Change Amidst the Rough Time

Change is a way of life (Pic source: Google.com)

"When I  did no go to work, I had a walk from my home to the TV Station in the morning. The wind was big, so nice and comfortable."

One of the elder workers from my previous job kept uttering the same sentences over and over again after she came back from her medical leave. I guessed, that was the syndrome that happened to human once we got old.

As I walked out from my new working place last night, the place was really windy that required me to put on my wind breaker.

It happened that my new working place was located just around that local TV Station area (what a coincidence!). It was very far from my house (it took me 1 hour and 15 minutes to reach there one way).

"Since you walked there, did you see any (local) movie stars?" 

That was another question raised by another auntie to that elder worker. And she said, unfortunately no. 

However, in the morning on my first day to work, as I passed by the campus (I did not even know there was such campus available for acting!), I saw one famous local actor walking on my opposite direction. With his white hair, he greeted the Chinese New Year wishes to the man who walked in front of me. He even removed his mask a while to ensure the person knew who he was. 

Some of Mark Lee movies (Pic source: Google.com)

I knew him, but forgot his name. Therefore I was keeping quiet as I walked and did not do anything (like waving hands or asking to take photo etc.) Then I quickly searched for his name in Google and found out. He was Mark Lee (known as Lee Kwok Huang), a Singaporean comedian, actor, television host and film director. He had produced and starred many local movies in Singapore and I has watched many of them too. 

Wow!!! What a day! The Aunty walked for so many days and did not see any stars even once, but I met one on my first working day! Hahaha... Maybe it was a good sign for a new beginning *grin *grin

So yes, I had started yet another chapter of working life since yesterday. The kueh lapis job had just over last Friday and was ended with dinner. I felt getting better at doing it by now (maybe the increasing number of years and experiences made my confidence level grew higher).

As I mentioned before, I wanted to share with you about my new working place. First, the location was in One-North area. It was a subzone and business park, developed by JTC Corporation for the R&D and high technology cluster, comprising biomedical sciences, infocomm technology (ICT) and media industries (Source: Wikipedia).

Info on Mediapolis (Pic source: Wikipedia)

And the exact location of my working place was at building called Alice@Mediapolis. 

"Right in the heart of Mediapolis, ALICE@MEDIAPOLIS is a business park created for startups and as a base for established organisations. It offers startup spaces, shared media facilities, flexible work-live-play-learn spaces, a childcare centre, and retail outlets. 

The Deliveroo Food Market is also housed in the building, featuring 10 kitchens and a 40-seater dining space, all based on a fully automated ordering system."

(Source: Wikipedia)

Deliveroo Food Market at Alice@Mediapolis

This was how the 40-seater dining place looked like. And the 10 kitchens mentioned was located just behind the area. 

"Deliveroo (legally incorporated as Roofoods Ltd.) is an online food delivery company founded by William Shu in 2013 in London, England.

It operates in over two hundred locations across the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France, Belgium, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.

Its subsidiary operation, Deliveroo Editions, focuses on growing a network of ghost kitchens—kitchens located off-site from restaurants for the preparation of delivery-only meals."

(Source: Wikipedia)

So, I worked in one of those 10 ghost kitchens located behind. 

List of kitchens and brands participating at Deliveroo Food Market

As mentioned above, the ghost kitchen was there to prepare food for delivery only meals. And ordering system was all fully automated, meaning that it was ordered through online (Deliveroo website or apps). No service staff taking order at the counter and to serve the food for you. It would be delivered by the Deliveroo food delivery rider to your home or office, or you can pick up at Deliveroo Food Market like the place above. 

Where you pick up your meals :)

When Covid-19 struck in Singapore since March last year, many F&B establishments were suffering as less people dined in. They were struggling with the restaurant's high rent cost, high labour cost, and so on. 

Food delivery had become trends as it encouraged less interaction between humans (as ordering, payment etc. were fully automated). People would not mind to pay more to get the taste of food that they wanted without having to move their butts and queue up. 

The GM of the restaurant that I worked saw this as a very good opportunity and time to strike this type of business. What they needed was to rent a small kitchen and hired few kitchen staffs (3 full-time staffs and 3 to 4 part-time staffs) to operate in their daily basis. 

They showed their food menu on the Deliveroo apps and to widen the market, he was creating the business Instagram accounts to introduce, show, and market what they sold. 

With premium ingredients used, well cooking skills and creativity, it could produce a delicious, healthy, and eye-catching food and many people who were health-conscious and loved high quality food, would not mind paying a high price to get the products. 

I was sometimes amazed with it because even in difficult times like this, people were still buying and spending their money on these types of food unhesitatingly.

Well, Covid or not Covid, people would still have to eat. You just had to change the way you run your business to maximise your profit. I loved this idea though. 

Delivery wise, you did not have to headache because Deliveroo would manage. You just had to focus on your food and beverage operations. 

All the prepared food was just put on the kitchen window and the staffs from Deliveroo would transfer it to the collection point, ready to be picked up by the rider or customer. 

The food had to be prepared in short time (as short as 7 minutes) so that it could preserve the heat, quality, and freshness by the time it reached the recipient's hands. So we had to work fast and good teamwork was necessary. 

Well, that was only the beginning. I hope it would go well and smoothly. I did not say it was easy but I would do my best to learn and be a good team player. Wish me all the best!!! :D

Fun and pain in preparing free and easy itinerary

Itinerary (Pic source: Google.com)

These days I have been busy preparing the free and easy itinerary for the upcoming trip with my family. Usually they take the easy way by engaging the travel agent services; started with signing the tour package up, preparing visa with all documents prepared by the travel agent, going for the briefing held by the tour guide, and Voila! we are ready to travel. This year, however, my parents want to have a different style, which is a free and easy. Of course, they engage someone to do the job, which is me.

I love traveling. I am not sure when it started but yes, the adventure and traveling spirit have always been inside me. Personally I prefer to travel free and easy style as I have more freedom to select the places I want to go, eat the food I want to eat, choose what type of hotel I want to stay, and so on.

Most importantly, by doing this way, I can control the budget - how much I will spend on the trip - as I have only a limited amount of money to spend; and the time spent in each places. As you know, when you travel with travel agent, they will allow you only sufficient time for them to explain about the place and for you to take photos. Most of the time it is too rush as there are many places to cover within a day.

And usually it is better to arrange the free and easy travel in small group (2-3 pax). with similar age group, and similar interest. Why so? This is very important because when you travel with different age group, the strength and health conditions of each individual are different, plus travel interests are also very different. E.g. I prefer browsing significant places from each city than shopping and relaxing; I prefer staying in small budget hotel with good location over bigger room, etc.

After all, we are all just a human being with different nature and characteristics. Therefore, the more the participants, the longer the traveling days, the more the age gaps, the more headache I am in planning this. Hahahaha..... And the best thing is that... I am given this task to plan and be the guide for the trip where I am not familiar with most of the places (out of the 4 different countries and 9 different cities, I have only been one of them, that too I visited almost two decades ago). Hahahaha... (don't know if I should laugh or cry....)

Headache!!! (Pic source: Google.com)

This is why I feel like getting crazy and want to vent and share my frustration here because some people think this is an easy job. They never understand how difficult it is, why it takes time, and so on. Despite not working, I live my everyday life within pressure from my own self in preparing this. Another pressure is from the time given to get ready with all documentations required for preparing their Visa, which I found ridiculous too early to apply. Lol! I had to convince them not to apply too early to avoid rejection.

It is fun and pain at the same time in preparing the itinerary for the whole trip. And it really takes a lot of time as every place is new to me. It needs to do a lot of research, read a lot of reviews, pins places into the maps, plans what will be the best way to cover the place with the limited time available, to consider taking tour or walking on our own, and so on.

To make it easy usually I start it with drawing the calendar in Excel file, put in day and date. Slowly I fill the main things inside the empty box while filling up the details in another tab, e.g. flight, hotel, places to go, website links, etc.

First thing first - find out how many days required for the trip that fit the requirements by parents. That is why calendar style will come in handy when planning it. Once I know what and where, next is to purchase flight ticket which can fit the timing for everyone to arrive at the same time with minimum cost (by looking out for airline promotion). Some adjustment will be made if the flight schedule and promotion price are only applicable for certain dates.

My parents want to join the cruise. So I have to contact the cruise company regarding the cruise, register, fill up the data into the website that connect us with them, and arrange few other things required. Later on, I need to choose which tour to join for the shore excursion (the boat will stop for certain period of time to let people experience the country's life).

This gives me headache as there are so many choices and many I have never heard of so I have no idea if I should go or not. Few months ago I saw Korean TV show where group of people boarded to the same cruise and apart from the games they played, some of them were given chance to go for shore excursion too. I have watched the whole show just to have an idea what the places look like and whether all of us should also go to the same places or not. Even after I decided, now I think I have to go back and review my decision again as the tours that I have chosen were all full day for a consecutive 3 days and I worry that everyone will get too tired from it! Lol!!!

After cruise trip arrangement is done, I need to fill in the rest. I have to think of whether I should join the local tour or walk on our own. For famous places, it is expected to be very crowded. Therefore to avoid long queue, many tour offer skip-the-line service so that tourist can enter right away (no need to queue at ticket counter and to enter the building). This, of course, with additional charge that does not come cheap!!! But sometimes, with the limited time that we have, I have no choice but to choose that.

For each country, I need to find out: must visit places, which location to book the hotel (preferably with good location - near metro or main district, good reviews from other travelers, and acceptable fees), what places required tour services (look at various choices available, prices and reviews), the sequence of places to visit (if 2 days are available, which places to visit on which day because certain places are closed on certain day/s), must-try local food and beverage, which restaurants to go (from customers' review and photos plus location), how to travel from one city to another (by train - which train, which timing, or by flight - same thing), and so on.

Travel planning (Pic source: Google.com)

I can spend few days just to arrange one day itinerary. Sometimes I feel helpless as I have no one to ask. I did ask around some people who have visited the countries before, but majority they joined the tour group so usually they cannot suggest much for the hotel, and places to visit can be found from the website. But as many tour arrange the travel by bus, they visited only some significant places before moving out to another place.

'Til date, I have not finished my itinerary yet. Like I said, I have reached some frustration in creating it and just need a place to share this feeling. It is not all the pain in planning it though. There are excitement too imagining the places that I will be visiting and various food to try. Sometimes I spend more time because I have interest on how they make the food. Some familiar food recall good memories in my head from the past. Hahaha... 

Well, I just want to make it good. Just good, not perfect. That is why all the pressure is coming - from within myself. Even after planning it, not necessary it will all come to fruition. Changes are expected depending on the situation. And still the best thing is to let nature takes its course. Well, wish me all the best in creating it. Most importantly to enjoy the travel in reality. Not just for me, but for everyone! Let's hope and pray that everything will go well. Thank you :)

Strange Weather in Tokyo by Hiromi Kawakami

The sun had burnt my skin only this afternoon when I shopped for my grocery. And now, as I noticed from my window, the rain was pouring incessantly with lightnings and thunders flashing blatantly from behind the groups of black clouds. Time shown from my Ikea-purchased five-dollar clock hung on my room was only 6.30 pm. I pulled the zip of my grey colour sweater up and increased the volume of my radio to refuse hearing the scary thunder's sound. My all-time favourite song - In the end by Linkin' Park - filled the room in full blast now!

Sitting on my bed, I sipped the chilled Bhutan whiskey - a gift from a special Bhutanese friend - using the Tiger Nest mug - another special gift given by another dear Bhutanese friend. It was no coincidence though. I just felt that the Bhutan whiskey tasted much more delicious when I had it using the Bhutan mug hehehe... 

I continued flipping the next page of my book - Strange Weather in Tokyo by Hiromi Kawakami. "It's more likely a strange weather in Singapore instead," mumbled me. 

Oh, book and whiskey??? How to read and drinking at the same time??? Hahaha... Blame it to the book, or the delicious dried cuttlefish that accompanied the book and the whiskey! Lol! Well, couldn't deny! Three of them was a perfect combination though :P

The Perfect Three - for a not sake but alcohol lover like me :P

"One night when she is drinking alone in a local bar, Tsukiko finds herself sitting next to her former high school teacher. Over the coming months they share food and drink sake, and as the seasons pass - from spring to cherry blossom to autumnal mushrooms - Tsukiko and her teacher come to develop a hesitant intimacy which tilts awkwardly and poignantly towards love."

So that's what were written at the back of the book. See? I told you. There were so many occasions of drinking sake written there, almost all the time. And as an alcohol-lover like me, who could resist? Could you? :P

I wasn't a sake lover though. Otherwise I would have drunk that instead of the Bhutan whiskey I was having.  And alas! The story... despite age differences, it never stopped people from falling in love from each other. It's just... in a different way. 

A once married man in his late sixties perhaps was so gentle and full of charisma, that's what I thought about him. The love that rose between them, was very different with the love that young people had in general.  It was so sweet, tender, and no rush at all. It's definitely a perfect reading book for this month - ya, in case you forgot, Valentine's Day's coming!!! No, it hadn't passed yet, it wasn't in January 14th :P This would be a beautiful gift of love if your loved one loved reading ;) *hint hint...

Oh my eyes were so heavy as I finally turned to the last page of the book one hour later. I had finished three mugs full of whiskey and I took a glance at the empty bottle beside it. Before I forgot, I turned the radio off and quickly sent a We Chat message to my Bhutanese friend to send me more when there was someone coming over here. 

After removing my contact lens and brushing my teeth, I walked half-flying towards my bed. I secured myself below the comfortable blanket and turned off the bedside light. Soon my world was dark, and only darkness accompanied me... peacefully... comfortably... Deep inside I wished that I didn't have to get up the next day... didn't have to get up...

"In loneliness I have drifted this long way, alone. 

My torn and shabby robe could not keep out the cold. 

And tonight the sky was so clear

it made my heart ache all the more." 

(Poem by Seihaku Irako - from Strange Weather in Tokyo)

Happiness is within

It's raining again today. The black and white clouds covered most of area in Hong Kong today. I slipped my both hands inside my sweater's pocket. It could connect inside and keep my body warm.

Caramel Machiatto Starbucks (Photo source: Google.com)

I walked to the nearest Starbucks and ordered the Grande size of Caramel Machiatto. I picked a seat that facing the road outside. The height of the wooden table was comfortable enough to hold my both elbows that held the cup tightly. Hmmmm.... nice and warm mug. It's all what I needed now.

White moustache ^^ (Photo source: Google.com)

I sipped the top part and the print of whipped cream sticking to my upper lip, I noticed from the clear glass's reflection. Haha.... I laughed to myself looking at that as it reminded me of the good ol' times I used to have. I took a selfie before wiping it off with a serviette.

A laughing young couple walked hurriedly holding an umbrella. As they were teasing to each other, the guy touched the girl's nose lightly and smile appeared on her lips.

Love is all around ^^

The old couple walked by with again umbrella covering their head, this time was in slower pace. Once they reached the roofed area, the old man took a handkerchief from his pocket and dried the old lady's hair that was wet from earlier walk. Hmm.... how sincerely cared that old man, my thought was saying.

Anywhere you are, I am near
Anywhere you go, I'll be there
Anytime you whisper my name, you'll see

How every single promise I'll keep
'Cause what kind of guy would I be
If I was to leave when you need me most

What are words
If you really don't mean them
When you say them

What are words
If they're only for good times
Then that's all

When it's love
Yeah, you say them out loud
Those words, they never go away
They live on, even when we're gone

And I know an angel was sent
just for me and I know I'm meant
to be where I am and I'm gonna be

Standing right beside her tonight
And I'm gonna be by your side
I would never leave when she needs me most

I'm gonna be by her side when she needs it most...

I smiled again and took a very deep breath. Hhhmmmpphhhh..... This song... this song reminded me of his words. The words that used to comfort my heart and soul. The promise said for all the future to come. Where was he now? I wondered.

No no, no envy to both couples, not at all... I was happy this way. Being all alone physically did not mean being lonely. Happiness was within. It appeared as and when I wanted it to be. Happiness was all inside me. Don't be mistaken with my presence of being alone or with my silence.

I spoke less as I observed more.
I spoke less as I listened more.
I spoke less as I wrote more.
I spoke less to avoid speaking wrong words.

I loved this peace of mind.
I loved the quietness in me.
I loved the me-alone time.
I loved the content and gratitude feelings inside me.

I might appear young, even like kids sometimes.
But I knew what I was doing every second and minutes of it (well, perhaps not when I drank too much hehe...).

I finished the last sip of my coffee and got up. I held my feet to the supermarket nearby this time, heading to the wine area and picked a three-bottle at promotion price from the shelf. Oh my!!! How I wished they sold this price in Singapore!!! 3 for HKD 208!!! What a steal man!!! Walked away with it, I headed home with a light heart... a very much light heart...

Be kind (Photo source: Google.com)

What are words
If you really don't mean them
When you say them

What are words
If they're only for good times
Then they're done

When it's love
Yeah, you say them out loud
Those words, they never go away
They live on, even when we're gone

Anywhere you are, I am near
Anywhere you go, I'll be there
And I'm gonna be here forever more

Every single promise I'll keep
'Cause what kind of guy would I be
If I was to leave when you need me most

I'm forever keeping my angel close

After 8 years of SLE (Systemic Lupus Erythemathosus)

Keep dreaming :)

I just reread my own blog post that I wrote 3 years ago. I guess, things haven't changed much since that day, except that I've fulfilled more destination dreams in my life, especially last year and this year. I've fulfilled my dreams to visit Reykjavik  (as the city name resembles my nick name - Rima Reyka - and produces Reyka vodka), and at the same time I was very lucky being able to watch the Aurora Borealis (northern light) - never thought that I'd ever seen it in my life.

I've visited many other places that I'd never visited before too, like Russia, Korea, Vietnam, etc. I've fulfilled my dreams to visit the beautiful and romantic place of Taj Mahal, and to where Dalai Lama resides (Dharamsala). Never expected that the younger days' dream to visit the Buddha pilgrimage sites such as: Lumbini in Nepal, Bodhgaya, Sarnath, Kushinagar, Tso Pema in India, China's Silk Road, etc., have also been accomplished!!! I've even traveled to more places in India like Kolkata, Sikkim, Darjeeling, Kalimpong, and so on.

I'm very lucky too for visiting Bhutan 3 times in 4 years' time. Visited many places from west to east, to the south, that the Bhutanese themselves were amazed with the extent of the places I'd been too. It was all thanks to everyone who had been willing to invite me there, bring me around, let me stay at their houses, and cooked Bhutanese meals for me everyday. I've become more like a Bhutanese now :)

Usually I'd fly alone then meet up with friend/ friends there. But many times I travelled with my parents, sometimes with hubby or with son, also with siblings to create our memories together.

I've visited my sisters and stayed for some time too as to spend more time with them and their families - Australia for a month and Hong Kong for two weeks. Maybe soon I need to go home and stay longer with my parents :D

I'm very grateful that for the past 8 years my SLE (Systemic Lupus Erythemathosus) condition is quite stable. With my visit to Hong Kong this year end, it reminded me how it was all started. Read more about it here.

Yesterday (on Christmas day), I went hiking at Sai Kung Country Park - eastern part of New Territories. I'd heard about the place before and when my cousin, Jessica, invited us (my brother, my sister, their families, my son, and I) to hike there on Christmas day, I was so much excited!!!

Our hiking at Sai Kung Country Park, Hong Kong :)

She explained the territory to us beforehand. At first she said it would be around 11 km long and the trail would be up and down. So the expecting time to finish the trail would be around 4 hours. In the beginning I was hesitating if I could do it because on Christmas Eve we went out until late and walked a lot. My period was about to come too. Also, usually my morning walk in Singapore took me only around two hours time while the trail was quite easy to walk.

Despite all that, I told myself, "Rima, let's try!! Isn't it what you're looking for? Basking yourself in nature is what you're looking for right now. Since someone is willing to guide you, why miss the opportunity???" Therefore, I told my brother that I'd join them if my period had not started yet in the morning. So, I joined them and 4 of us went together :)

Beautiful mountains view at Sai Kung Country Park 

The terrain was really as what she mentioned. It was full of ups and downs. In between, we passed by 4 beautiful beaches (Sai Wan or West Beach, Tai Lang or Big Wave Beach, Sian Tian or Salty Field Beach, and Tung Wan or East Beach). We walked with total distance of 13.2 km for almost 4 hours time. We had lunch break in the middle (after passing the wooden bridge at Sian Tian Beach).

This hike showed me what life was really like. I started it with mixed feelings (mostly happy and exciting to see what lies next) and full of energy. I felt happy when the slope was going down (just like finishing one task successfully in life, e.g. finishing study), but prepared myself that it would be the beginning of another slope up (just like starting a new job). It required hard work, sweat, and determination to reach the top. But once you're there, you'd see the beautiful view from the top. That was when your hard work paid off - satisfaction. From there, things got easier again, then up again, until you reached your destination.

Live is short. Enjoy it to the fullest!!! :)

I felt great when finally accomplished the trails. I was just like the rest of the people who were in good health. Even the healthy ones were not necessary able to hike like that hehe...

So, let this year's Christmas hiking would be my celebration for surviving 8 years from SLE. My mind set is rather pessimistic though. I always tell everyone that I live my life as if I'll die tomorrow. They all immediately knocked the wood 3 times when I said "life is short, who knows I'll die tomorrow."

My wishing stones built at Ta Lang Beach - Sai Kung Country Park, Hong Kong 

It's reality though. Everyone will go there one day. It's just a matter of time, 'when?' I just want to fill my day with happiness. Forget the unhappiness. Let it go altogether with what causes it. And at the end, only peace will remain. Let's see how many more years I'll be able to continue living and celebrating more surviving years from SLE. For the rest of SLE owners, hope you are blessed with long life and stable condition. So you can reach for your dreams like I do, live your life to the fullest!!! You can do it!!! :)

Beijing Itinerary - Day 4 Temple of Heaven

I still remembered the first time I visited this place back in year 1995. It was my first visit to Beijing together with my aunt, her mother-in-law and my cousins. It was during school holiday in summertime. I was dumbfounded when I looked into the magnificent structure in front of me. I saw it once before on the travel booklet but not knowing where exactly it was. I still felt like dreaming to witness that great creation on earth!!!

Temple of Heaven - 8th June 1997

From then onward, I visited the place again during my next stay and I purposely visited the place again before I went back home for good. It was a must visit place if you traveled to Beijing! It's a place where Emperors from the Ming and Qing Dynasty used to visit to offer their prayers for the good harvest. Read more of its history here. So it was in my list, a definitely place to visit and let my son awed in wonder too! :)

We were here finally! ^^

We took metro Line 5 to TianTanDongMen, where the east gate was located. The ticket cost CNY ¥30 (S$6.50) per person, included the entrance to 3 most important places to visit inside.

Places enjoyed most by local elderly :)

It was such a huge area surrounded by parks where local elderly loved visiting to meet friends, to play music instrument, to dance, to exercise, to gamble, to date, to find date for their children, what??? Did I say anything wrong? No, I didn't!

Seven-Star Stone Park - Find a loved one here! ^^

I saw it on TV years before saying that many parents worried that their son or daughter, due to their busy life pursuing their career, had no time in finding their loved one, and therefore, not married yet. So in the park above, they stood there chitchatting, displayed a piece of paper on the floor containing details and description about their son and daughter, such as: birth year, height, weight, education background, current occupation, healthy, had house to stay, etc., plus what kind of person they were looking for, not forgetting their contact number. I didn't know that I could find such thing in real life over there!

Love quote (Source: Google.com)

Hm... to find the right one wasn't easy, was it? It required fate and good karma from past lives. Even if it came, the period would also depending. Some met for short time, and some could remain for a lifetime. Wasn't it a mystery? :)

Temple of Heaven - 4th December 2015

My son and I continued walking and visited the three main areas as per shown above. It was at different places and we had to walk a lot as the distance was quite far from one place to another. That's the main characteristic of visiting places in China. Everything was so big and huge, and you needed strong legs to browse the place around. So if you would love to visit China, do it while you were still young, strong, and healthy! :)

Browsed the surrounding parks - Temple of Heaven 

We were blessed with a beautiful weather and clear blue sky! We continued walking and visiting the surrounded parks. Felt the peace and serenity that it offered. How wonderful it was, especially if you walked there with your loved one, side be side and holding hands together so you wouldn't fall and at the same time, you could enjoy the scenery around you. Many trees were there since hundred over years ago. It was still standing sturdy and texture was smooth.  When tired, we sat at the seat provided under the trees. I filled up my travel journal then chit chatted with my dear son :)

Blessing quote :)

I felt truly blessed la! Never thought that one day I could bring my son there and we spent a great bonding time together, just he and I :)

Christmas mood at KFC Beijing :)

We went back to our hostel to collect the bag and stopped by at KFC to have snack meal. Too bad the Doraemon toy promotion had over, otherwise I could bring some toys back as souvenir :P

Roadside local snack - Kao Leng Mian - Fried cold noodles

We took metro back to my friend's house. While waiting for her, I felt a bit hungry. There was a snack seller at nearby area and I decided to buy one portion to taste as I'd never eaten it before. Hmmm.... not bad. Hot food was always great on such cold winter night! 

Japanese curry rice with love :)

Back home, my friend prepared her delicious Japanese curry rice as requested by son. Haha... Lucky him being able to taste his favourite food even as far as in Beijing! Thank you Hong Mei for the food. We loved it so much! And that was how our fourth day in Beijing went by! :)

Beijing Itinerary - Day 3 YongHeGong or Lama Temple, GuoJiZian St, NanLuoGuXiang or South LuoGu Alley, roasted duck at QianMen

Sorry for a long pause regarding the Beijing itinerary in this blog ^^ Read about our day 1 here and day 2 here :)

It was such a beautiful sunny day! :) My son and I headed to YongHeGong 雍和宫 (Palace of Peace and Harmony) or Lama Temple as our first stop. It was a Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism temple, located conveniently under metro Line 2. The entrance fee cost CNY ¥25 (S$5.50) per person inclusive one box of joystick for us to pray.

YongHeGong or Lama Temple - Beijing

The temple was built in 1694 during the Qing Dynasty. The building structure was a mixture of Han Chinese and Tibetan style. It became the national centre of Lama administration (source: Wikipedia).

We visited every prayer altars available and offered our prayers there. It felt good being able to visit the place again. I used to come here once in a while during my school time back in 1996-97. Being far away from home, the sight of Buddha statue offered me comfort and a great deal of peacefulness inside my heart. I was glad that I could bring my son here :) Hope he felt the same! ^^

Lama Temple Youth Hostel :)

We checked in to a youth hostel nearby, called Lama Youth Hostel. My bestie recommended me this place. It located not far from metro station and many other scenic area around the temple. It too my son's first experience staying at youth hostel, a cheaper alternative accommodation when traveling abroad. We chose the room for two and it cost us CNY ¥220 (S$50) with toilet inside. The room was so so, but the heater worked well so we both could sleep comfortably that night :)

My favorite snack in Beijing - Jian Bing or scallions pancake

We put our bag inside the room and went out again. Our stomach had growled! We wanted to eat steamed dumpling at nearby area. However, it turned up to be the place for cooking lesson :P Luckily on our way, I found my favorite snack, the scallions pancake, and steamed meat bun to warm our stomach temporarily.

Guojizian and Juer Hutong - small alleys near YongHeGong Lama Temple

We continued walking and passed by small alleys at Guojizian St, where you could find Confusius Temple. The houses, cafés, and museum on the left and right of the alley were antique and beautiful. It's worth having a walk there as it brought us back to the life many years back. As we walked, it led us to a big street, called AnDingMen St. And there, we decided to have a proper lunch at Lao Beijing Restaurant :)

Our lunch at Lao Beijing Restaurant :)

Hm.... I managed to let Baobei trying the authentic ZhaJiang noodle (soya paste sauce noodles) plus JiaoZi (steamed dumpling) - both were the famous local Beijing delicacies :) Both dishes cost us CNY ¥56 (S$12).

While eating, I chit chatted with my son. I told him this trip would be my birthday present for him. One day, when he reached  30 years old, would it be possible that both of us be here again, sitting at the same seat and enjoying the same food. But by that time, it would be him the one who said, "Ma, this trip would be my birthday present for you," and he could only smile without agreeing. Lol! :P

Nan Luo Gu Xiang, Beijing - China

After lunch we continued walking to many other famous and well-preserved alley, still with traditional Chinese architecture in the area, and it led us to Nan Luo Gu Xiang - at DongCheng District.  It was a long stretch road with many shops and restaurants on its left and right.

Took rest and had coffee - Nan Luo Gu Xiang :)

Both of us walked and shopped until our legs were so tired! We decided to enter a café and took a rest there. Btw, the coffee price in Beijing didn't come cheap you know! It's price could fight with Starbucks in Singapore. E.g. this cup of cappuccino of mine cost CNY ¥30 (S$6.50) per glass and a normal cup of coffee cost CNY ¥25 (S$5.50).

Baobei with frosted cream above his lips ^^

In the evening we met up with my cousin. We were having the famous Beijing roasted duck together at Qian Men. The restaurant name was Si Ji Min Fu. According to her, this place was usually visited by her school mates as the price was reasonable, CNY ¥188 (S$40) per piece, the taste was equally delicious, and the duck bones could be deep fried and eaten there with a small charge. At other restaurants, the price per duck would usually cost above CNY ¥220 (S$50) and the guest could bring the bones back home or they would cook the soup using it and served it there after meal.

Si Ji Min Fu - Delicious roasted Beijing duck in Qian Men

Hmmm... True enough! It tasted delicious. We ordered one piece of duck for 3 of us with pancakes and condiments to be eaten together plus another meat dish. Nyummy!!! I could still remember its taste even now! :P Altogether we paid CNY ¥279 (S$60) for 3 of us (inclusive 1 big bottle of YanJing Beer - the local produced Beijing beer). ^^

The place was not so big but consisted of two storey. It was in the alley but easy to find, within walking distance from Qian Men metro station. When you saw Madame Tussauds building, there was an alley on the right. The restaurant was just within 20 meters walk. Well, people's taste bud might be different from one to another but for me I loved it and would come back for more! :)

So that was how we spent our 3rd day in Beijing. Food, sightseeing, prayer, coffee time, what a great combination to spend your day with. Try it yourself if you visit the city! :)

Beijing Itinerary - Day 2 Visit my old school at BLCU or Beijing Language and Culture University

早上好! Means "Good morning!" :) We woke up quite late at about 8.30am when the sun had already shined bright up in the sky! What? Sun shone bright up in the sky? Yes! You didn't hear it wrongly!

The difference of the sky on our first and second day in Beijing!!!

See it for yourself the picture above! The above picture was taken from the airport with hazy and cloudy sky when I first reached and the below photo was taken that morning from my friend's housing complex. Photo courtesy: Hong Mei :)

She couldn't believe it as well and she posted her comment in WeChat Moments as per follow:

My friend's post about the weather ^^

Translation: Ten over years has passed! Finally I'm meeting my BLCU ex-schoolmate, RimaReyka from Singapore. Beijing welcomed her with a very serious hazy weather, but today it has turned into a very bright blue sky! She said, because Beijing knew that she was coming, so it changes to a blue sky! I curiously asked her, "Then yesterday, how are you going to explain?" She remarked wittily, "Because I plan to take a rest and sleep, so I didn't need a blue sky." :P Hahahaha.... Yeah, my optimism and positivity had chased the haze away and attracted the sun to shine the earth ^^

Inside the new metro cabin at Line 15 - Beijing Metro

We had breakfast at her house and at 10 am we left. She dropped us to the nearest metro station - ShunYi station, which took us about fifteen to twenty minutes to reach. From there, we took metro and changed once towards WuDaoKou station. To my horror, OMG, the whole journey took us two hours to reach!!! Check out the metro map here so you can get the picture about the connection and distance.

Beijing city was too big! There were total of 15 metro lines plus 4 extension lines in total so far. From ShunYi station to WangJingXi station itself (the point that connected us to city area) took 45 mins to reach, not yet changing the lines (with long walking distance and waiting time) and to reach other destination. From my friend's house to city I needed at least 1.5 to 2 hours average to reach. So one day, we required at least 3 hours and more transport time to go and back home. Well, at least now, we could take metro, which was still rather fast and convenient compared with taking public bus or cheaper than taking a cab.

Drastic change of Wu Dao Kou

Once coming out, I was awed with my surrounding! The last time I visited my school was in 2001. Within 14 years, it had changed tremendously!!! The whole stretch of metro station there, it used to be the market complex where I used to shop all my food ingredients and other necessities. There used to be whole stretch of Korean and other restaurants too where I sometimes had my lunch or dinner there.

BLCU map located near the South gate

I couldn't recognise the place until I had to ask people for direction. Slowly we walked towards south gate then west gate entrance (in China it's common to say the place using north, south, east, and west direction). Oh, when walking towards west gate, I saw many motorised carts stopping at the side of the road. Parcels range in size were put on the roadside waiting for the owners to collect (online shopping was taking over the usual shopping means in China with more varieties of goods available, faster shipping time, and most importantly - very convenient as you didn't have to squeeze with the crowds and avoid bargaining with owners who might open a very high price at the first place. Of course, the quality and size of the goods received might not be the same as what you'd seen in the pictures). This was one of few changes that I noticed.

Common kitchen and washing area plus student's room

There were more dormitories built to accommodate the fluctuated number of local and oversea students. The electronic key cards were also used for the dormitory entrance and when pressing the lift to the floor you were staying. Cameras were seen in every corner of the buildings and lifts to ensure the security of the people who lived there. Common kitchen, washing machines and dryers were now found in each floor of the dormitory's building. Unlike before, where we would secretly cook inside our room and wash clothes mostly with hands.

Transport used nowadays

Students were no longer riding the conventional bicycle. It had been now replaced with a chic, stylo, soundless, electronic scooter, just like what you saw at the above photo. The battery charging points were also provided at the dormitories so they didn't have to illegally charging inside the room nor they had to carry it all the way up. How life there now was so much easy, convenient and spoiled with choices!

My class building

Many school's buildings remained the same. I visited my previous class building and it was with no changes except that they now used projector when teaching and most teachers stayed oversea before for few years before coming back here to teach (most of them were capable in English, unlike before where my own teachers were only fluent in their own language and no oversea stay experience).

School's Canteen

What surprised me again was that the school invested a lot of money to build this giant canteen consisting of 3 floors for common share food stalls and 2 floors for mostly independent restaurants (Japanese, Korean and Southeast Asian food) plus one luxury Café with plush sofa, European lighting and decor, and free WiFi. It's packed with students but of course, it came with a high price. Their coffee price was comparable with Starbucks price or sometimes even higher (average cup of coffee was Rmb 30 or Sgd 6.50).

In front of the BLCU main building

My son and I browsed the area and I was excitingly telling my son what I used to do before when studying here. We were enjoying the place while waiting for my cousin who was studying there to finish her class. When done, three of us went for lunch. I told her I missed the Korean food there and she brought me to the one located outside, still within walking distance. According to Korean students, this was the best selling the a la carte type of food :)

Korean food for lunch - BLCU China

Fyi, majority students learning Chinese language there were Korean. That's why there were many Korean restaurants and shops nearby the school. Three of us enjoyed our food so much and very full. Time to have a walk and shop! ^^ This time we walked to LiuDaoKou. There was a building with many stalls inside. I bought my winter necessities there such as: gloves, shawl, boots, socks, etc. Nice buy as they offered cheaper price for regular customers and students :D After shopping, it was time to say goodbye to my cousin.

This time, from LiuDaoKou station, we didn't have to change metro line. It's under the same one line and we took only one hour to reach. Yayy!!! Hong Mei fetched us and later at night we had dinner together. It was her birthday and we had sliced lamb meat hotpot at her home :)

Sliced lamb hot pot

That's how the dinner looked like. The frozen slice meat was poured inside the pot, let it boiled and cooked. Lift it up using chopstick, dip it into a saucer filled with mixture of peanut paste, sesame paste, and coriander leaves, and you could put it inside your mouth. Aaaa....emm..... :P Vegetables could be added too. However, they didn't drink the stock (soup). They just used it to boil the meat and vegetables. Unlike us, we ate the food and drank the soup.

East gate of Beijing Language and Culture University - China :)

So that's how our second day in Beijing passed by. I was very happy being able to visit my school again. I was teenager and now I managed to bring my teenager son there. I was telling him, let's dream big that one day I'd bring you to my school in Switzerland too! Hahaha.... Yeah, one day! Let's hope and pray! ;) Oh, and if you are interested to study Chinese language in China, click here about the school information. You can even apply online :) So, good luck and all the best! ^^