butterflynn's Xanga

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Thu, 12 Jul 2007 22:07:21 GMT

This is HILARIOUS!! "那個" lah!!!!! You only have to spend 10 minutes talking to a Beijinger to know he didn't make it upl!

There's a lot more about the Chinese language that is foreign to me (Why are there no spaces between words?? How do I know what's a verb vs. noun vs. adjective? Why does BabelFish online translation suck so bad?!). But hey, I survived 3 weeks working in Beijing.

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Like most good travel experiences, this one started with a night out with the locals. I was so happy to see my colleagues, who took me to Gui Jie (Ghost Street), a 24-hour haunt with a mile-long stretch of restaurants offering Mongolian hot pot, chili-spiked cucumbers, spicy crab, water-boiled fish, etc. The food, though not always elegantly presented, was delicious. Beijingers, like most foodies I know, subscribe to the notion that if you don't know what it is, just try it first! And with this, my adventure with eating random food on this trip started the first night. We indulged in a variety of spicy Sichuan dishes, many plates of appetizers and cold beer, all for less than 50rmb (6.50usd) / person.

Peking duck.. duck blood.. duck stomach.. duck head.. you name it. i ate it.

I stayed at the Raffles Beijing Hotel, a Beijing landmark run by the Singaporean hotel group. The hotel is situated in the heart of the city, on Chang-an Da Jie, between Wangfujing Ave and the Forbidden City. My office was to the west so I’d pass under the huge portrait of Chairman Mao and Tiananmen on my way to and fro work each day. Within a few minutes (and for less than 20rmb or 2.6usd), the ride would take me from the vast spaces of Tiananmen Square, to the massive skyscrapers and new hotels in the densely populated business district in Xidan.

The second week I was there marked the unveiling of the National Grand Theatre, one of the most controversial buildings sitting incongruously in the city center, just west of the Great Hall of the People at Tiananmen Square. Critics have nicknamed it 'the Eggshell' (indeed, the theatre by the esplanade in Singapore is affectionately named 'the Durians' for its perculiar shape as well). And to the north of the city, there's the $480 million Olympic stadium, dubbed 'the Bird's Nest' because of the steel beams stretching to resemble a basket of twigs and branches.

I was amazed to see the massive buildup in the city but had always been curious about lao Beijing (old Beijing). The second weekend, my coworker offered to take me on a hutong tour to the north of the Forbidden City in a neighborhood where he grew up in. Although these hutongs (alleyways) were first formed in ancient neighborhoods that were once inhabited by officials and aristocrats, they still represent the dwellings for a large part of the urban population in modern Beijing. We took a stroll along the gardens, courtyards and alleys in the area, peeking occasionally into the homes of the hutong residents. Imagine living where 12^th century magistrates once lived! Communal bathrooms and color TV sets!

The hutongs were located near Houhai, an area that recently became known for its bars and restaurants that line the lake. It was there that I rocked to a Chinese band, watched a belly dancer perform after a traditional Beijing mask-change performance, and played drinking games in a Thai-themed bar. Perhaps a tad touristy, but there's nothing I like more than bars+shops(+drunk asians) by the water. kidding! I found the Chinese light beer to be quite enjoyable and initially thought I was a good match for the drinking powress of the Chinese… until they started to take shots of the Chinese bai jiu faster than I can count the number on the dice.

that's the meatpacking district in nyc! hur hur... tricked you didn't i? (sorry no pics of houhai)

Since so much of my time was spent in taxis, I’d hope that the cab conversations would help me gain a feeling of ease and familiarity with Beijing. It seemed to work. After some time, I was soon tossing my limited vocabulary, occasionally giving directions to the drivers, some of whom just came from the rural villages and did not know the roads well. How they passed the driving/English language test required for all taxi drivers, I do not know.
那個, 那個, 那個 Houhai 是很那個,那個,那個酷 ("nega nega nega Houhai is very nega nega nega cool!") Can you tell I had a lot of fun in Beijing? Olympics 2008, anyone?

it's one of those i-miss-singapore posts again...

Fri, 03 Nov 2006 04:42:50 GMT

my buddies Jon and Eric went to Singapore this past week and sent me these pictures via sms:

"Look what we found !"
" Tiger brewery ! T y Lynn for booking it"
"The restaurants on the river at boat quay are a tourist trap. Three kilo crab cost 98 sgd."

and they went to zouk and ministry of sound!!! i so wish i am back in singapore...

neh-mine! at least now they know why i speak funny

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Thu, 19 Oct 2006 02:27:37 GMT

Sunday, September 24, 2006

Sun, 24 Sep 2006 23:43:38 GMT

Cool!!! A skinny me picture!

Haven't seen one of these in a while. Thanks for reminding me Hode...

Weekend was fun... but due to the selective nature of published content and lack of good-looking-no-red-face-from-alcohol-and-bad-dance-expression pictures.. there's no update for now

40 hours in brussels

Tue, 19 Sep 2006 22:19:23 GMT

i wasn't so sure i had made the right choice to go to brussels when i arrived at the airport and found myself to be
the only single asian woman in sight. i tried to conceal the fact that i was a little disoriented when in reality i had no
euros and couldn't follow the signs in french/flemish. when i finally found my way to the train station, i was lectured
by the ticket guy when i tried to pay 3.6 euros with a credit card. and when i arrived in the city center and asked for
directions to my hotel, the ticket guy there sized me up with a look and said (in a bad french accent) i was better off
taking a cab my hotel was supposed to be <200m from everything(!) and reachable by foot (brussels is a small city).
i cursed under my breath for leaving london on a fine-weather day... and with it, the classy metrosexual office men and
their sexy british english accent... (joking!)

so what is in brussels that would make me go through the trauma of customs and immigration at heathrow all over
again to fly 1 hour into the capital of the european union, that can be described as an un-touristy tourist destination?

similar to other european cities, there were century-old architecture, tall gothic-style cathedrals, a market square in
the middle of town, compact cars and cobble-stoned streets, and my favorite one of all, the stay-a-while cafes
around the square, where i can people-watch over a fantastic cup of coffee.... that never gets old for me.

my train ticket from the brussels airport to the city center was only 3.60 euro r/t, and the ride was <20mins.
brussels is such a cheap and efficient city! (like singapore!) i was also impressed by the fact that the belgians
are effectively trilingual (i mean, singaporeans are trilingual too ... if you count Singlish as a language, and my
mandarin and chinese dialect as passable...) i tried to wield my rusty french during a stroll at a flea market but i
realized what a bad idea that was since i only knew how to ask "what is this?", but had no way of understanding
the replies i got back in french....

now the thing that i absolutely love love love about brussels -- brussels sets itself apart from the other european
cities for the unique array of food that its famous for. those who know me well know how important good food is
to me especially when i'm traveling. this is when i'm most 'productive...

waffles..... frites..... (1000+ types of) beer.......

and CHOCOLATES!!!! i don't know which is more shocking - that the belgians consume in average
100L of beer per person per year.. or that each belgian eat as much as 16kg of chocolate a year (it's a wonder
that they aren't obese) i think belgium is one of europe's greatest secret!

that's me about to dig into some escargots and mussels

i promise brussels's not all about food. no, really. remember the very talented jean-claude van damme? smurfs
and tintin are belgian too. my brother used to have many of those comics. that's tintin and his doggie, milou!

i just threw in brussels sprouts here for fun. i didn't see any on my trip... come to think of it i didn't actually eat any
vegetables this weekend...

i miss sharing a bed

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Wed, 12 Jul 2006 21:46:47 GMT

with 3 weeks of vacation behind me, i'm paying my dues this week at work. i'm listening
to yan zi on my ipod and although i'm physically at work (and blogging!), i'm teleported
again to the good times i had in singapore and hk.

i miss my friends, my family and milo so much!

by livejournal convention, my mood now is very very very very very sian

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Tue, 27 Jun 2006 13:14:41 GMT

I forgot how clean and green Singapore is until the plane descended upon Changi on Sunday night. All the greens and the water surrounding my little island made me realize I am finally home. I wasted no time and had my parents immediately take me to Bedok Blk 85 for some hokkian mee and oyster omelette. My dad was also in a hurry to get to a TV to watch the England-Ecuador match. Football fever has not reached it peak but all the food centers we drove by were packed with uncles watching the game while drinking Tiger beer. It felt like 90 degrees out; I was already sticky and sweating so I got my favorite drink milo peng (ice milo)! I become a real heartlander whenever I come home. I just cannnooot get enough of local food, and no amount of sashimi/eggs benedicte/smores can change that.

First, a description of my travels in Japan is in order. I just spent 8 days in Tokyo with Kevin, who is there on a summer law school program. The prior weeks in NY had been pretty rough and I was looking forward to some food/shopping R&R. Japan accomplished exactly that. A trip to the far east planned just for those two activities may sound a wee bit excessive, but I derived a lot by indulging in the joys of eating and shopping in Japan

Much is made of Japanese stereotypes - the cleanliness, the politeness, and formality around social behavior - but nothing beats the real life experience. I have noted that nothing in Japan happens by accident; every last nuance, from the food, to infrastructure and the toilet, is done perfectly. A few of my observations in the past week:

Almost every, if not all, sidewalk has a thick yellow line which serves to divide traffic going in both directions. Pedestrians actually stay on their side of the sidewalk in a very Adous Hudley Brave New World fashion.
The subway stations and cars are clean and litter-free and the entire system runs on a schedule which did not once fail to be on time. No skipping of stations, no unforeseen delays and weekend maintenance shutdowns known to NYC transit riders. Exits are clearly marked with indication of where landmarks are. Fares are clear and fare adjustments are straightforward (imho, this is far superior to the honor system in some European cities).
Smoking while walking is not permitted so smoking zones are designated for smokers. It is hard to find trash cans that are not recycling bins, so some smokers carry a container for their cigarette butts.
Vegetables and fruits at the grocery stores are wrapped in plastic and are pristine (and yes, very expensive).
Etc, etc.

The only time this so-called orderly behavior is absent is when I am a customer at a Japanese establishment. The first thing I notice as I enter any store or restaurant is the loud and spirited greetings of "Konnichiwa, irasshaimase!" and then the wall-to-wall, up-tempo, pop music. I believe the reason for this is because anything less than that would imply neglect of the customer on the part of the store owner. As a result, shopping in Japan is an incredibly loud affair and I still wasn't used to it after visiting some 30 department stores and a couple hundred individual stores. Honestly, I learnt so much the city by walking everywhere, and I walked so much by shopping in Shibuya, Shinjuku, Harajuku, Roppongi, Ginza... It needs to be said that Japanese girls are extremely trendy. Their fashion style ranges from goth and dark make-up to mini-skirts and front/back/everything-baring tops, from designer-clad ladies in perfect make-up to the incredibly cute schoolgirls in their knee-high socks. Sigh. Shopping did no good for my wallet and my ego.

I had the chance to come into contact with two native Japanese - a professor from Kevin's class and a colleague from work. I read from my guidebook that eating out is the heart of Japanese social intercourse and I found that to be 100% true. I also read, and experienced firsthand how the Japanese are inordinately generous to guests. As food goes, I got to try scores of different types of Japanese restaurants, from the fast-food shop where I made my selection from a machine, to the izakaya- the part restaurant, part hub hideaway, and okonomi-yaki-ya where I cooked up my own okonomi-yaki (Japanese pizza), ramen-ya, yakitori-ya, etc. Risking death, I tried fugu (puffer fish) for the first time with Sherine. It wasn't just any fugu experience - we had it fresh as sashimi, fried like tempura, grilled over charcoal and finally cooked into porridge. I didn't experience near-death sensation but Sherine experienced some numbness on her lips. For the money we paid, I was expecting something, at least!

hmm, I really should be out eating more now.. Here are some pictures from Tokyo!

oh jeez the camera does add 10 lbs

Walau!

Tue, 02 May 2006 22:04:06 GMT

Shxxxxxxt.. Fuuuxxxxk.. Bike tour this Sunday. 42 miles!!! Die already lah!

Medieval Times

Fri, 31 Mar 2006 22:57:25 GMT

it was a one-of-a-kind experience and we absolutely loved it. i went without an inkling of
what to expect but ended up having fun like i never had before. it started with the nutty
bus-ride after work with 15 boys & girls downing beer like it's their job... then riding up in
style to the Medieval Times castle in good'ol new jeeeeersey... the pretty barmaids and
yummy daiquiris were a nice welcome we went wild for our totally awesome front row
seats... we were tickled by the warm cries of "My Lord, My lady!" everytime our
medieval servers came by... serving us with pretty damn good chicken and rib.. and the
stallions were so well trained they put up a good show for us.
it could also have been weird - we were celebrating two 25th birthdays amongst a long list
of 5-15 year olds celebrating theirs... the (pretend) jousting could have really sucked... but
we made up for all of that by being the rowdiest bunch in the crowd.. with security
threatening to throw us out a couple of times, no less

a few aperitifs at the large foyer before dinner... classy, isn't it? the drinks and
our crowns were all that were necessary to get us crazed!

me, brian and peter griffin.... wait, hold on, i mean, rommel... hehe

go green!... and go girl scouts! when the jousting began and things started
heating up, we got excited and every so often, a few of milo's friends would run
back and forth in joy. part of the entertainment was to see the girl scouts rushing
up from their seats to high-five these guys (much to the dismay of their parents).
since when did a 20-something year old wearing a green crown running about
crazily become a cool thing? :)

how money were our seats?!!? cheering (and jeering) the knights was really easy from
where we were. we loved our green knight. we hated the others. we were unrelentless.
who can forget the squire who took off his helmet for a second to spit at us (more
specifically milo) because of our catcalling. and what did we do? we threw our heads
back and broke out into laugher! for me, it was a cheap thrill because i have never been
openly antagonistic like that without fear of consequences.

Our feast of vegetable soup with chicken and ribs eaten in traditional fashion
(without utensils) was served by pretty wenches as we enjoyed the show.
Interestingly, pepsi and wet towelettes were available? How anachronistic.

After learning about who the Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger is, I'm somewhat
swayed by the idea that the green knight and chad could be one and the same person.....
the resemblance is too striking... [as my good friend beng would say "KNIGHTS AND
WAARRRRRIORS"... this one is "KNIGHTS AND RRRROCKER"... just say already!]

All in all, a really great time. Happy birthday again baby

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Tue, 21 Mar 2006 01:55:59 GMT

oh maaan, it's only monday. i feel worse than a sick pupply. why do i go drinking with
clients/coworkers/vendors when i know i can't go beyond 1 drink?.... why do i do that
when i know i have to come home to do work?.... i want to be a party animal, i do. but
this drinking thing is really hard to do.

on a sidenote, who's up for 5-boro bike tour?