The Opera Populaire

饮茶以客少为贵
客众则喧
喧则雅趣乏矣
独啜曰神
二客曰胜
三四曰趣
五六曰泛
七八曰施

Copied the above from my plastic cup which was used to serve tea at 同仁堂, a medicine shop which used to house the imperial physicians in China. While I was personally disappointed that an acclaimed name like 同仁堂 has been commercialized, I found myself very much amused by this little writing on the plastic cup.

The Japanese has their own 茶道 (chado), elevated to a high form of art. It is interesting to read a Chinese text which suggested that we too have our own tradition and culture regarding tea drinking.

Labels: Writings/Quotes

Hong Kong was a different experience for us as we basically went free and easy. Due to personal reasons I did not research a lot into travelling there, but the transportation there was so well developed that it was easy to get around whether by bus or MTR.

I vote Hong Kong's Chep Lap Kok airport as the best I have been to, other than our own dear Changi Airport. The waiting lounges are spacious and accomodative enough for one of the busiest airports in the world. Shopping there was also good, with enough variety to keep any shopaholics satisfied. The food there was great as well. Tried 鱼蛋面 during our transit to Beijing...very springy and fragrant!

Recommendation: Do try out the Airport Express, an MTR line that runs from the airport to Hong Kong. It costs about HK$70 per pax and runs through some of the loveliest places in Hong Kong. The MTR is spacious enough for any luggage size. There are very helpful attendants at the stations to not only show you around, but also help you with your luggage when boarding. The MTR also has its own TV station that provides nuggets of information about Hong Kong, with the voice coming out from the headrest behind you. You can adjust the volume to your preference, yet it is not disturbing to other passengers. Thumbs up!

Everything in Hong Kong simply screamed out: "Buy me! Buy me!" So beautiful were the workmanship and quality. I now understand why some people travel to Hong Kong just to shop. Branded things tend to be cheaper there, except perhaps the cosmetics, which Singapore still wins for price competitiveness. They also carry wider variety.

The salespeople were very, very friendly and helpful as well, very different from those horror stories in the pre-1997 days. They willingly get you whatever you need, give tasteful recommendations and smiled and thanked you even if you end up not buying. Most of them now speak Chinese also, so no worries if you do not speak a word of Cantonese like myself. August is a good time to shop there as it is the sale period for summer clothing.

Tip: Do buy shoes your normal size during winter time. I bought a leather pair smaller than my normal ones because it felt loose there. But once I come back, I noticed it is now too tight. Remember: your feet shrinks during cold weather.

Recommendation: Do try out the tram. It costs only HK$2 for any distance travelled and is a great way to experience old-world charm while looking around.

Food in Hong Kong is good, good, good! The Hong Kongers really take their food seriously. Tried a simple century egg and pork porridge on the first night, to find that the pork was so sweet! The bakeries there are very good for a meal on the go. They serve coffee or tea as well. Hong Kong style milk tea is to die for. Cafe Coral or 大家乐 is great for value meals. Service at restaurants are generally wonderful as well.

Lan Kwai Fong is worth a visit if you are into night life. Super happening even on a Wed night.

My cousin was right. Hong Kong guys are very good-looking heehee :) The girls all look like they stepped out of those fashion magazines. Indeed, Hong Kong is a fashion capital!

Overall, Hong Kong is definitely worth a visit for its shopping and dining experience.

Labels: Travel Diary

Shanghai is a very cosmopolitan place, although it made me feel slightly claustrophobic with all that tall buildings. But it has very nice parks. It also has the most authentic Western food resturants and indeed, as our local guide Chandra told us, when you come to Shanghai, the buildings remind you of Europe due to its heritage as a Western enclave.

The winter is not a good season to see Shanghai though, not only because of the cold, but also because of the rain and fog. The leasing company that sponsored our trip was good enough to arrange for a dinner atop the 东方明珠塔, in the revolving restaurant which served international buffet. It was a very romantic spot, with the restaurant lit with candles. But the fog prevented us from seeing the view of Shanghai from the tower! Very, very disappointing indeed.

The rain also made our trip to 豫园 and 南京路 inconvenient. Many of us had to purchase umbrellas. My Dad was experienced enough to pack umbrellas for us beforehand, which came in really handy.

But 豫园 is worth a visit when you are in Shanghai. It was simply astounding to see the corruption that enabled the owner to build such a lavish house...a miniature palace, I must say! But sadly, our guide did not explain the place well or enough, just basically tumbling through the entire place.

I loved our cruise on the Huangpu River. Indeed, Shanghai at night now rivals the view in Hong Kong, as we told the head.

A group of us youths (excepting Mom, who tagged along heehee) went to the famous 新天地 after the day's programme was over. The atmosphere was truly great and I think Orchard Road could learn a thing or two about X'mas decorations from them! We went to a pub called Paulaner Brauhaus and it was really happening! I liked the live band there. A drunk guy at the next table suddenly lit up a sparklers costing 100 yuan and sang "Happy Birthday", which we immediately took up with the Indonesian version. A lot of interaction went on between us that night, to the point where the guy even nearly kissed one of our group member, Michael! He also challenged one of the guys to a beer drinking competition! We had the house beer, this one called Munich Lager, which was really good! The guys filled up my jug again when I finished the last drop and I drank till my head spinned when I stood up. Our handsome tour guide from Indonesia, Teddy told us that most of the cafes in 新天地 are owned by movie stars. Definitely worth a visit.

Shanghai girls are known to be very good-looking and this gal at the pearl shop was really lovely, having the prettiest eyes I have ever seen. The bachelors in my group were endlessly happy muahahaha.

Recommendation: Strawberries at this time of the year is good! I bought mine for 10 yuan from a roadside peddler.

Try the 小笼包 at 豫园. The queue was very long and we were quite full so we did not try it. But someone else did and enjoyed it. They have some interesting flavours like crab meat that I hardly see in Jakarta or Singapore.

Overall, I enjoyed this sponsored trip in my own little way. It was new in the sense that it was the first Indonesian tour group I participated in. The language took a bit of getting used to and as I wrote, some stuff were lost in translation. But it was not as bad a thing to travel with biz associates because, contrary to what I had expected, we did not know many of them and thus it was much like travelling with any other tour group. Outside of work, everyone is fun to be with and shy as I was, I do try to open up and make friends.

Of course there were moments where the line between friendship and the practical necessity of biz networking started to blur. Some people obviously chose their "friendship" carefully and did everything to cement relationships to further their own biz interests. I was a bit upset when Mom pointed out something to me, but I thought better of it later. Whoever everyone talked to were also sometimes scrutinized by others. Still, you couldn't help but admire the social skills of some of them. I just got a call from one of them this afternoon and had had requests for personal English tuition in S'pore and outing before I go back, many of which I truly wonder if it was just basa-basi （客套话). But it was an eye-opener and learning experience. I also discovered something about myself that is rather startling, which is a bit too private for public blog but not to any close friends who may wanna ask me about it.

Labels: Travel Diary

The trip to Beijing was slightly disappointing for me because I had expected to get so much out of the trip to the capital. Perhaps it was because the whole thing was conducted in Malay and some stuff were probably lost in translation. Our local guide happened to be a Mongolian girl who studied Malay by the way. And also probably because most people were not as interested in history as me or my Mom. But still, it was amazing to find out that a lot of those who worked in the tourism industry actually know Malay or Bahasa Indonesia and some actually spoke it very fluently.

It was also an endless source of irritation to keep being brought to shops selling stuff like medicine, jade and pearls and wasting valuable time that could be used to see places like the 颐和园。By the time we reached 颐和园 it was close to dusk and worse yet, my camera started to jam so I couldn't take pictures till we reach Hong Kong. Having said that, 颐和园 was indeed breathtaking and one could not help but think of the excesses of the late Qing dynasty which surrounded its building. The lake was frozen and some people were walking on it. It must be lovely to go there in summer.

Some attractions in Beijing were also closed for renovation in preparation for the 2008 Olympics. We could not see the 故宫 in its full glory, which was a huge pity. In fact, 2008 seemed to be the buzzword for Beijing these days, with the icon appearing everywhere. Still the City was astounding in size and we walked but only 5 km of it. My fingers were frozen stiff even under the gloves, so much so that I could not fiddle with my camera and I probably look like a terrorist hiding under the hood of my brother's jacket to keep my head and ears warm. But overall we brought enough of the right kind of clothing to keep us warm during the trip.

The 天安门 Square was beautiful at night, lit up with lights. I never knew it was actually immense till I set foot on it. 长安街, the street where it is located, is actually an extremely broad street. One could not help but feel the sense of history when you stand there.

Our trip to the 天坛 was a short one and my impression came more from seeing the group of senior citizens at the courtyard outside than the Temple of Heaven itself. They made an interesting sight, playing games from chess to kicking 毽子. Sometimes I think it's never too early to start preparing for old age, from eating healthily, exercising to keeping your mind active just like them.

My favourite part of the trip to Beijing had got to be climbing 万里长城. I never realised just how steep some parts of the wall is. It made me wonder how the guards in the past actully run up and down without the railings to support them. And in winter, it can be bitterly cold, like that day when we went up. But we soon felt hot and even sweat after climbing. I only conquered the 1st post because my Mom was not feeling too good after reaching there. An old uncle in our group actually went all the way to the 6th post (envy, envy). Think I could have easily conquered the 4th post myself (ego, ego).

We also went to watch a performance by an acrobatic troupe. I have watched acrobatic performances on TV before but watching in real life was a different experience. Nervous drops of perspiration also formed because as destiny would have it, a certain big head sat on that empty place next to me and talked to me throughout the entire performance. I have always been shy of conversing in Bahasa becos my manner of speech betrays the fact that I dun use the language often. And now I had to do a bit of those PR thing when I am just a green lass with nothing to commend herself. I was not in the mood for socialising during the entire trip actually, but things still happen as God would have His way. Anyway, the head was an easy person to talk to, as it turned out. I have met small fries who throw their weight about but this head had a way of socialising in a humble yet friendly manner which really impressed Mom and I. But hmm...if there is one thing I learnt, it is that 日久见人心. In the biz world especially, it is perhaps better to reserve judgement. And sometimes, I learnt that I should learn to differentiate between 客套话 and words from those who truly have your interests at heart and not take everything at face value, sad as it is. I dun think I have become more cynical...I think this is perhaps what maturity is about...learning to see beyond the masks that some people put on.

Overall, I would love to visit Beijing again because there were so much we did not cover.

Recommendation: Do try 燕京啤酒 in Beijing. The texture is light and it goes down smoothly. But do beware because my throat was very, very dry the next day after downing a few glasses.

Tip: Petroleum jelly is a lifesaver during winter especially if you have Sahara Desert for skin like me. You can use it on top of your normal moisturiser and as lip balm. I did not suffer from chapped lips or peeling skin at all this time round.

Labels: Travel Diary

Dearest friends,

I will be in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong from tomorrow till the 14th. Not exactly looking forward to the freezing temperature, especially when I just recovered from yet another bout of illness, nor the fact that we are travelling with biz associates. But hmm...at least the ticket is free! And it will be great to see Beijing at last and imagine that I am in the cast for those period dramas I have watched all these years (not to mention singing "One Night in Beijing" for real). And to visit Shanghai and HK again.

So long, farewell!

Labels: Travel Diary

It felt like a nice homecoming when I went back to Grace Methodist Church yesterday. Some of the church members whom I am not as close to had noticed my absence these few months and asked where had I been. It is pretty amusing to be in a church of expats...some people visit for the duration they are in Jakarta and then leave, sometimes never to return. I do feel that I belong hehe.

Indonesian Chinese women seldom sport short hair, so when I turned up, some people almost did not recognise me! Alice thought I was a bule (Caucasian) or Korean from behind. Ashok said he was trying to tell his wife, Susan, that it was me when they drove from behind me but she could not recognise me.

We have new members from China! I went up to chat with them after service and, like most other church members, it was very interesting to find out about their background and why they end up in Jakarta. Hmm...if there is anything, I am getting more sociable, I think. I am also beginning to be thankful to God for His gift of language ability for me. It is a glue that gels friendship, open new doors of opportunities. Perhaps He has a plan even in that translator position I am starting next year.

Labels: Batavia Affair