert the Emperor’s head quarter that the enemy was fast approaching. There are little left of these walls. However, The Ming Dynastry started the re-construction of these walls which can be seen today. The walls length stretches 8851.8 km (5500.3 miles).

The Great Wall was made famous by Chairman Mao (the founder of China) after his famous quote ‘You are not a man until you see the Great Wall’. Since then, the Great Wall of China has become the national pride and symbol.

There are several ‘Great Wall Sites’ which are open to tourists. I’m heading to the one closest to Beijing called Badaling which also happens to be the most popular one .

It's really pretty with the ice on top of the mountains

The temperature was 9 C below, it was damn cold but I was glad that there was no fog. I was even happier when I found that there weren’t too many people (probably because of the cold). I remember my previous visit to the Great Wall during summer, I really didn’t get the chance to admire the majestic of it as there were people around.

The Wall seems to stretch forever, following the top of the mountains. I managed to climb up all the way, it was very steep but definetely worth the climb as the view were spectacular. As I reached the top, I was greated by a small stall selling ‘I Climbed The Great Wall’ plaques… and yes I did buy one

Some of the path're really steep

After warming myself up at a coffee shop, I realised I still have some time to kill. My driver suggested that I should visit The Ming’s Tomb.

Ming’s Tomb

Ming Tomb (Chang ling complex)

I figured if the Ming Dynasty constructed such an amazing wall (The Great Wall), his tomb must be impressive.

Ming Tomb

Okay, the moment I arrived, I was greeted by amazing architectures. I was told all these buildings were built without any nails. Pretty impressive.

Hall of Eminent Favor - sacrifical hall (built without any nails). The Ming Dynasty ruled for 276 years. One of its emperor (Emperor Yongle) moved the capital from Nanjing to Beijing.

There are many complexes in the Ming’s Tomb. I visited the Chang Ling Complex. We entered a tiny museum which displays a collection of the Emperor’s artifacts including – crowns, bowls and hair accessories (some of them are replicas).

I spotted the Jade Belt on display. Jade was very highly regarded in China. It was seen as more valuable than diamond. Diamond is used to drill the Jade rock. Throughout my stay in China, I saw Jade everywhere, the Chinese believed Jade possesses great energy quality. If you are feeling hot, by holding a Jade, you will be cooled down. If you are streess, the Jade will calm you down. The Jade belt is worn by the Emperor and high officials. Apparently, back in the days if you were to wear the belt everyone will salute you. So the belt is a status symbol.

The crown jewel of the musem is the Golden Crown escavated from the Ding Ling Tomb. The Golden Crown is made of gold. It’s one of the most impressive piece.

Golden Crown - on top there're 2 dragons

In ancient time, when the emperor died the order was to he bury himself AND his followers (servants, guards, eunuchs), wives and concubines including all treasures as they believe in the after life.

China Travel – Wangfujing Night Market (Beijing, China)

Mai — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 00:04:03 +0000

Wangfujing Night Market - full of food stalls not for the non adventurous

The moment I landed in Beijing, I jumped into a cab and wanted to head straight to my hotel. Unfortunately none of the taxi drivers speak or read any english, durrrhh I was in China afterall, let that be a lesson to all of you. Anyways after 15 minutes of blurting out all the little mandarin I knew I finally managed to say out the name of the road.

Once I checked in to my hotel I met up with my colleagues at the hotel bar. They all suggested that I should experience the real Beijing by going to the infamous Wangfujing Night Market. The market is a street full of food stalls. However, these food stalls are not for the faint hearted. In the first stalls, I saw scorpions on bamboo skewers, followed by beetles, sea horses and star fishes. All these are deep fried and served warm for tourists to eat. I tried one during my visit in the mid 90s and I have no desire to experience it again . I remember that the scorpions were very salty and crunchy. I dared one of my colleagues to sample the silk worms. He ordered one and started eating. After eating one, he threw the rest away. He told me it was disgusting, we all laughed our head off.

Deep fried Silk Worms

How about some centipedes?

Feeling hungry? Here are some deep fried scorpions, sea horses, beetles and others ... yummm NOT

As we continued to walk pass these strange food stalls we were all suddenly hit by a foul smell! It was a stench that made me want to vomit. My collegue told me it was smelly tofu! I can only imagine what it tasted like if it smelt so bad.

We strolled further down to the pedestrian only shopping street of Wangfujing. Here you can find all kind of clothes, shoes, electronics, watches, herb stores and more. All the big brands such as Nike, Rolex, Zara can be found here. This is a perfect place for tourists.

Wangfujing Pedestrian Only Shopping Street

As evening approached, we decided to jump into a cab and spend a lovely evening at Hou Hai which is full of bars and cafes by the water. We went bar hoppings until late in the evening. It was really pretty. I can imagine during summer where everyone would be sitting outdoor, the place must be lovely.

My first night in Beijing feels very magical. Unfortunately, it’s work day tomorrow.

My Short Trip To China Travel

Mai — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 10:00:34 +0000

On top of the world (Great Wall China) - I blend so well as my face resembles a BBQ Pork bun

I just came back from a week of business trip in China (Beijing). I took the opportunity to extend the trip for personal travel on the side. Despite having visited China (Beijing and Shanghai) in mid late 90s (prior to the Beijing Olympic), I enjoyed my trip immensely.

China is full of history and the combination of old and new makes my trip one of the most interesting I have ever experienced.

To enter China, foreigners are required to get a Chinese visa. My visa was approved overnight. I guess requesting entry to China with business visa is a lot easier than being a tourist .

If you’re wondering why I look like I’ve put on one too many jacket, it’s because It was extremely COLD!! Coming from a pleasant Melbourne summer where the temperature is a warm 35C to -10C in Beijing winter takes some adjustment. On several ocassions I regret not wearing two or three layers of socks! It’s certainly colder than England!

There are a lot of things to see and do. Here are some of the places and trips I did which is mostly in Beijing (the capital of China) -

Experienced Wangfujing Night Market where the tourists sample speciality delicacies such as Sheep Penis and Deep Fried Scorpions.
Climbed the Great Wall China and visited the Ming’s Tomb
A full day tour of the Beijing Quinessentials – Tianamen Square, The Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven and Summer Palace
Exploring the water front Hou Hai followed by a Rick Shaw ride in Beijing oldest neighbourhood of Hutong full of traditional courthouses and alleyways
Bargain Hunting at Panjiyuan Market and Silk Market
A day trip to Xian to visit the Terracota Warriors and visited the only preserved city wall (Xian City Wall)
Peking Duck feast with newly found friends at Quan Jude Beijing Roast Duck Restaurant
Almost got onboard onto the Transiberian train from Beijing station

So stay tune for my epic trip to Beijing .

Boat Trip to Rottnest Island (Perth, Western Australia)

Mai — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 05:06:41 +0000

Cruising in a 40 footer private boat from Perth to Rottnest Island

I was in Perth last week for a couple of days for work. As it turns out one of my customer had just purchased a 40 footer boat. He invited me and my work mate to join them for a day trip to Rottnest Island. I happily accepted his offer

I love visiting Perth. The weather is always lovely and people are always nice. We were picked up at a jetty by the Perth Bell Tower. It didn’t take long until I spotted my customer’s boat. We all boarded the boat and went straight to the Rottnest Island. During the trip, we fired up the portable BBQ and cooked some bacon and eggs for breakfast. Our breakfast was accompanied by lots of champagnes. It was lovely.

My ride for the day - a 40 footer fast boat

As the boat sped up, I was surprised that my customer allowed me to drive! It was a thrilling experience.

Rottnest Island is Perth’s most popular day trip destination as people enjoy swimming and kayaking. The size of Rottnest Island is (19km2) so is perfect for riding around on a bike which is one of the most popular activity on the island. Rottnest island is also home to some of the most amazing wildlife which include birds and local native animals. The Island is also a popular for scuba diving, although you should be wary of diving as great white sharks has been spotted around the area.

If you don’t have a boat then the easiest way to get to Rottnest Island is by ferry which is 25 minutes from Fremantle and 45 minutes from Hillarys Boat Harbour, or 90 minutes from Perth’s Barrack Street Jetty.

Rottnest Island

As it was such a beautiful day we took a dip into the warm turquoise water. We swam around for about half an hour, then we were back in the boat to get closer to the jetty.

We timed our arrival just in time to have lunch, drink more champagne and watch cricket in a bar by the water. It was really relaxing.

By late afternoon, we were back on the boat and some of us were dropped off at Fremantle to spend late afternoon in the Little Creatures Brewery for more drinks.

I love champagne and watching the cricket

I really enjoyed my time in Perth and it was nice to spend a day out in the water with everyone.

It's a really nice day to be out in the water

On a boat to Rottnest Island Perth

Million dollar houses - enroute to Rottnest Island

Fremantle

Rottnest Island

Perth