Life's Little Pleasures

This isn't hot chocolate!!!
posted on Sunday, July 31, 2011 at 9:33 PM | 0 cmnt/s

At Perth Domestic Airport. Mum and dad's flight has been delayed. So Thomas and I decided to get a drink to fill in time. And I ordered a hot chocolate. Upon receiving said heated beverage I discovered that what I had been served was, more or less, heated, frothy milk! Not being one to take something back if it's wrong, I just sucked it up (quite literally... Because it's a drink... And you suck up drinks... You get it???)

I mean, it was nice heated milk, but when you order a hot chocolate, you expect a hot chocolate for crying out loud!

Ok, enough ranting. Really what I'm doing here is filling in time till mum and dad get in. Writing is good for that.

Aww man. I'd cooked this nice dinner and everything and it will have probably dried out by the time we get home because of the stupid plane.

I think writing, particularly a blog like this, helps one to feel. Feel emotions I mean. In my opinion, we can become so wrapped up in our own lives, have so many daily distractions that we often forget to stop and feel. Writing helps because it's just a continuous flow if thoughts and as you keep writing, you write stuff that you may not have planned to write in the first place, but come from within. That's why they call it therapeutic. The good thing is that you don't always need an audience, so you can say what you want, how you feel, no matter how embarrassed, or ashamed, or guilty you feel. You can just write to an invisible, judge-less person. Get things off your chest, so to speak.

I think people ought to write more. Maybe that would solve a lot of issues and emotions, if they were to just put them down into words, no matter how silly they sound aloud.

That's what I plan to do: write more to clarify the soul. Make sense of this jumbled up world that we live in. That's the plan.


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Fishing for Salad Amongst the Tuna
posted on Wednesday, July 27, 2011 at 10:43 PM | 0 cmnt/s

I've finished gallivanting around Southeast Asia now.

And what have I come back with?

- Some amazing experiences
- A complete, whole new wardrobe
- Some great photos
- A belly full of good Asian food
- An empty bank account
- A much better understanding of the politics of China, Hong Kong, and Thailand
- A look at myself, who I want to be, and what needs to be changed in my life
- A desire to achieve all 4 HD's at uni this semester
- A couple of Mandarin and Thai phrases
- A couple of good major essay starters for my POLS unit this semester on Southeast Asia
- A trip down memory lane at Disneyland
- Some bloody awesome clothes, accessories, shoes, and most importantly, my best investment EVER, 10 tailor made jackets
- And, finally, a desire to continue to explore this region which is of growing importance to Australia.

You're Only Young Once
posted on Thursday, July 21, 2011 at 11:52 PM | 0 cmnt/s

I have a new motto for this holiday/ shopping expedition: you're only young once.

It's actually something that my aunty said to me today when I was trying on my new sequined, sparkly dress. You're only young once.

This rule-of-sorts can me applied to other aspects of life too, I suppose.

It's true, you're only young once.

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Mo Chit, Sherlock: All Part of a Thai Experience
posted on at 11:43 PM | 0 cmnt/s

Notable Thai experiences to date:

1. Standing in honor of the Thai King and the national anthem in a movie theatre before Harry Potter 7.2
2. Getting something tailor made (or in my case, ten somethings)
3. Tradition Thai massage (for only AU$11!!!)
4. Being stuck in Thai peak-hour traffic, only moving less than a block in 45 minutes. Note to self: never complain about Perth traffic ever again!
5. Having the head of a fully gown tiger in your lap


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Still a Kid at Heart
posted on Tuesday, July 19, 2011 at 1:26 AM | 0 cmnt/s

We went to Disneyland today :D

I've had the biggest grin on my face all day.

I think the most amazing and magical thing about Disneyland is that it is special for the young and young-at-heart alike.

Just hearing the Disney music playing around the park is amazing. The music is so magical. So many great memories from my childhood.

Ahhh... I don't know what else to say other than Disneyland is magical. Even though Hong Kong Disneyland is, as others also say, intended for the kids, there will always be something there for the older ones too... Including the Mad Hatter Teacups!!!

So now I have Disney music stuck in my head, hence why I bought a Disney soundtrack at the Temple Road Night Markets this evening :D

Rather happy at the moment :) but also rather tired. Being a kid does exhaust you!!!


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Living Conditions
posted on at 1:26 AM | 0 cmnt/s

I have decided that I could quite happily and easily live in an Asian city... If only to thrive on daily compliments.

Once again tonight I was asked to take a photo with someone (a rather handsome and charming Hong Kong lad around the same age as I) before he proceeded to tell me that I was "very beautiful"!!

Now, I know that it's just because I'm blonde and fair skinned, which is a lot different to your average Chinese person, but it sure does feel good to have randoms on the street and shop owners tell you that on a daily basis. And those days that I don't get any leaves me thinking that I must looked pretty shocked to not get noticed ;) I kid, I kid.

I just gives you a spring in your step. Makes you feel good about yourself. So for that reason, I just want to let all of you out there reading this:

YOU'RE VERY BEAUTIFUL!!!

Everyone is beautiful... Believe it :)


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Bailey's Coffee and a little bit fancy
posted on at 1:26 AM | 0 cmnt/s

Today was a good day. A very nice day indeed.

The day started casually. Meandering down to the cafe at the villas. Waffles with double vanilla ice-cream for breaky. Then caught the taxi back to the YaShow markets for the fourth time for some last minute handbag shopping after mum and I had been advised by Carol that we wouldn't be able to get handbags as cheap in Bangkok ("what!? I'm going to have to pay more than $15 for a handbag!?!?") So more handbags... Too many handbags in total now.

After we declared no more shopping, we headed up stairs for a well deserved manicure and pedicure. Felt soo good. I am now one happy and relaxed camper.

Running out of time, we headed back to the villas to pack for our evening flight to Xi'an. Now, this is where things get interesting. We were supposed to be picked up by our driver to take us to the airport by 4pm. It is supposed to take about 45mins to get to the airport from the villas. So that means arriving at the airport and check-in in by 5 (check-in desks usually close and hour before departure) for a 6pm departure (for domestic flights you don't need to be there so early) 4.05 and he still wasn't there, ok not urged at this stage only a tad annoying. 4.10: still waiting.
4.15: worry starts to set in as we get a call to say that he is 10 minutes away
4.25: get a call to say that he is going to be another 5 minutes away... Shit, we're in trouble now
4.33: he finally arrives... So we have 27 minutes to drive to the airport and check-in. By this stage we are certain that we were going to miss the flight
5.00 on the dot: we arrive at the check-in desk and find out that the desk closes 30 minutes before departure for domestic flights.. We made it with 30 minutes to spare!!!

The flight itself was standard. Food was the type of plane food that you look at and think "how long 'til we arrive?!"

However, initial reaction to Xi'an upon arrival was very positive. It seemed a lot quieter and orderly compared to Beijing. Once we checked into the hotel, we wandered across to the Sofitel hotel next-door for a coffee... I ordered a Bailey's coffee. It was the most amazing coffee that I have ever seen! Topped with whipped cream, too :D

Certainly am a happy camper!

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Exhaustion
posted on Tuesday, July 12, 2011 at 11:41 PM | 0 cmnt/s

I apologize now for the short post this evening, but a whole day of touring does tire one out.

So we went on an organized tour in a group of 11: the 5 of us, 3 Indian businessmen, and 3 American microbiology research students. Our tour guide was so amazing. He was friendly and knowledgeable, and just made the whole experience fun.

Places we saw: the Summer Palace, Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven... From memory.

The whole day was amazing... And not just because I became a celebrity for the day.

What!?!? I hear you say.

On 3 separate occasions today I was asked by the locals to take a picture with them, presumedly because of my pale skin and blonde hair. I was so strange. On one occasion, a little girl no more than 10 years old came up to me and told me her name, said I was beautiful and asked if she could take a picture with me. Upon saying yes, a whole group of little Chinese children rushed up around me to take a picture. It was so cute!!

Another thing to note. The entrance to the Forbidden city itself, with the massive image of Chairman Mao in the center, is just so stunning. It is just so massive and truly does represent power.

The whole experience here has been so amazing. I really do hope to return again some day.

That's all for now. Last night in Beijing tonight. Off to Xi'an tomorrow. So this will possibly be the last Internet I get until Bangkok.

I'll still keep writing, but will only be able to upload with the net... Obviously.

Keep well, my friends!


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Steps
posted on Monday, July 11, 2011 at 10:30 PM | 0 cmnt/s

No more steps. Ever. For the rest of my life. Ever again.

So. We did the Great Wall of China today. And gosh was it spectacular.

We arrived fairly early enough that we beat the crowds at the beginning. There are two ways to get up to the wall: walk or cable car. Walking is the silly option because it takes so long. So cable car instead :D

Once at the wall itself there is not much else to do besides start walking. So you begin walking at it's alright to begin with. Then it starts to get tough rather quickly. And when I say tough, I'm seriously not exaggerating. We are talking about 80 degree angles down and up on old stone, at times on a horizontal angle. Very exhausting stuff in heat. But then you look back on the wall that you've just walked and you see it snakeing over the mountains and it's just stunning. Admittedly, the sight would have looked better minus the smog that finally became visible today, yet the views that we took in were breathtaking.

After we gave up on the wall, we went to a restaurant which I believe is named The Schoolyard. By George it was a brilliant place. All outdoors, fresh and friendly feel and great service. The particularly novel thing about this place were the place-mats: a blank A3 sheet of paper with crayons provided so that you could draw a picture, of which, presumedly, the best were picked to be used as covers for the menus! It was just so cool!

Following that, we took a long drive to the Ming Tombs, which are indeed full of historical significance. However, by this stage we were all exhausted, hot and sticky making this stop off a tad uninteresting.

Once we returned to the villas, and after a quick cup of tea, our energy returned in time for more shopping! Todays purchases:

4x large pendants (the same type from Saturday)

3x handbags (oh, dont give me that look... You can never have too many handbags!)

1x bracelet

Some souvenirs

All in all, I'm doing pretty well with my money. Still got more than enough to last me through to the end of Xi'an in a couple of days time.

It truly is amazing here in China. It's so different and interesting. Can't wait to explore the Forbidden City and Tianammen Square tomorrow.

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"No, I no like"
posted on Sunday, July 10, 2011 at 10:48 PM | 0 cmnt/s

Ok. I'm already anticipating scolding for today's activities for some people. Basically my day consisted of:

1. Wake up/ get ready
2. Have breakfast at the cafe
3. Book Forbidden City tour for Tuesday
4. Go to the Pearl Market
5. Shop
6. Return home
7. Have dinner

Some simple math for you all. We left for the Pearl Market around 10am. We arrived back at the villas at around 6pm.

How long is that???

Moving on, I obviously did do a hell of a lot of shopping today. And boy was that an adventure in itself. I don't have any experience with the art of haggling, but after today I can call myself semi-pro. And gosh you need it in a place like that. It was CRAZY!!! The shop assistant were mental. The shopping center (Pearl Market) was mental. Everything was mental! It does take some getting used to, the constant "Lady, you have a look in my shop", "Lady, you like this handbag, it real leather" and "Lady, I give you good, honest price." Then you start to feel like a record played with the constant responses of "No, I'm just looking", "no, I no like so much", and "cost too much, I want to pay ¥(insert price that is 1/4 of what they are suggesting)"

All I can really say is that it was a crazy day, of which I managed to come away a happy girl. For those interested, I bought:

1x sterling silver double bracelet with a real pearl (AU$50) -- on this point, we spent literally 2+ hours at a store called LingLing of the 3rd floor of the markets. I would certainly recommend this place to anyone traveling to Beijing who is looking for well prices, genuine pearls. They were so friendly and spoke good English.

3x handbags (prices around AU$20 with haggling)

2x clutches (AU$10 each)

8x scarves (around AU$3.50 each)

3x fake M.A.C. Eyeshadow pallets (¥10 each)

1x fake M.A.C. Blush (¥15)

5x Nail polish (¥10)

Not a bad day if shopping if I do say so myself, although not nearly at my full capacity. But don't worry, the next 2 days will have little to no shopping as we take in the tourist destinations instead.

Tomorrow we're off to the Great Wall of China (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) I'm so so so so so so so so excited :D We've been warned that there is a lot of climbing involved, and it can be very steep and rough, but I'm looking forward to the adventure.

Let you all know how it goes tomorrow.


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Completely Different Society
posted on at 9:01 AM | 0 cmnt/s

So I'm not even sure if my blog posts from here in China are going through. Apparently Blogger (the host site of this blog) is also a banded website amongst the likes of Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

I suppose when you think of banned websites in China, your first thought is Facebook then you don't think any further of it.

I'm certainly not complaining though. In fact, I think I rather enjoy it. To me, this is modern China, and if you're going to venture to this country, you have to do so knowing that things are going to be different. For this reason you must come with an open mind and a willingness to experience a very different way of living and even thinking.


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The Chopsticks Diet
posted on Saturday, July 9, 2011 at 11:45 PM | 0 cmnt/s

Arrived in Beijing this afternoon. Such a culture shock. But a good culture shock. So we were greeted at the airport by a driver who knew no English. Now not to seem ignorant, but the complete lack of English did come as a little shock.

The villa that we are staying in is amazing. So beautiful. So large.

Straight after settling in, we went for a wander around to get acquainted with the area. Carol took us to a shopping center (!!!) where I picked up my first purchase: 4 pendants.

After a quick look around we walked back, going past a real Chinese restaurant (unlike the fake type we get back home). Now that was a real experience. Once again, complete lack of English. Now, it's difficult to describe just how hard it was to order dinner with no language on either side. The thing that you have to do is just point and hope to god that you get what you've attempted to order. However, in the end we did get everything that we ordered and seriously... The food was AMAZING! It was real Chinese food.

The next biggest challenge, however, was using chopsticks. I've had a little experience with chopsticks in the past, but in times of struggle I've always been able to pick up a fork. This time, no dice. Hence the title, the chopsticks diet. Having said that, I did manage to eat all of my food and rice :) yay

Some general remarks about what I've seen of China thus far:

The driving is crazy. Crazy crazy crazy. And what's worse is that they don't give way to pedestrians even when there is a little green man saying that you can walk. You literally need eyes in the back of your head. Scary stuff.

Another thing of notice is the lack of smog. I know it sounds weird, but I was actually expecting there to be a noticeable amount of smog. No such thing, however.

China truly is beautiful. The culture is noticeable different. But good different. I like it. Very different.

Do wish I had a translator sometimes... For example my good friend Nelson. Or at least I should have asked him for some more helpful phrases.


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One Night in Bangkok
posted on at 10:56 PM | 0 cmnt/s

Currently flying to Beijing, China from Bangkok.

Spent literally one night in Bangkok. I was super excited because I was going to play the Murray Head song 'One Night in Bangkok' from the musical Chess. I love that song so much. Its so cool and funky. But after all my anticipation to play the song on repeat all night, I became distracted by the sights of the magnificent city and completely forgot to play it. It was until this morning, on the way to the airport again that I remembered. So now I'm rather disappointed that I missed a moment of musical amazingness. Oh well, I suppose you could interpret the song in a slightly different manner. Instead of it being about staying in Bangkok for only one night, I suppose you could interpret it to be about going ons during one night in the larger scheme of things. Let's take the second one.

Besides that lapse of memory, last night was amazing. We got picked up from the airport by a driver, Jackie. He was so kind and friendly, and also a really good driver (which counts for a lot here). Now the drive from the airport to the apartments was an experience in itself. I will never complain about traffic back home in Perth ever again after seeing the traffic last night. Having said that, I was pleasantly surprised to notice that at least everyone seems to drive with more care than in Singapore. My standard of measurement being how little I felt like my life was at risk.

Upon arriving at the apartments, we found the most beautiful home that I have ever seen. My lucky aunty lives in a lovely apartment that is large and has every facility you could want. After dinner (which had been cooked by her own maid) we took a wander around the apartments to see the pool, jacuzzi, library and (most importantly) the gym. It is seriously the most beautiful place that I have ever stayed. I'll have to take plenty of photos of the outdoor pool area because it is just so amazing and tranquil. After that we had a quick wander down the road to see what was around the apartments. There a quite a few restaurants, a 7/11, a massage place (AU$10 for a full Thai massage!!!!!!!!!!) and an upper class shopping complex. Whilst the shops had already closed for the evening, mum and I were able to window shop, my imagination and excitement going into overdrive- remember it's been about 6 months since I've really shopped for myself! Then we headed back to the apartment to pack for today's flight.

Guess what! There is a whole channel on tv here dedicated to the panda Ling Ling. Seriously, it is Big Brother, panda style. It is 24 hours of watching this panda. Soo crazy. Apparently we caught the panda at an exciting moment... It was eating some bamboo. Talk about cultural diversity.

Then I suppose we get to today. Back out to the airport. I'm actually really excited for China. I think it's going to be amazingly rewarding. There is just so much history and culture to delve into, not to mention the ever relevant and interesting political climate that I will be able to experience. Just so excited :D

That's kinda it for now. Talk soon!


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On Second Thoughts...
posted on Friday, July 8, 2011 at 9:32 PM | 0 cmnt/s

... Maybe this trip is coming at the perfect time. I truly do need some time just to clear my head after a long semester at uni, a more than hectic work life, and a complicated social life. Yep, ok,
I concede, good timing, Universe, good timing.

In fact, at a time like this, a think I deserve to be pampered.

And on my Bangkok pampering to do list:
1. Manicure
2. Pedicure
3. Massage
4. Facial
5. Massage

Yes... I do realize that I mentioned massage twice.



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Flight Time
posted on at 9:32 PM | 0 cmnt/s

So I'm currently 11746 meters up in the air, 519 km from home and traveling at 809 km/hr: en route to Bangkok, Thailand (via Phuket).

Gosh I love flying. I love taking advantage of the inflight entertainment (currently listening to music). I love the solitude. I love not having to do anything. I love the (relative) silence.

But you want to know what I don't love? I don't love what I've left behind: my store and my work family. What mostly kills me is the fact that I won't be there for the very end, I won't be with my people. And by the time I return everything will have changed, and I'm not liking that idea of change at all. I know that I'm lucky. I mean, I've been looking forward to this trip since we started planning way back in January, but the timing is just so off by 2 days. Those 2 valuable days. Gosh, so much whinging, but I need to get some of it off my chest. There is a lot going on in my head at the moment so if I can at least get rid of some of my anxiety I might be able to start enjoying things.

I just miss Borders. I miss the way things were. I miss it all.

I think my main problem is that I haven't been able to fully release all my emotions about the closure so it's finally coming to the surface in a rather inconvenient time and way. Argh.

Ok, enough of that rather embarrassing emotional crap. Back to the trip.

I think I'm looking forward to the hot weather. I'm not too sure if I am, actually. I mean, it is going to be bloody hot and humid. And quite frankly, I'm not sure if my body is ready to launch straight back into summer weather. By that I mean, I'm pretty sure I've got the "winter whites" aka I'm whiter than usual from lack of sufficient UV exposure in the past few months. Oh wow, quick side note, the lady in the row in front of me is literally pissing herself laughing to the point that it's rather antisocial. I mean, we're in an inclosed space: be aware of your surroundings!!!

Back to the plot, shopping should be good. I may have to wait a little bit first so we can do the touristy things first. One thing that I'm mega excited about it going to the shops that I was introduced to in Singapore last year. Can't wait. Can't wait to re-fill my wardrobe with new clothes after literally 6 months of abstinence. Ahhh it's going to be AMAZING! And I'm going to do a proper clean out of my bedroom when i get back too, so it's going to be awesome and new and clean :D

Ohh and I'm looking forward to learning a lot more about Chinese culture, politics and society too because I'm doing a unit on Politics in the East-Asian region this coming semester at uni, so I thing it will be rather educational and useful :)

Anyways, that's all for now :) I'm feel much better now. Having said that, I think I may have a nap to make up for the 4.5 hours sleep I only got last night. Pretty sure that's the least sleep I've ever got. Oh well, it was certainly well worth it. And whilst I'm thinking about last night, I recommend you all check out the Cheeky Sparrow in the city (I can't recall the exact address at the moment). Amazing place, amazing atmosphere, and not too expensive I suppose.

Finally, I hope you all realize that my use of present tense is misguiding. Whilst it is all present tense for me, I won't actually be able to post this until I reach Internet (maybe at the Phuket airport???) for obvious reasons, namely that I am now 11746 m in the air and Internet seems to be lacking here ;)

Anyways, keep well my friends and I'll talk to you soon.

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