FInally back from Lijiang

Finally am back from Lijiang in China. After all the lack of sleep in Lijiang, i was completely knocked out for whole of sunday. Tomorrow have to fly off to shanghai again for meeting.

Banyan tree is really awesome and fantastic there! Desmond the sales director at banyan tree, and from singapore, was fantastic and working with him on coordination had been a bliss. I love the singapore efficiency. The great news was that the event went smoothly and well! In fact, the greatest compliments came from this Taiwan colleague that she has never seen my big boss so relaxed and happy in all the 3 annual event she had attended, not to mention cracking jokes and talking to me. She said the previous 2 organisors had it really bad and he gave them the death look! So it was a huge relief and satisfaction that i pulled it off!!! My big boss had a appreciation session for me during lunch and they got me this scarf from banyan tree. I was honestly touched.

And my colleagues from HK had been wonderful! Seeing how hectic it was for me, they really tried to chip in and help me throughout the whole event whenever they can. Here's some pictures from Banyan Tree Lijiang and did i mention how great it was to soak in my villa's jacuzzi and watch the stars at night?

Descended from Snow Mountain (Part 3)

Ascending the Snow Mountain (Part 2)

Before ascending the snow mountain (Part 1)

Risk of Posion..again

Everyday when i watch the news on HK TV, depressingly i wonder when i will be poisoned to death by those heartless unscruptulous business man in China who supplies live stock to HK.

3 more common fishes have been identified to be filled with Malachite Green - Bream, Torbot and Gouropa. And the eggs from China also are filled with Sudan Red Dye that is cancerous causing. Fking lack of ethics business men. So deprived are they in communist days that now at every chance of making a quick buck, even registered fisheries are sending poison fishes across with no remorse. And more and more are jumping the wagon. What the hell is wrong with these people?? 丧心病狂.

Hong Kong News Articles

New 1 - Nov 27 ( click to redirect to original link)

Mainland freshwater fish imports suspended
Mainland freshwater fish exporters will stop supplying Hong Kong from November 28, Deputy Secretary for Health, Welfare & Food Cheuk Wing-hing says, adding that it is a commercial decision.

Speaking to the media tonight, Mr Cheuk said Mainland authorities were not involved in the decision.

Food Safety Centre Consultant Dr Ho Yuk-yin said the latest test result on fish showed a trace amount of malachite green in two freshwater grouper samples. Tests on four duck eggs found no Sudan dye.

Meanwhile, Permanent Secretary for Health, Welfare & Food Carrie Yau has left for Beijing to discuss food-safety issues. She said Mainland authorities have attached great importance to recent food safety incidents.

Although Hong Kong's freshwater fish tracking system has been improving, it is important to ensure sources do not use prohibited chemicals in food products, she added.

She will ask her Mainland counterparts to conduct follow-up action to prevent food suppliers using harmful chemicals in their products.

New 2 - Nov 26 ( click to redirect to original link)

Another fish sample tainted

The latest test result on freshwater fish samples showed a trace amount of malachite green in one of 18 samples taken, Food Safety Centre Consultant Dr Ho Yuk-yin says.

The sample tested positive for malachite green was taken from a mud carp at the Cheung Sha Wan Wholesale Food Market, he said.

The fish in question was believed to be imported from a registered fish farm in Foshan, Guangdong. The centre has contacted the Mainland for follow-up actions and the concerned fish farm has stopped supplying fish to Hong Kong.

Turning to results for tests on other drug residues, Dr Ho said four freshwater grouper samples and another freshwater fish sample which have been recently tested positive for malachite green contain a trace amount of Nitrofuran. He urged the trade not to use prohibited chemical to raise fish.

Dr Ho said among the results for 22 egg samples available today, none were found to contain Sudan dyes.

He reminded egg traders to be cautious about the origin of their products and to stop selling 'red-yolk eggs'.

Holy Cow! COW!

The last thing i expected to see in HK was a cow on the middle of the road. Yup, u heard me right. And of course it isnt in the middle of central or causeway bay.

We went to Sai Kung for walks in the mountain area or high hills whatever you call it. The weather is cooling down here but not really cool yet. So have been spending time in aberdeen and saikung exploring the hiking trails.

So as we were driving to the destination, i thought i caught a glimpse of a picture sign of a cow - impling beware cows ahead. I thought I must have misinterpreted the sign or it was an old sign. Next thing i knew round the bend, a HUGE brown cow was lesiurely crossing the road to graze on the leaves along the road. I laughed so hard. I mean seriously, who on earth is gonna believe me when i say "hey i saw a cow wandering on the roads in the modern streets of HK?"!

Anycase, much later as we were walking back to the car from end of the hike, i saw a HERD of cows on way back. Some black, some brown. The black ones looks vicious with horns on them. I guess i better stay clear by a mile before it decides to charge at me! Just kidding.

I dun know the purpose of thw cows really. For meat? For milk? They sure dun look like those milking cows grazing in the freen in europe or australia that's for sure.! I just wish i had my camera there and then. Drats.

Along Saikong water front, i saw tons of small boats parked near the pier and people on the waterfront overlooking down at the boats. I took a peek and whoa! It was water market of fresh seafood. U have got cuttlefish, clams, fishes etc. So cool! Never imagine I would see that in a City!! Only imagine that in Thailand. Goes to show how much i havent seen in HK!

All in all a great day! Should really get around more to have a wider perception of HK than just central, TST, Mongkok and causeway bay.

PS: I think Saikung reminds me of JB somehow. Think of JB with low rise houses and odd shops here and there. U get the picture...

"Multi-use" of mascara

While taking water and waiting for the water to be heated up, we chatted abit on Dyeing hair and Josephine was saying that her brother in law uses coarse salt and wet it into paste and massage into his hair. Afterwhich, he didnt have white hair anymore. Then Alice shared in her previous job in Clarins, there was a day when her colleague walked into the conference room and came out looking different. So it happens (absolutely no idea why), that he had decided to use the waterproof black mascara to "dye" the sides of his side burn from white to black!!! It was so funny! But what was really funny was that the guy even forgot that he did the mascara thing and he woke up with 2 black patch on his pillow and his face! It was hilarious!!!!!!! Can u imagine the sight?!!!!

Flying Home..but never again on american flights

Just came back from SG. Like i told Cynthia, you dunno what u are missing till u leave it behind.

Came back like a whirlwind and gone in a flash last weekend. Was a long weekend for HK and so i booked a flight back on Friday nite and came back on Tues morn. Never again will I takeAmerican Flights if possible as the inspection was crazy and the line was really long. While waiting, i came across 2 other singaporeans like myself rushing back for the short hols. So we chatted abit and exchange numbers since there was nothing else to do in line.

What was funny was i asked the checkin counter if i could bring my small tube of Ettusais concealer (length of your index finger and 1/4 filled) and lip balm on board, she said yes. Yet at the gate where they did manual inspection, the HK officials took it out of my transparent pouch and said i cannot bring it on. I argued that the checkin saw it and said yes. The inspectors said i could only bring it on if they were contained in a transparent zipper bag (i see no difference from my transparent pouch really).

So i had to grab a zipper bag from the staff at the boarding gate 100m away and in the end, when i was boarding, i still was holding on in my left hand the empty ziplock bag, and right hand my concealer and lip balm. Do you see the fallacy of this idiotic meaningless excercise?

1) My stuff was already in a transparent pouch which they took out and said it was cream and hence i cannot bring it on board.
2) when i argue with the HK inspectors, they then said i could bring it on if it was in a zipper bag. Suddenly the point abt it being cream doesnt seem to matter anymore.
3) when i board, i was holding the items in one hand and zipper bag in the other and no one said a thiing. So what is the point of zipper bag???!!!

So am i picky here, or are some officials just literally following instructions blindly without logc?.

In singapore, the custom back was a breeze. They did physical inspection as well and they left my lip balm alone but ensuring my camera and hp was turn on for checks. And they did interviews and body pat down. Everything took less than 30mins. In Hk, it took close to 2 hrs trying to get to the boarding gate for the same airline. U go judge yourself. In anycase, if i am departing from HK, stick best to SQ and Cathay to avoid all these hassles.

Frezzing Cold

Its crazy here in HK.Everywhere I go in HK malls are freezing cold. I meant, really freaking bloody ice cold that can potentially put you in hypothermia state. Yesterday, despite having layers, including my usual failproof cardigan, I found myself freezing my butt off while walking in less than 10mins, and my nose starts to run. My toes actually felt numb!!!!I wonder if its some evil plot to create the winter ambience so as to better push their winter gear and jackets off the rack!

Back from Rome!

After a nice long week of holiday, am finally back from Rome :)
it's amazing how you lose track of time when having fun, not to mention how much laundry I have chalked up! Hoo hoo hoo. have done 2 loads and last one to go.

Reached HK airport about 5.50am this morning and thankfully the weather temperature is just as pleasant! Of coz being so early in the morning, the cab driver tried to stiff me by going via a longer route. Luckily I wasnt tired and spotted it almost immediately.

Amazing how alert I am after 10hr straight of movie watching on the plane! Then again, I couldnt have slept coz this really HUGE american guy decide to swop seat with my nice neighbor and took his seat as he needed power point for his bloody laptop to watch some stupid crappy personal movie, and his nice BIG BRIGHT screen was staring in my face the whole time. Not to mention his total disregard to personal space and keep shoving all his stuff into my side and almost tripping my glass drinks. At one point, he even adjusted my chair reclining position when i was trying to sleep. So other than that and putting up with his constant tossing in his seat, the way back was fine. At least no one farted! :) And now, that's very very important on a tiny airplane. :)

Prawn Noodle in HK!

so much about not finding my prawn noodles in HK (as well as i cannot find packet of bandong- Rose syrup water with milk), My colleagues took me to one in Sheung Wan called "Prawn Noodle Shop". (Address: 181, Queens road central, shop 201, Grand Millennium Plaza. Open from 11.30am to 7.30pm except sun.)

Its bloody expensive for one. Cost a whopping HK$35 (~sg$7). And i didnt particularly fancy it though it is decent tasting.

For starters, its not authentic soup -kinda suppose to be spicy yet not (since Hkongers cannot handle spice), Two: not pure prawn ingredients - for that price you would expect King prawn but all i got were shrimps. Back in Old Airport road Hawker, a huge prawn noodle will the most cost me $5 and a wholesome prawn soup!! Three: i can only choose from vermecilli or hor fan, none of the laksa noodles i like.

Still, for a somewhat close to home taste, one cannot be choosy. Even if I couldnt finish the noodle soup (evidently from the pix), but i sat there for a while enjoying the busy crowd below me...

Looking like Edison

We had this waiter who resembles so much like Edison esp when he smiles! And the attitude to match!!! When we ask him if anyone asked told him before about the resemblance, he said "Yah, so?" Sooo cool!! and then he smiled again

Clinic?!?

What happens when you are sick and in a "foreign" land not of your native tongue (Mandarin + English)? Jokes happen!!

The other day in office when i got really sick, I called Emily. I wanted to find out if there were any clinics around the office in Times Square so that I didnt have to travel like a million miles to Central whom I usually get medical consultation. I felt so dead i didnt wanna walk n the blazing summer heat.

I called her extension @11am. I was too sick and naturally i swop back to English that requires least brain energy...

Me: "Emily, do you know if there are any clinics nearby or in Times Square?"

Emily: "Yes! Yes! There are a few around and even one in Times Square!!"

Me:" Realllly???? I didnt know. Where?" (Confused and unconvinced not recalling one)

Emily: "You wanna go now?" (Sounding concern)

Me: "Yes" (Feeling weak and tired and not willing to say more than necessary)

Emily:" Downstairs theree's one"

Me:"U sure? Where?"

Emily:"Inside Land crawford" (Prob why I am a real idiot asking stupid question)

Me:" Where? Never seen one" (Genuinely surprised there is one)

Emily:" In Level one, next to Estee Lauder"

It was at that precise moment, my brain stopped functioning for a split sec and I burst out laughing.

Me:" Emily, I want to go to a CLINIC, NOT CLINQUE!!!!!"

And we both laughed our heads off! The next time, I will say "DOCTOR. I wanna see a DOC!!!"

Craving for papaya milk

had the best papaya conconut + fresh milk in the "Dan dan" (cold or warm stewed egg) dessert place Yee shun milk company !!! Oh my god to die for. It tastes even better with the coconut milk in it..... Me and emily were craving for it so badly after thurday that we went again on friday nite. Even though i had to work late, Emily waited for me to head there straight after work since it was behind times square our office. Hmmmmm.. pure heaven!!!

Earthquake retard

I think i am an earthquake retard. Last night about 7.30- 8pm, i was still in the office working on the migration when my vendor suddenly asked me "Is that an earthquake?"

I looked at her blankly and said "Is there? I didnt feel anything. Maybe its the MTR train downstairs. My colleagues said it happens sometimes" I was so absorbed in my work i didnt even realise the tremor!!! I think this isnt the first time i went through an earthquake and completely oblivious to it!!! My vendor is from Thailand and she seem to know earthquake better than I do... That's what happen when u come from Singapore that is safe from all these natural disaster!

Only realise i went thru a short quake from reading my favourite CNA news...what a joke!

HONG KONG : (Source: ChannelNewsAsia)

An earthquake rattled Hong Kong Thursday causing skyscrapers to shake and sending people running into the streets in rural areas, officials and witnesses said.

The Hong Kong Observatory said the quake, measuring 3.5 on the Richter scale, struck in the sea around 36 kilometres off the coast of Hong Kong, which sits on the coast of southern China. Police said there were no initial reports of injuries or casualties, but local radio stations were inundated with telephone calls and e-mails. Hong Kong is one of the world's major financial centres and has some of the tallest buildings in the world.

The city is closely packed with high-rise buildings. English teacher Kate Hodgson said residents of the village of Shek O on Hong Kong island ran into the streets after the tremor struck. "I was lying on my bed reading a book when out of nowhere the walls and furniture started to shake. The whole house moved," she said. "I didn't know what it was because I had never felt anything like it before," said Hodgson, who picked up her nine-month-old baby Mathilda and left her house. She said the streets of the village were full of people wondering what had happened.

Martine Montagne, 46, who has lived in Hong Kong for 11 years, said her building in the Tai Tam district shook for around three seconds. "I've lived in earthquake zones before but I have never experienced anything like this in Hong Kong," she said.

According to the Hong Kong Observatory website, just six tremors measuring over 5.0 on the Richter Scale have hit the territory since 1874. - AFP/ch

Friday nite out

Debarah our part time staff decides to bring us gals out for "clubbing" on Friday.

We had dinner at ISE and we made so much noise from laughing that we actually got complained to tone it down. haaa haa. It is not possible to share the jokes here since the gals were teaching me all the cantonese "foul" words and handsigns thru it all, all the blunder from the different languages.

We head to Sugar but there was a private party and so we changed venue. Ended up in Mooch in LKF but it wasnt all that great, but it was nice in the sense we could sit there and chat and laugh as loudly as we want. It was quite empty and alot of professionals and "posers".

As we were at the bar staring into the dance floor, there was a silly gal who look china like and she was dancing with her guy. when he went away, the slut turn ard and try dancing this guy behind her. He prob thot it was his lucky day and he was all grins. Next thing we knew her beau came back with a drink and he saw red. He shoved the new guy and the gal was acting all innocent. The security guard appeared in a flash and seperated the 2. Before anyone knew it, the guard demanded the couple to leave the premise. It was so quick!!! The gal must have thot the guard was joking as she bring the guy away and she tried to start dancing. But the security guy crossed his arms and told him to leave. The gal got embarrased and indignant and she turned to her "guy companion" and started slapping at him and cursing him for getting her booted out! Hilarious., Its always funny to see sluts making a scene and get ousted out. I gave the guards thumbs up! Woman who doesnt know how to conduct themselves should really not be seen in public.

By 1am, we gals decide to call it a nite. So funny, we were in the club the whole 3 hours and we didnt drink a drop of alcohol. Who would believe us!

Debarah wanted to check out the Edge but it was Live DJ nite and so it was packed and needed tixs. I said forget it and i wanted to go home and sleep.

As we were walking to Landmark to grab a cab back, emily and debarah and I saw this pathetic gal sprawled by the roadside and half unconscious. There was this caucasian who was trying to help her up but she refuse to get up and just moan. It was an absolute disgrace. If you want to drink until this disgracefully, for christ sake, do it at home.

The crowd thickens and the caucasian guy apparently is a STRANGER. he said that he didnt even know the gal but he saw the chinese guy who claim to be drunkard's fren but he was rubbing her boobs so much that the caucasian guy chased him away as he didnt like how the chinese guy was taking advantage of the gal.

As i shake my head and left, i was wondering why would any gal want to get so pissed drunk (unless its your annual birthday bash with a group of close frens?) It doesnt make you feel good, doesnt make your worries go away (just being escapist), and worse, it makes you look super cheap and unrespectful. And lying by the side like that, or losing all sense is gross out. I hate people like that. On that very moment, it reminded me of some alcoholic at home. Yucks. Drown that thot. If only one can scrub their thots as clean as brushing the teeth........

a HK article got me thinking...

The more i stay in HK, the lesser I like it here. Dun get me wrong, I do like the HK colleagues and friends I made here.. its just the environment...

Sure there are nice people no doubt but there are just alot of things I do not like here. It only serves to make me appreciate our singapore govt more despite complaints of the way they pushes laws or policies though esp unpopular ones. There are no perfect govt but I appreciate what I have after living away.

In recent HK papers i saw 1 article on how in the middle of RESIDENTIAL where common folk lives, there was a business located top floor of a flatted factory that was operating as PET CREMETORY. Basically they charges a fee to burn your dead pet. What is obnoxious and vile is that this factory got some license to operate but they were spewing out dirty foul smell from the incineration of corpse, and there werer ashes flying into people's flat. The rate of people getting sick in that area got higher after their operation and the air is gross and not fit for breathing. People force to close windows but ashes still got in. It was reported that residents called SIX (6) govt agencies to complain, including environmental, labor, housing, urban to name a few, but all contacted agencies claim ignorance of responsibilities and push to another govt agency. No one wanted to shoulder the job of closing down the business. And NO ONE BOTHERED to take extra steps to find out who was in charge and who could be of help.

It was until the news hit the papers, that FINALLY someone did something and suspend the licesne to operate. If that had happen in singapore, I'm sure that factory would not last 48hrs, least of all years (i think quite a few years but i forgot the number). The reporter commented, he bet this would never happen in the EXPATS residential area like repulse bay or the peak, or if someone kick a stink from this EXPATs community instead of teh common kowloon community as in this case, the officials would be rushing to answer the call and bells would be ringing. I laughed when i read that.

In singapore, I had called NEA once just to complain about the noise of the contractors on a sunday afternoon for the new condo site behind room. They explained to me that it was allowable for contractors to work on sundays so long the noise is below certain decibels. I asked him "DO U SERIOUSLY EXPECT RESIDENTS TO HAVE DECIBELS DETECTORS?" In a flash, official called the contractor company and the operations was stopped for that few weeks and i didnt hear a squeak. Then someone called me up to explain they have spoke to the contractors to tone it down. I was glad, not becoz i got my wish of quiet sunday, but that someone actually responded. That's what i called efficient public service. They treat complaints seriously. It isnt the first time i called NEA and each time, they responded promptly and in good race. In HK, i think my complaint would have been lost. So for opposition lovers, I seriously think you have to live out of singapore for a while to maybe appreciate just a little bit of goodness of what we have.

Some stores i tried in shilin market-Taipei

For cynthia and anyone heading to Taipei (too bad I missed out on Alex in Taipei. didnt know till he emailed me after reading my blog! haa haa) , here are some stores which i tried in shilin market (stop at jian tan station 剑潭站 ）and I really love it!

I tried Aiyu (爱玉） which is some kelly gelatin made from seeds of a tree only found in taiwan. Not bad for a drink. (Store 536)

The next thing i wont miss is the mango ice (芒果冰）. wah pianz damn good! Thinking about it still makes me drool! (I think its at store 497) I dunno if there are any other place that has better mango ice but canx complain what i have!

I didnt really tried the food but there was this store that had some steam or panfried meat buns that smell really glorious and there was a Q for it. But i was conserving "Okane" $$ for other things so i didnt try the food. I canx rem the place since it is right in the middle and it was kinda like a cart in
front of the store and i didnt take note of the number.

My vendors brought me to this Pig trotters place. Sooo good, feels so at home!!! Except that theirs is not the balck vinegar style which i am used to from home. In fact they were so surprised when i said ours back home is cooked in vinegar! They couldnt imagine! HK food just doesnt suit me..except the canto dishes. But general food places makes me "sianz". Taiwan is so like home, chinese music, chinese conversation and people are just warm. Plus a good thing, I hardly saw any mainlanders! The last few modern city with minimal loud booming mainland toruists that disgusts me with their inconsiderate behaviour. And somehow, typical Singapore tourists are more subdued and quieter in Taiwan comparing to other places,maybe becoz they can speak mandarin and not their horrid english that made them more bearable. haa haa.

Taiwan is filled with stores of variety everywhere so its really hard to say where to shop. I think Anna told me there where at Wuchang or Wufeng place that was really good but i canx rem which... Anna!! U better tell me when u going back to Taiwan and let me tag along!!! hee hee

Les Suite Taipei

I really like Les Suite Taipei Hotel at 12, Ching Cheng Street. It is modern, free wireless and cheap. Can u imagine for a full set room service dinner that includes main noodle, soup, 2 appetiser, 1 vege plus 1 full plate of super sweet fruits (6 selections), it only cost 280NT + 10%service charge.

The superior room is spacious, bath room great with even simple thoughts of providing hair band and rubber band for ladies. I havent tried the bed yet but it felt alrite when i sat on it. The room has 100 channels, mainly taiwan programs and also Japanese programs (Ooops! I just saw an uncensored english channel with Jap subtitles flashing saggy boobs!)

Where can u get value like that? Good location (just next to MRT), fanastic plolite service and damn good looking stuff (guys) and new room and quiet location. Its amazing! The staff are so considerate and attentive, It was raining when they got me a cab. I forgot to ask for a brolly as it was sheltered but as i got into the cab, the hotel staff handed me a brolly and informed me to be careful as it was raining. He even put his hand on the cab door above my head in case i bump onto the taxi ceiling. Its really good service!! When i called for room service and happen to say I am hungry, the room service volunteered to give me extra serving and so I have 2 big bowl of vege soup atht tasted really good !! It was clear soup and healthy. I will definitely come back again for this is a value for money hotel!

Theer is a 24hr book store cafe but I am too tired now to check it out. But there is macs next door that close at 23.30pm and a 24hr family mart (7-11). What more can one ask for?

Compared to JW Marriott Shanghai, Marriott loses terribly in service. I was so fed up with the lousy room key which keeps deactivating and the staff keep jumping to conclusion that it was my phone or my other credit card atht affects the magnetism. For one, I kept my room card in my bag separate from my wallet and phone. So it was the card problem. 2 nites constantly and it was a hassle to walk to the recept due to weird layout. I was so irked that I wrote in to complain about the service. So Les Suite Taipei is indeed heaven sent!

shih lin market

had some time after work and so i headed to Shih Lin Nite market by myself after my colleague gave me instructions. Walked arounf for over an hour but i didnt buy anything but i tried quite a lot. So fun! Only because i FORGOT to change more money to taipei currency and only have enough money for cab back to airport (~NT$1300 to hotel).

It was amazing the collections they have and it was very interesting. As i walked, i reminded me of Anna and wished she was here. Damn, we should have come here earlier and we could have so much fun together!!! Shopping and eating!!! Oh well, have to wait a few more years now and the clothes wont even suit me anymore....

It was raining and so abit uncomfy since its not sheltered and a hassle to carry my brolly around. But i throughly enjoyed it. Didnt have time to go Ximen and janice said better not if too late since its not too safe. So next time Taiwan! I will be back! Now its's sleeping time! its 1am!

PS: canx believe i keep forget to bring camera

Where is my hotel!?

Has been more than 2 decades since i last visited Taiwan.

I was 12 when i first came to taiwan with my parents and cousin and honestly, my memory of Taiwan is vague and foggy. The only thing i remember was the Queen Elisabeth sand head statue at some beach. Only why the impression was so deep was because there was some storm and the wind was whipping upthe sand and hitting me damn hard and it bloody hurts!!!Other memories was mainly the tour bus where these 2 gay guys was especially sweet to me and chat with me through all the bus trip (only rem mum was always seemingly in foul mood...)

Anycase, it was a plesant surprise when the custom officer said "你好旧没来了哦!" I was stunned and laughed and said yes. He laughed and said more than 10 years right! I grinned and left.

After i arrived and check in, I didnt even realise i was in the wrong hotel!!! The hotel reception called me and told me my colleague had booked me at the other chain about 2 blocks away! Mind you, this is teh FIRST time i ever made a mistake and that is only because both hotel has teh SAME name in teh same district!!! So i had to grabbed a cab and rush to the other place, which is a good choice since this second hotel is newer and next to train station! Plus 10mins walking time to office.

Oh well, work day didnt end till about 8pm. Had a good chat with the D.M and I really like her. In fact i felt so at home in teh Taiwan office and had a superb time making accquaintances! People are even warmer than the shanghai office and somehow, I just felt more cosy and at ease. I felt more like new employee as i joked with Esther when she brought me around. They were wondering how i didnt have the HK mandarin accent and why my mandarin was fluent (though i insisted it really wasnt that fantastic though better than Hkongers for sure! haa haa), only to realise that I am a singaporean. They were even nicer! haa haa

Janice was so nice that she met me at the hotel and showed me how to take the train. It was very easy and i really like it and its dirt cheap. For some distance was only 30NT. I went to shih lin market for a quick look and it cost me only 30NT from Nanjing East station.

More later!

Meeting a new friend in Shanghai

was exhausted by end of the 2nd day in Shanghai. But i strive for once, to walk beyond office and hotel for this business trip. So i decided to meet up with Karen, a friend I got to know in Friendster who is living in shanghai now.

We decide to meet at Raffles city for dinner. Clueless silly me, didnt even realise the Raffles City was the same Raffles city chain in Singapore until i see the Capital Mall logo on the building. It just didnt registered it was the same singapore chain!! Even the stores and layout has a singapore feel to it!! ha ha!

Anycase, we met and luckily we both look like what we do in the picture and she brought me to the Brazilian place on the 2nd floor. The food is buffet but u have roaming nomad waiters who hold the meat in skwers and walked around to serve u. I feel like a glutton next to Karen coz i was starving and i seem to order double the meat portion compared to her! haaaa!

The dinner was pleasant and we chatted abit and maybe its a singapore bond, it didnt feel weird or anything as we ate and talk. Karen remarked it was quite something to have 2 singaporeans, one living in shanghai, one in HK, to be eating together in shanghai in a singapore mall, chomping on Brazilian food with a bikini cladded dancer, dancing to somewhat a turkish sounding music and she looked like a filippino from far. Talk about intercontinental mix! haaa

We moved on to fresh food drink at basement and Karen finally decide to go for the durian sugarcane mix while i stuck to papaya milk. I told her abt my "gas leak" story when i was in school then and i nearly had her choking on the drink from laughing! I didnt realise i was so animated till she said i really shouldnt tell her a joke while she was sipping a drink. heh ;p

Then she talked about some personnel stuff and i joked with her that since she is so good at sniffing out the butt of durian, perhaps she should try her "durian" technique to hold by hair and sniff the butt of her potential employees during interview to pick the "good and ripe" one! We laughed hilariously over that joke!! I dun know what possess me to crack that joke but that image just turn up in my head and I couldnt resist sharing it. Haa haa. I think have Karen cracking over it:)

Afterwhich, Karen tried to show me the "naked parading shanghai woman" in the changing room of her gym upstairs but our plan was foiled by an overzealous gym staff who "respected" the privacy of the female guests. I find it hilarious coz they wont be walking ard naked if they really cared do they? Oh well, too bad for me... (god i sound so perverted! haaa)

Karen showed me another place called cross road at the food court where they served sg food! The picture of the prawn noodle had me drooling big time.. I missed home food!!! Then we saw Bakerzin and the counter gal tried to convince me that they SHIPPED/FLOWN in the cakes from singapore everyday!!! Do u believe it!!!!! I looked at karen and we both was like "absolutely non-convinced" but of coz we politely walked away.

The nite quickly come to an end. I thoroughly enjoyed Karen;s company and yes, we certainly clicked as our brain seemed to question things abt us the same way (like how do the first people first know coffee beans can be drunk??)

So Thank You Karen for a wonderful time and dinner treat! And canx wait to catch up with u again!

Funny Bar in shanghai

Remind me never to be nice and allow baggage check in even if they tell u some sob story about the flight is full and limited cabin space. I agreed and I ended up wasting 45mins of my time at shanghai airport looking for my "misplaced" luggage. I waited for the belt number to flash on screen as to where to collect my bag but it never materialised. I thought it was strange after so long and found my bag at the lost and found counter. Shanghai airport didnt even have the decency to display on screen the belt!!!! Talk about crap airport service!

So i reached Marriott later than expected and rushed to office for meeting. The discussion got abit delayed and didnt leave till about close to 8pm. Went dinner with Wendy, to treat her a farewell dinner since we have gotten relatively along well. Gossips, jokes, stories. She brought me to this Nepalise place for dinner.

The restaurant is "Nepal Kitchen" located at "No.4 Lane 819, Julu Road, Shanghai 200031" (tel: 54046281). Dinner was ok, close to indian food really. However, I hate it as it was not non smoking and there was 2 tables of bloody foreigners (at least 20 people) who was puffing away and my eyes started tearing. I couldnt breathe, it was horrible to sit there. So we left and went next door for a quick drink.

It was called "Peoples 7" and u cannot just enter like that. At the entrance, there are big 9 circles on the wall and there is a 4 number code that you must activate to go in! When u have the wrong code, the opposite door will open with a mirror saying "sorry try again". I thought it was quite silly as u are driving potential customers away!

The inside was pretty decent but the decor for toilet is weird. Firstly, there were doors, look like doors , didnt function as proper doors. I tried the knob and it didnt turn... only to find out it was a decoy! U have to push where the hinges are supposed to be!!! And once inside, u cannot find the damn lights switch!!! I tried waving like a silly goose, only to find out, the lights will only turn on AFTER you latch the door!! I pray they wash the toilet enough since some guys may not latch the door and spray everywhere!!! Luckily for me, it was relatively clean.

We left about 11pm and i got a call at 11.30pm. Apparently, Wendy's husband locked her out!!! She was furious and cursing him. So in the end, I had her bunk over with me at the hotel and she left again early morn at 6am. The hotel room service only served to piss her off even more so we didnt sleep till like after 2.30am++.

Luckily I was able to wake up for work, only that the stupid hotel room clock was 15mins behind time!!! I ran for my life to office!!! Marriott has to do better than this.

Bad air quality in HK

Since yesterday, HK is shrouded by a thick haze. It is such major air pollution that I couldnt see the buildings across the sea from my office seat. It is DISGUSTING.

On the 8th Aug, 8pm, the green group had organised a campaign to turn off the lights for 3 mins. I didnt know if it was an act to campaign their cause about bad ait quality, or was it an effort to stop burning fuels for 3 mins.

In anycase, they had seeked private and public sector's support. Normally HK will have lights display at night at 8pm but Donald made a public statement (which i caught off the news segment on TV) refusing to support the campaign, citing that "..delaying the light show will have an impact on HK's image as a modern city."I was appalled. What kind of logic is that? The green group retort back and stated that "It is more a disgarce for a modern city to have such bad air quality such that blue skies and white clouds are a distant memory and hard to come by." With this sort of opposing mentality from public sector, it is no wonder that the air quality continues to deterioriate.

Typhoon 3. or 8?!!

The storm in Hk is so unpredictable. After a few days of sunny weather, its now pissing rain and hurling wind. The typhoon 3 wind is so strong that it is enough to totally wreak your big brolly and twist its metal and send u walking in the direction which the wind is blowing.

Macau is having typhoon 8 and HK refuse to upgrade its signal and remains at 3. But u look at the damn wind and storm passing, you know it has to be larger!!!!

Although i could leave half hour earlier, i stayed on as i was hoping not to catch the rain. sometimes, the rain just come and go. So luckily by 7pm, the rain stop. Emily and Josephine brought me to buy something for my decongested nose. Bloody HK do not have VICKs. (Anna, looks like u may need to send it to me or get your hubby to pass me if i see him in Taiwan) and so i quickly ran to the bustop and caught it before it left.

On way home, i saw the traffic road for opposite direction came to a halt. A bloody HUGE tree was uprooted and slammed right into the cars and plonked itself in the middle of the road. Traffic directors and some workers were trying to get the tree out of the way. Its a mess. Some pipes burst and i saw some roads were filled with water.

I alighted the bus and the security guard said they locked the glass door and so we had to walk thru the general garbagge area to walk to carpark to get back to units. I was PUSHED by the wind. The woman behind me screamed and yelped. So imagine the force of nature is to be reckon with!

Seeing Celebrity Michelle Yeoh

In all my excitment about talking abt the boat trip, i forgot to mention the highlight during the dinner.

When we seated down, we realise that Michelle Yeoh (The malaysian born actress aka Bond gal) was sitting on the table behind us with her friends or family. She seemed happy and no one really went up to her to disturb her. She was wearing this sleeveless green top and you can see how tone her muscles are on her arm.

For a woman her age, she was very well maintained and she still looks super young. She is no glamour queen like some celebrities out there but at least she has style and exudes real, quiet womanly confidence. I like that.

First Boat Trip

Have my first boat trip with the company yesterday after the internal meeting.

LL shared with us the greatest news on our sales performance and it was so exciting just to hear about potentially getting this really really goregous Hollywood guy (canx say who until it actually happens) down for possible product event!! But of coz that is all in the air and possibly pulling our leg for all we know... Anycase, saw the presentation slides for some of the new global product launch and it was gorgeous!!!! Canx say much or I am gonna get into trouble here!

So at 5pm, we all rushed down to Central Queen Pier and hoped into our boat and headed 2 hours to the new territories for seafood dinner. The trip was really nice! The waves werent as choppy as i fear and it was nice breeze and i had great company of coz.

Jo, Linda and I headed to the front of the boat since most of the management people were on the top deck. The scenic view was magnificent and tranquil. Too bad i didnt bring my camera.

Dinner was amazing and we were stuffed beyond imagination. We had steam abalone, scallops, hairy crabs, lobster noodle, soup, huge steam fish and this local thing called :Lai Liu Ha: which they have no idea of the English term. I thought it looked a cross between prawn and morten bug (cray fish). It was fried and tasted like crayfish anycase. I have never had such a big piece of the leg of the hairy crab. I was almost expecting some other huge sea monster size dish to be served on my plate!

By 10.30pm, we were stuffed and some of us headed back to the boat while some took a cab home from there. The trip back was quieter and chatted a little with Joanne. She wanted to head to the front of the boat and found my boss there as well. So anycase, we sat down and chatted a little about movies and HK women . Ha ha ha. No further comments here...

The view back into the city was really pretty. cruising in the breeze and heading towards the lights. Its like a welcoming home kinda feeling, though i didnt fail to remind my boss that it was also precisely of the lights that is causing the air pollution due to constant burning of fuels...

So the nite came to an end about 12am at the pier. What can i say except it was fun and i am having a sore throat now!

"Star Struck" Day

Yesterday is a Star-Struck day. During lunch, i decide to have a light one and head to Marks and Spencer to get some sweets. Linda came along and as we were walking at the top floor, we passed this guy who was pretty tall and i thought he looked familiar. He didnt smile or anything and walked past us very quickly. I asked Linda if that was the male actor in HK always appearing in TV drama serials and she said yes.

Later in the eve after work, I went to Citi-Super to grab some groceries and just as i came up the escalator into Lane Crawford, i saw this lady in white top and jeans walked hurriedly towards me from the main door entrance. I was thinking she couldnt possibly not see me and so i didnt like make way deliberately. Yet, she really bumped into me and my grocery bag. She looked up said sorry in cantonese and walked off quickly into the mall. As i was walking out, i thought she looked familiar...then it hit me who she was. She was GiGi Lai, 黎姿。She's about as tall as me but she is goodness graciously fair bordering on pale.

The thing was she looked so hassled and hurried and unsmiling that one wonders what's weighing her thoughts down. Prob avoiding all the paparazzi. But she IS pretty considering her age, well maintained, but just the same height as me which i had expected her to be taller. As i was thinking if that was really her, the HK couple in front of me was whispering frantically that it was really her. It was funny seeing the gf getting so worked up that she saw an actress.

Arriving at shanghai

Its always tiring to return from Biz Trip. At least thankfully this time round i got some decent sleep and didnt have any noisy neighbors as per last trip. IN fact, the hotel upgraded me to the executive corner room with the full magnificent view of the city lights. It was really pretty!!! Then again, I hardly spend any time in my room.

Arrived @ hotel about 9.30pm. There was a jam from Pudong airport to JWM hotel and I had the rare friendly taxi who acted as my "tour guide". He was explaining the sights and names of the various places we passed by and pointed out the bund to me. Even though i had already been there, I didnt want to cut him off and so i just listened to him and responded whenever i think it was required of me out of politeness.

This was first time i stayed in JWM in shanghai. So it came as a surprised that their lobby was situated at 38level. When the lift opened, i saw Anson and desmond sitting at the lounge waiting for me. Hoo Hoo. Aparently the silly boys waited for an hour to go for dinner together.

After checking in and everything, the boys decided to head for Karaoke. We headed to this place Party world which was HUGE! Its like a hotel except that each room is fitted with huge 42inch tv, sofa seat and mics for you to explode your lungs from singing. They even have a wide spread of food like what hotels provide. Incredible. Singing is huge biz in shanghai and its the clean image sort, not one of those sleasy bars. The rarest in shanghai, i didnt even smell cigarette! Cool! So the boys entertained me singing all sort of OLD songs that had me cracking up like a mother hen. It was hilarious when the 2 boys did the "Monica" and "standup" songs by leslie chung. I realise how different Hk and Singapore, China preference are. Desmond would pick all the HK singers like Leon Lai etc while me and Anson would pick more of Taiwan songs/ singers which Desmond never heard of.

Anycase, we call it a day by 1.30am as i needed to be up early for meeting teh next day. Unfortunately, desmond wasnt sleepy and wanted to chat and so i listened to him for the next 2phours until I couldnt hold up and i told him i needed to sleep. The shitty thing was, I couldnt sleep after 4am and stare at the clock till 5am. It will be a miracle tomorrow if i wake by 9am.

Dinner @ Armani Bar

Decide to end work early today since I have to fly off tomorrow and i forsee a long working week whole time in shanghai.

Ended up having dinner at Armani Bar. Yup, you got that right. Armani as in Emporio Armani. Anycase, the HK service staff should really really brush up on their English. I specifically said for dinner, and she still brought me to the bar where the whole load of expats are. I had asked twice if she was sure this was the dining area since my instincts are pretty good at catching people out. She nod like a stupid china doll and went off. Another guy waiter passed me the drinks menu and i asked for main meal and he told me we are seated at the wrong area. Talked about banging your head.

So we swopped away from the expats bunch to a quieter corner. Had rack of lamb and it was okie. But the price aint cheap. For 2 set of lambs, 1 mocktail and 1 still, the bill came up to about $HK600. You would expect a place that charge so much to have decent english speaking service staff serving the expats!!!

Anycase, its a nice place and i do like the place so i am not gonna bitch too much about it.

In case i havent said it, Armani Bar is located in Prince's Building just next to Central station , exit K. In fact the whole Chartered Building is all about ARMANI! There is Armani bar, armanai cosmetics, E. Armani clothes, even Armani Florist!! Talked about being exaggerative! The only person I can imagine having a whale of a time here is probably chris! He and his Armani.

Oh well, off to pack my luggage. ANother long remaining week ahead!

Nice HK girls..new friends

Found another anime fan in HK!!! It came as a surprise that Emily loves Jap Anime too! It was OMG!!! I was totally elated! U have Nooooo idea how bored i was with really nothing much to say in common with some of the gals here. I'm no fashion guru, neither am i girly girly sort. So when someone else finally know what is Bleach, Naruto, Hunter X hunter, the feeling is like hitting jackpot!!!

In fact the closest Desmond ever got it rite was saying i am such a "boy" by nature. He remained appalled to this day how much "secrets" he told me for the 2 weeks he had known me, and that he has never spoke to most of his HK colleagues of 4 years!!!

Anycase, the gals Jo, Joe and Emily waited for me to walk to the train/ bus stop. As it was still wasnt too late, they brought me to this Apple Mall nearby to window shop. Its like Far East Shopping sort of concept, rows of small stores packed in a level. Well, it was only at the basement 1 level anyway. Most of the clothes and shoes and bags doesnt suit my style but there were a few that was pretty alrite but no fiting room, so Forget IT!

The gals were really nice. They walked to the opposite side to wait for my bus with me even though they could have gone to the causeway bay train station near the office at Times Square.

Emily said the first impression of me was so serious and quiet. I laughed. At least they didnt mistook me as demure like anna and the gals did! Haa haaa! And like wise, that was when i realise there actually are gals who do laugh in HK and not just tai tai wannabe!!!
Anycase, we made a date to hang out afterwork next week. Emily was so sweet and she remembered to lend me her Nana music box! Yippeee!

Saw Rosa this morn and she is inviting me for lunch as well since i decline her yesterday being out with Emily +gals for laksa. (Just plain weird eating laksa in indonesian /thai restaurant, not to mention to be served with lotus rib soup as starters in a set!!!! hoo hooo!!!) Rosa is like Eileen, She really does. The more i hang out with her, the more she projects the eileen flavour. Its amazing how we have little copies of ourselves all over the world!

Okie better get back to work. Terrible, dunno where to start. SO many nitty gritty problems... sigh Why oh Why... :) Back to work!

First Autumn Press Conference & ...

Ever since i came to HK, there is no end to my hectic work life.

Finally had a proper product training with Rosa today (all the tea rose, pearl, ginseng and shimmery ingredients was overwhelming me!!) . Had a go at the suncare range and the sunshield for the face is really good! It was non greasy light weight and spf30++ cooll! (I finally know what PA++ stands for!!) Rosa was really nice, she gave me this huge collection to bring home to try. I am so gonna bring this conditioning mist for my shanghai trip tomorrow!

As a result of the training we were late for the press conference at Ocean Terminal today. Was scheduled from 3-5pm but we didnt leave office till about 4pm. We ran. Ran like hell so that we can make it in time!!! Rosa had really want to make it so that she can take the door press gift for Sunny as it was the new autumn accent range. For me, I just want to KPO and see how the press conference was like.

Despite all the 500m dash, the press conference was tailing to an end. Rosa almost didnt want to turn up and i told her no way, since i am here, i intend to check it out! Deborah was out at the entrance of stage cafe and she waved to me. We wriggled in past all the press people who were walking out and i grab the first orange juice. I told Rosa "This door gift for sunny is bloody earned back through sweat and 100 calories burning!!!" She laughed and laughed and couldnt agree more!

So i missed the makeup demo but i saw a few local celebrity whom i totally have no idea who they were, though one of them do look kinda sweet.

So we sat there for a while, miggle and chat and ate the dessert finger food. I have got the really nice gift which adds up to about SG$100 worth of products. I doubt i will use some of the colours so will prob pass to mum instead! All in all, my first not so sucessful press conference attendance but hey, who care, i got my first press gift! haa haa haa!

Desmond was late for work again this morn...

I didnt notice him until he walked past my desk to the toilet. I turned and saw his back as he was heading to the pantry for the toilet keys. The reason that he caught my eye was becoz i was thinking its impossible for this company to have any "cool" looking Chinese Guy. Plus it was a dark blue burberry shirt and he had it tucked out. I have never seen him tucked any shirt out except for the time we went drinking in shanghai during the last biz trip.

When I realised it was Desmond, i "psst" him and said "hey u gg drinking today?" He gave me a shy smile and "chey" me and walked off.

When he came back, I noticed he had his shirt TUCKED IN!

I rolled my eyes and msn him.
"Bro!! WHAT DID YOU DO! U look so cool and suave this mornin, sooo happening and now u look so SQUARE!!" BAsically he looked soooo TU TU in hokkien (" 土 土" in mandarin)."

He replied "What is happening? What is Square" Wah pianz! How to explain sg terms to him? Tough man! So i said happening means cool lah! Why u tuck in! Just now look sooo good!"

He said "Coz you make fun of me just now abt my shirt lor! Anyway i dun like this shirt. My gf bought it" Wah pianz! I slapped my forehand in disbelief and walked to his room

I saw him and said "Why u tuck in ur shirt sooo much! Tuck out some more!!! U know what u look like? U look like when u very small and gg to kindergarten and your mum help u wear ur school uniform and TUCK ALL UR SHIRT IN!! Soooo ugly!!"

Desmond grinned but trying to act cool, he "ni ni neh neh" me and said "oki oki" trying to humour me or like i was "forcing" him. Or he was just shy. I said "Your shirt very nice what! And just now so cool! Why tuck in!!!!!" Barry was in the room and laughed.

Desmond said "Aiya, this shirt nice meh? I dun like." I said to him "Who cares what u like! U wear a shirt and its the GALS who are looking at u! What matters is what WE GALS LIKE U silly! Who cares what u think! Ur gf has good taste! U look nice in this!!! SO u should wear shirts that gals like! U have such bad taste! No wonder U havent got to pick up any gals when u go drinking!!! Rite rite Barry rite??!!" I turned to Barry for support and he laughed and said yes. Desmond surrended and made "feeble" attempt to tuck out his shirt a LITTLE.

I towered over him and said firmly "MORE! Dun be stingy! Tuck out lah! This morn u look soo Good!" In attempt to cover up his "willingless" to look cool, he pretend to look "hassled" and said okie okie!!! U so mafan and TUCK OUT HIS SHIRT again! Haa haa

I smile at him pleased with his "co-operation" and pat his head saying "Good! Now u look cool again" and walked out! Ha ha ha! Oh poor Desmond! :)

An "unexpected" bright morning...

Struggling to wake this morn.
Doreen called at 11pm and we didnt end the call till abt 2am. And it was only when her phone card gave way and ended the call itself. I couldnt sleep immediately and so by the time i fell zzzzz, was prob abt 3-4am.But it was worth catching up and chatting with her. Havent had such long chat with doreen for a while!

I woke up and while standing in the bathroom, i was wondering what was so different in the bathroom. It took me a full min to realise. FOR ONCE after 3 months, there was actually sunlight coming through the bathroom window!!! So the difference was i didnt have to turn on the bathroom light this morn! I was actually SHOCKED to even discover that there was sun and my toilet can be sooo bright! Talk abt bad weather spells in HK and all those polluted sky....

Back at work, everyone seem to like all my clothes in sg. I find it funny. And shoes too. At least its a slim cut and it tampers to your body line, HK clothes always make u look like u are pregnant because they like to pile the layers. Its nice on some but horrid on some. Esp i am so thin, it looks like i am a hanger!!!!HA!

Lunch over "smells assault"...

Lunch was GOOD!

I had Thai food at Lee Theatre. Rosa had her training counter part A.from states to come down to ASia and they are heading to japan together next week. Being typical caucasian, A. is crazy abt oriental food.

I have always been next to Sweet Basil Thai since ISE jap is next to it but never thot of trying it. So it came as a pleasant surprise when the dishes we ordered was very good. We order the 4 PP set even though there were like 5 of us but the portions were enuff.

We had pork neck as starters, coconut milk prawn soup, spring roll, veges, curry chicken and stir fried lamb slice. Everything was great except the lamb which i thot was a little chewy.

A. was funny. Thru' out lunch we were swopping stories and it was hilarious!!! Esp when we came to the topic of SMELLY FEET! BAD SMELL IS THE MOST UNFORGIVABLE SIN and MOST INTRUSIVE!! And Fandy shared her story abt being stuck in a full plane and the guy next to her took off his shoes and oh GOD it stank!!!! We were like OMG! U poor gal!!! I could totally empathise as i had the smelly feet causasian sitting next to me and scratching his bloody stinking feet before me (It smells really like some gone out salted fish)!!! Difference was i could get up and swop seat but Fandy couldnt! So A. asked her what airline and Fandy said "Airfrance" and A said "that explains!" I laughed my head off!!! If u dun get the joke, i canx tell u off my blog either, u have to figure it out.

Then A. shared with us abt a story of her colleague back in US office and she had a smelling problem. The poor gal didnt even know she smells and everyone had an issue but couldnt say a thing coz in US, this sort of thing has to be handled tactfully or you may get slap with a legal suit! So she said her boss asked her to TELL the gal and she tried calling the "Equal oppotunity" organisation and they refuse to help her as she was "ON THE WRONG SIDE" being the employer and not employee. I must admit I thought that was rather silly.

Anycase, someone somehow manage to discreetly told the poor gal and she went to A. and confide and asked if it was true. A. told her yes she does. So they went thru every detail from head to toe to find out what needs to be changed. And to our horror, the gal only wash her hair ONCE A WEEK and hasnt been to dentist for 3 years. So A. said "U GO HOME NOW GAL TO WASH YOUR HAIR!" I laughed my head off! And the gal found out later she had gum dieases and which was why she stinks. So it was like getting rid of one smell after another! Poor gal but really, not wash hair for a week????? Gross.... Anycase, the highlight was the gal has a BF! I was flabberghasted. I asked didnt the BF tell the gal anything?? And A said exactly that was what her boss asked A. Her boss asked what nationality was the bf and A. said "French" and teh boss said "That explains it!! but i'm not smelly!!" Hoo Hoo Hoo!

(PS: Did anyone tell u abt the joke on why French invent perfume? Ha ha. I heard this joke so often here. Ha ha. )

After lunch, I went to toilet to brush my teeth and Joanne came in and looks like she saw a goddess. She was like "Oh can u pass me some of ur floss? i had something stuck and the first person i thot of was u!" And now she concede that it was a good idea to at least have floss in the office. Later i found out she had some tooth crown and i was think age 27 is such a tender age to not have a complete set of real teeth!!! And these people are astonished at my brushing teeth habit? I am ASTONISHED at their habit.

Comment

heard a funny comment today.

I was going to the washroom when the lady from Hugo Boss team came out of the meeting and asked if she could tagged along with me as i had the key. As we were chatting, she asked me what project i was working on. After she heard, she said "Oh u do look like a Anna Sui gal" I was pleasantly surprised, i'm even looking the part now? heh.

A new definition on "homely" food

Had lunch with Joanne, Ida, Fandy and 2 more other gals. They brought me to this Thai food place behind Time square (Lantern Street). Its small place, that doesnt surprise me. What surprised me was when they didnt have place at the shop and the owner brought us up to his place upstairs and open tables to sit me and my colleagues! I was obviously shocked.

I was joking that its almost like we are heading to someone's house for causal lunch! I had to walk up this narrow stair case and into this empty living room. The owner was pretty nice and he turn on the TV and aircon to make us as comfy as possible. I found the whole experience amusing. Only in Hk will u have such a situation.

The food was pretty good and cheap. Only Hk30 between the table of 6. The prawn crab cake was nice. But conversation for me is almost nil coz there is nothing much to say.

Emily from finance was very sweet. She gave me this black sesame shui jing bao thing. So far she is one of the most sociable person in the office, restricted by our language barrier. Luckily i understood her. Another credit for watching cantonese VCDS when I was young! :P

Black rain in HK

The weather in HK has been crazy. Just had black rain and amber rain warning last few days.
Rain rain rain, that's all i have experienced so far. Saw the news. they even have this thing call microburst where the downward pressure forces the wind to travel at 100km/hr and uprooted all the trees. Its crazy. But such burst onlt last abt 15mins.

Nothing much to write, been sleeping all weekend. Tired.Bill apparently caught some nasty flu from aouth africa and so i missed him this time in HK. Damn. was hoping to see some familiar face.

Sg and image of our bad english?

The most commonly repeated statement i have heard since i came to HK in march always amaze me. They always say "You are from singapore?! You dun have the accent!!" When i protest, they would say "its true! Singapore's english is so hard to understand!" Then it amazes them further when they realise i could speak decent Mandarin without the "other sort of ang-mo accent".

It kinda made me wonder. Is it such a BAD image that singaporeans are projecting overseas? Is that why the govt are trying sooo hard to rid the singlish or speak proper english campaign? We seem to have such an appalling image on our singlish accent to everyone from everywhere!

I got kinda concerned and asked Allen (A taiwan new zealander), he was the 30th person to exclaim on my "heritage". (yes, i'm keeping count).

"Why do everyone thinks ALL singaporean speak badly?" He said "Maybe becoz of that Chinese movie about the kids and school system in singapore" I was like "Oh my god! That is just movies! Its not like a default rule that everyone from Singapore must speak like that!" He laughed.

A movie. Can u believe it???

PS: i miss speaking mandarin....

Made it thru presentations.. Phew!

The presentation was moved from wed to thurs.

That gave me more time to find out existing mkting campaign scope, existing vendors, cost structure for the whole region and on top, understand the potential vendor's offering as well as evaluate the trade off in switching.

Stress is understatement. Spent hours on long distance calls to vendors and luckily, Allen the existing vendor is such a nice chap and he patiently walk thru the scope and cost structure for me in 2 key regions. That was like 3 hour long dist call and my ears were like on fire by 10pm.
So today was D-DAY.
Had to do 2 presentations one after another. Before i started, I was crossing my finger that I read my MD correctly in the essence of my presentation. The last thing i need is to screw up my first 2 regional presentations in front of a room full of 12 key people.

After the presentations, I felt so drained! Its like completion of a marathon!
The good new is my boss told me that he heard pretty good reviews abt the presentations and that he thinks i'm doing a very good job apparently! So he said he felt even more a pity that no one reminded him to attend my presentations despite him requesting it.

Hoo Hoo. Actually his absence means Less stress for me. Bad enuff to have the MD next to me, dun need another boss to add on the heat!

But I guess what "saved my arse" was that i bothered to do the price study from Allen even though I wasnt doing a cost feasibility. But as luck would have it, my MD asked for it so suddenly, but i had the answers with me, so i guess that really put me in good light. Thank god! All the stress and late nites the last 2 days seemed worth while after all!

Had dinner had Habibi an Indian restaurant at Wellington street coz Lucky & billie are in town. So we had a group dinner together to unwind. And now, its really time for bed since i had less than 6 hours sleep combined in last 2 days!

"Singapore Girl"

heard a saying few days back being said to me.

"You can take a gal out of singapore, but you canx take Singapore out of the gal"

chuckles...

Work work work...

how many times have i said it? Work is crazy. I mean typhoon crazy.

Today there was a presentation by vendor. Before i can grapple with everything he described, i have to do a repeat presentation for the regional country director tomorrow morning. that leaves me with like 3 more hours to prepapre the material. I dun even know what is the current system! And in that 3 hours, i have a quotation and contract to review and system features queries to sort out.

I wish i have 48 hrs, but somehow, time passes by so quickly that you wonder what had happen to the first 24hrs...

Back to work...

Another hectic trip to/fro shanghai

U know, I told ALL my frens that I am really not the best person to travel with on plane. For one simple reason, my flights ALWAYS, ALWAYS get delayed!!!!

Its always either technical problem or weather. Always. And this time, moving to HK, my luck hasnt changed. It got worse!!!

I thot the most impossible thing of being rerouted to a completely new destination was the worse i could get on my last biz trip. This time, due to RED RAIN in HK, the bad weather caused so many flights to be canceled and delayed!!!So me and Desmond got stranded in shanghai airport from 3pm till 9pm. Even when we board the plane, we were stuck inside the plane for another 1.5hrs before the air control traffic allowed us to take off. By the time i reached HK, it was midnite and i got home about 1.30am. How brillant. I was soo freaking tired considering i didnt have any decent sleep the nite before.

Our fight to shanghai was postponed from 10am to 11am. So basically my whole trip agenda got screwed. I was running all over to meet vendors and office people and meetings. I never had such a rushed trip! By the time the meeting with Anson ended, it was close to 10pm and i had to hunt for food with desmond.

Desmond and I found this chinese dim sum place in shanghai near our Ramada Plaza shanghai hotel. He was eager for his drinks @Rouge 18 and so dinner wasnt the main highlight.

The drinking place was pretty hip and at least music cool enuff. Not crappy retro and R&B. Thanksfully! The view was fasincinatin facing the pudong oriental pearl. The shanghai gals were all over the blondie boys of coz and there was a decent amt of gay guys there too. The good thing out of the dribking session was that desmond and I got to know each other better in a more relaxed mood and so more office gossips were shared. haa haa. By the time i went back the hotel, he was definitely more pissed high than i was but i was freezing cold. Heaven knows why. It was a rainy day and so it was just a yucky weather basically. I didnt sleep till like 6am and my neighbor had to turn on his tv so loud at 7am till 8am. So effectively i didnt sleep till 8am to 10am. 2 hours. and i had to rush off for next 2 meetings at 11am. bloody hell! Taxi drivers and traffic in shaghai is madness.

Like what wendy said, "You feel like you have EARN back your LIFE after each cab ride. Its worse than bangkok and the drivers are reckless. Its a test of luck with your destiny. "

So thinking we could try to head back to HK earlier as Desmond had a teleconference meeting at 9pm, we rushed to airport, only to be told we couldnt fly. Wait wait.with nothing to do except to drink, we sat around and spend money on fod and drinks. I was still feeling the after effects from the drinks the nite before so i curb the alochol intake. Shanghai airport is pretty boring, but at least it has space so i dun feel constricted. But still, i rather be home in bed.

Anycase, by the time i went to bed, it was 3am. Talk about being freaking tired. Next week is going to be soooo bz that i cannot imagine.

Another singaporean stranger

I feel like I am in the eye of a cyclone. One bad move and I will be swept into a horrific mess and being flung a thousand miles away. Sigh

Anycase, had quick dinner at local hangout (Yun Qi). A lady came to sit opposite me to share table (common in HK). I was almost not paying attention to her until i heard her trying to order her dinner in English. She looked like a singaporean and she could obviously not understand nor speak cantonese. Not wanting to leave her in a lurch, i asked her in english what she wanted with prawns. The look of relief on her face, brought back familiar feeling! haaa haa

So I helped her order to the delight of both her and the waitress who couldnt speak english. We exchanged info and she was with citigroup doing her biz trip. She apparently decide to venture out on her own without her local colleagues.

We chatted for a while more and then i made my move. It's nice to see a fellow-woman back from home. but i'm getting use to HK and it doesnt really has that sort of impact for me like "OH GOD finally someone can speak english to me!":)

Desmond also started to converse with me in cantonese rather than english since he realise i could understand him and reply a little back in cantonese. Hopefully my cantonese will improve soon!

People keep saying singapore is boring...

I think its quite sad, that everyone else in the world, including ourselves think Singapore is such a boring place. There is hardly anything for me to defend it with.
"Please, not sentosa again. "

Desmond's boss fly in from singapore. He didnt realise i was from singapore i think. So when asked how he thought sg was, he paused, thot very hard and all he could say was "nice". I could see he was struggling to find a right descriptive word.

We asked him what he did and he said someone brought him to Raffles hotel, and "tallest building" asia grill bar at swissotel. I was thinking, OH MY GOODNESS, is there all we can offer????

As luck would have it, a table behind us, an animated american pair of male business men was talking about their business trip recently. I overhead the guy said "oh i just came back from singapore. Ghees that place is SOOO BORING. There is nothing there. Just Boring"

I was feeling aliitle indignant. Then again, he is almost right. What can i say? Compare to HK, we are like plain congee next to a bubbling pot of steaming hotpot with variety of seafood!

I feel sad that there is nothing worthwhile in sg to mention. Nothing. Forget abt the damn IR. Where the hell is our character, the vibrance, the brillance??? None. Sad to admit. Its a nice country to settle in, live in, but not a tourist place.

We are just too clean, too eager to be modern, that we have lost our essence of our own character. Look at china town, its the fakest chinatown i have ever seen around the world. Even I WONT GO THERE, least of all visitors.

So sad....

Towards the end, desmond's boss realised i was from singapore. he keep adding "oh its a nice place" I smiled, trying to be nice too. I am afterall an unofficial "ambassador" of my lion city.

Typhoon 3 in Hk again

Woke up late this morn. I forgot to set the alarm and was rushing like hell to work. The minute i step out of the lobby, I had wind blowing straight in my face! It was cool and the wind was strong! So i gave up the idea of braving the wind by the road and took the shuttle and MTR. Longer trip but safer and dry!

When the shuttle turn along the coastal, u could see how high the sea water is and its super choppy! Its almost scary looking at it! I mean its all new to me considering there's hardly a stir in singapore's water. I truly thank god for having such a safe isl I had all these years! No earthquake, no storm, no black rain, no cyclone...

I didnt have time to plaster tapes and marked an X on my windows. I figure its still quite safe. Luckily i came back to an intact home.

Work was hectic. What is new?

Marten shoo me home abt 8pm and again i took the train back this time. When i alighted the bus, the typhoon wind almost blew me away! Ha ha. I wondered if i lift my arms, would i ne taken off into the air and fly?! :)

Canx wait to get home tomorrow!
I hope the typhoon wont delay or cancel my flight! I'm taking SQ this time and so i feel safer in comparison! At least i know they wont try to push it!

Home sweet home. Canx wait to see my frens again!

A day in Macau

Went to macau on sat with tracy and her Hubby. We decided on a day trip and we set off abt noon after lunch. The ferry took an hour to Macau and it was bloody bad for me and Tracy. We were suffered from motion sickness. The water was so choppy and we were giddy and feeling puky the whole way.

We took bus 3A (cost us only Hk$2.50 each) to the senado square and walked towards St Paul Ruins. We stop by a church to visit the sacred treasures museum. Basically its all artifacts of paintings, models and tools used in their mass or priests etc dated many years back. It wasnt anything grand but still okie.

St Paul's Ruin was truly a wall on its own. We speculate on the 101 reasons why it was just left with the wall that wasnt burnt down. We walked up the stairs behind the wall and as we reached the top, me and tracy froze. we were both afriad of heights and it didnt help that the metal railings was the sort with holes that u can looked down. So we immediately did a turn and head straight down and to visit the crypts instead. There was nothing much except piles of incomplete bones that was matyrs of Japan.

After that, we went off to the fortress which was really nothing and then we moved on to casa gardens. In the garden, we saw 10 murals on the floor and realise that it was a story telling mural. We saw the sign that said waterfall and so we walked in. Only to discover 3 stacked up rocks and waterfall that had long ceased operation. Such a con job! Instead we found ourselves in a children playgrd and libray. Sigh.

After which we walked back towards St Paul and bought so much local snacks, esp this cuttlefish speciality that was absolutely fabulous! We swiped each a huge bag of snacks! I bought till abt HK350.

As we head towards the bustsop, we saw a crowd of people outside the St dominic church with cameras. We saw school scots forming human barricade on two sides outside the entrance. I whipped out my guide book and realised it was an annual procession (on every 13th may) from this church to another chapel, where the nuns will carry the holy mary figurine etc and walked the procession.

Dunno why the people in front of us went away and went into the church but we stayed put and so we ended up rite in front of the Q. The processions started abt 5.30 -6pm and it was pretty nice to watch. I didnt know why they were chanting the same verse over the loud speaker over and over again in cantonese until tracy explained they were doing the rosary chants in sets according to the beads. Argh i see. Always handy to have catholic frens to explain the mystery.

We waited for a while for the bus back. It was dusty and crowdd and we had to stand on the way to the ferry terminal. We manage to catch the 8 pm ferry but it cost HK176 instead of HK150 coz it was a nite service. The trip back was slighty better as the turbo jet ferry seemed more stable. But once we hit HK waters, we felt sick again and didnt help when we were so hungry. We ate like a cow at Maxim food place.

All in all, a good day coz it was cloudy and wasnt hot. Havent laughed so much for a long while. Its always fun to have tracy and hb ard!

ISE Jap Restaurant (Causeway Bay)

Tried this ISE Japanese Restaurant, at Lee Theater at causeway bay (behind Times Square) for dinner (Tel: 28821388). Thot i give it a try since I didnt feel like chinese.

Although it looked a little empty (for a fri nite in causewaybay), the food turned out quite good and fresh and service was prompt! They timed the dish interval really good in proper order, and the plates were changed after every dish. Now that's rare even in singapore not to mention HK. I had the stewed fish head, tempura prawns, grilled teriyaka beef, Tofu an salmon sashimi. Came up to abt sg$100 in total. So between 3, it would be abt $30++ for a very decent size meal. So i was pleased really with this place and i would certainly come back again!

Note: The restaurant has closed down and replaced by a ramen store...however, check out Tenzen review instead.