My family went to Penang to reward ourselves after 2 years of stressful care-giving duties to my late father. I also took the opportunity to find out if Penang is a good retirement place for me.

We visited a fair bit of attractions, some left deep impression while majority were just ok for me. Historical architecture left behind by the British colony are everywhere in Penang. Many colonial-era houses are being utilized by the companies like banks and insurance companies to help conserve and maintain these buildings.

Two attractions left an impression on me: Peranakan Mansion (娘惹文化馆) and Khoo Kongsi (邱公司). The Peranakan Mansion features rich Peranakan style in their décor and architecture, especially their opulent lifestyle where I was treated to an eye feast of tons of gold and diamond jewellery. Pernakan style is a mixture of east (Chinese) meets west (English) décor.  I have taken several pictures showcasing their furniture and the jewellery. We were also taken to visit their ancestral altar, which in the past, is only reserved for family members.

Another highly recommended place is Khoo Kongsi. This small building – which they called it a clan house – was one of the locations where Anna & King was filmed. The building has a lot of intricate carvings, but what stood out to me were firstly, meanings behind the paintings which often depicts integrity, ethics and other Confucianism values. Secondly, the ancestors were all officials in the past and descendants are all either lawyers or justices of the peace. That to me is amazing!!!

When it comes to food in Penang, it is best to ask the local driver (preferably a Chinese because Penang is a Chinese-dominated state in Malaysia) to drive you to places that he visits himself. I made the mistake of following the bloggers’ recommendations on internet and it was disappointing.   My sister made the decision to let the driver bring us to whatever places he ate himself and it was FABULOUS! So do that if you are planning to visit Penang.

Lastly, a massage in Penang is totally worth it and I recommend Pinang Spa House. Look for the thai masseur who is in her 40s. She is very experienced and very good with her massages.

This is the MOST TIRING DAY of my entire trip and marks the last day in China.  But this is also the day that I can say I loved the most. I love Xi’an. I regret totally to keep the least number of days for Xi’an. If I ever visit China again, I will skip the other two and visit Xi’an again.

I booked a local tour this time round, just to experience the difference between tour for Chinese and tour for foreigners.  The Chinese tour is very packed but way cheaper than the tour for foreigners. We go by a big bus and there are about 40 plus people in one group.

On this trip I visited the Banpo Museum, a typical Neolithic matriarchal community of the Yangshao Culture dating back about 6,000 years, Huaqing Palace that is famous for the romantic love story of Tang Emperor Xuanzong and his concubine Yang Yuhuan, the Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang and finally the Terracotta Army.

However, the Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang forbids camera and frankly it is one dark pit hole of a simulation that they think it should look like of the real tomb (they have not excavate the tomb at this point to preserve the mausoleum due to these reasons).

I ended off the tour with a Tang Cultural Show but honestly I do not find it that worthwhile. I just stayed for the dance and did not bother with the dinner add-on option.

The whole trip lasted a good 10hours and I was so exhausted at the end of the day!

I reached Xi’an and had the shortest number of days here. Just 1.5 days to be precise. So after a long 8hr train journey to Xi’an, I went to the nearest attractions: The Bell Tower and The Drum Tower. I also went to visit the Muslim Quarter and ate my mutton!!

It was just a 10min walk from my hostel so I decided to visit these two places. It was lovely and there will be Tang music playing in the public square when night falls. I felt I was transported back to the golden days of Tang Dynasty.
 

Day 3 was totally spent on travelling on the high-speed railway train. I booked a 2 days local tour for Beijing to bring me around (I figured I need transportation in order to see all the places that I want within these 2 days). Honestly, Beijing is more interesting to me because it has more sightseeing places.  

There are 2 main highlights on this day: the Forbidden City and the Great Wall of China.  It was awesome standing at the Tiananmen Square. The space!!!! The people!!! There are constantly many many groups of local Chinese tours. However, China has improved vastly from the past where tour guides would be carrying their loudspeakers and competing among the groups to be the loudest. Apparently,  the government has banned loudspeakers, replacing them with microphones for the tour guides and earphones for  their designated group. Hence, based on the designated specific frequency, each tourist is able to listen to the tour guide as if he is right beside you without the necessity of a shouting competition.

Seeing the guards in military green standing without a single movement guarding the Forbidden City, I entered the Forbidden City with the tour guide and my tour mates for the next 1 to 2 days. It was fun touring with people coming from other countries. We ate and learnt about each other’s background and why they were here. In my group, there was a Costa Rico couple, both are professors at university. One lady came from Ireland and has been trying to travel around the world through fighting for overseas assignments. Another was an Indian on business trip to interview candidates for his china office and had a few days to spare.  Although the attractions were nice, I was soon tired by the swarm of Chinese tourists who were aggressive in taking pictures of the inner palaces and everywhere basically!

But my Chinese tour guide was very good. He practically memorized the English script of the sightseeing tour, so he was able to give us a basic description of the place. If I ever return to China, I think I would prefer to tour on my own at a leisure pace.

The Great Wall of China was really an enjoyable moment. It was there that my tour mates were patient to see me climbing really, really slowly. I was glad the tour agency brought us to Mutianya section instead of Badaling section. Mutianya is a much quieter section and I am free to climb on all fours. The view was excellent and I even experienced my first toboggan down the Great Wall of China! If you don’t know what toboggan is, I didn’t know what is that at all as well! It was really hilarious as I was displaying my super lousy skills at maneuvering the stick that control the speed of the toboggan sliding down the slide. I had many firsts in this trip: meeting new people from across the world for the first time, climbing the Great Wall, trying toboggan. It was really fun subsequently to have dessert and lunch with my tour mates on the way back,while exchanging our experiences in China so far.

As a solo traveler for certain trips, I began to realize such local land tours, preferably a public tour, is the best for me. I get to meet strangers in a secured settings and able to enjoy my own privacy when I am back in the hotel. It was during this trip that I decided to incorporate more local public tours in the future for my holidays.

The next day, we headed for Jingshan Park. With an entrance fee of RMB2, elderly often go to this park for morning activities, like dancing or calligraphy. We caught a panoramic view of the Forbidden City and proceeded to Beijing Olympic Park (the most boring itinerary IMHO). Please skip this if you are visiting Beijing, especially during the hot summer days. You are just going to bake yourself under the sun, feeling hot and bored.

Summer Palace was the highlight for the second day’s itinerary.  One of the famous attractions is the long corridor. Surprisingly, it was very cooling. Therefore, the spots were taken up by the locals, flanked on both sides to have their lunch or sips of water. My only lament is after we take the ferry to cross Kunming Lake from the other end of the corridor, that was the end of the trip (I thought I can go visit the Hall of Embracing the Universe and cross the seventeen-arch bridge!)

The last stop was the Temple of Heaven, where it used to be the sacrificial temple for the past Emperors during the Ming and Qing Dynasties.  It was beautiful but I hated it when Chinese tourists destroy their own heritage by stepping onto this stone at center of the altar, seeking for echo. There is NO ECHO when it is open space. You need a wall to reflect the sound waves. It is heart breaking to see them not cherishing something left behind by their ancestors.

On the second day, I went to hunt for good dumplings (both pan fried and steamed). There are two highly recommended shops but you need to go and hunt for it. They are tucked in Shanghai old residential areas. I don’t know why but Shanghai apartments are really old. Similar to Hong Kong apartments, they looked like they were built in the 70s except they are much bigger in terms of space.

These two stalls are actually just opposite each other. I tried the pan fried dumplings and it was DELICIOUS! I chose the combo platter which included six juicy dumplings with three different flavours. GOSH, IT WAS HEAVEN! A far cry from the dumplings that I had in Shanghai YuYuan on Day 1 (they claimed to be the best but it was crap. TOTALLY CRAP).

I went to try the other stall when it was opened 30mins later. I thought I was the first customer. The dragon lady took my order and money and passed instructions to her team of staff. A small but energetic team of aunties were busy in the small back kitchen steaming dumplings, chopping vegetables and mincing meat. Morning gossip about someone’s daughter or someone’s son was the talk of the day. I went to a table of my choice and waited. Very quickly, the famous steamed dumplings came to my table and I tucked into it greedily.

A sudden unexpected turn of events took place as a male customer scolded the dragon lady. Apparently the dragon lady thought he wanted cooked dumplings instead of frozen dumplings (you can buy the raw ready-made dumplings to steam at home). The guy was so furious he retorted that the dragon lady was TOO BUSY CHIT CHATTING to remember his order. Turned out he was the first customer. What amazed me was there was a steady stream of customers coming in and the argument never ceased! Shanghainese women are really really fierce!

Some of the latter customers were Japanese and Taiwanese, each family/couple holding a guidebook (so like me, we all knew about this place through guidebooks and online blogs).  I proceeded to move on to my highlight of the day – West Lake in Hangzhou – with a full tummy.

West Lake is HUGE! I have underestimated the size of China and thought I could complete it by walking within a day. I cannot. I got BLISTERS on my sole. But, I find West Lake is overrated. It is a lake with nice scenery but it is just a lake. The scene is average nice but not those gorgeous type of nice. I kinda regret spending one day here. Should have pick a few spots and leave for Shanghai by early afternoon.

I went back to Shanghai by 9pm and had my dinner at Lujiajiao, the financial CBD of China, and saw the big Pearl Tower by The Bund. At this point, all I feel about China is everything is BIG, HUGE and GIGANTIC. Hahahhahahhaah..
 
 
 
 

China was never a very popular country among the 20s and 30s in my country. It was more of a holiday destination for the elderly. The Chinese in my country originate from the southern parts of China, predominantly the Fujian and the Guangdong provinces.

One year ago, I became interested to visit this country because I started to know more about Chinese actors. Mesmerised by two young actors, I began surfing the internet to watch their drama, their interviews and live streaming talks.

I planned to leave my previous real estate company in May 2017 and went ahead to book a 2-week holiday in China/Korea. The entire planning took 6 months as I struggled to book the connecting trains between three cities – Shanghai, Beijing and Xi’an – within China. Flight was the easiest as I learnt about multi-cities air ticket which helped to save a lot of money. However, getting from one place to another place domestically was harder as I need to research and learn how to book train tickets, what type of seats to get online.

When I first touched down in Shanghai, it was a challenge dragging my large luggage (it wasn’t heavy as I picked Summer season where clothes are light) into their train. Since I always make sure I reach a new country in the morning, I had sufficient time to find my boutique hotel. Tucked in a small lane, it was hard. But the staff was very polite and even advised me to book my train tickets fast. I informed them I had booked via phone but they had an apprehensive look. I decided to take the first day easy by visiting Shanghai’s YuYuan and ZhuJiaJiao.  It was a rainy and cold day. I was tired too. On the bus journey to ZhuJiaJiao I dozed off. But I felt happy and free for a moment to be in a new place. These two places didn’t leave a very deep impression on me. However, it was a late lunch at HaiDiLao (around 3pm back in Shanghai) that amused me. Because  I was alone, the waitress actually gave me a bear for company. Hahahah! Frankly I am already used to, and feel very comfortable eating by myself (I was famished anyway and was concentrating more on my food than the bear). But it was a nice gesture.

Day 1 ended with me eating my onion pancake (which I enjoyed thoroughly) and I went to bed quite early.  
 
*I am now starting to make good my new year resolution to update this blog more often. It has been a challenge still for me, but I am determined to make it happen!
 
 
 

Recently, I have joined an online meetup group called Hikking, Trekking and Travelling Buddies (HTTB). It was fun and it solved a lot of problems that singles face whenever they want to go to a certain place, but they lack the numbers in order to realise their wishes. 

HTTB allows you to sign up for free and organisers (you can be one too!) will send out RSVP after posting a particular event. I went to Mount Arong and Lambak for my maiden hikking trip with this group and it was extremely enjoyable (and it motivated me to practise stair-climbing and running on my own). 

Anyway, I joined them for the second trip but this time I joined a leisure one that involves no steep slopes whatsoever. With 37 people, we took a bumboat to Pulau Ubin to look for butterflies, insects, plants and birds. It was an enjoyable trip as not only do I interact with new friends, I also get to know more about the nature itself. We had lunch on the summit of Pulau Ubin and had heater to heat up water for a nice cuppa coffee while staring out at the scenic views. As I do not have the permission of the buddies that I took picture with, my photo gallery contains only scenic pictures. 

I fought hard to get a slot for this trip to practise my stamina in time for my November trip to Japan. Why do I use the phrase "fought hard"? It is because RSVPs are snatched within 30 seconds. YES, your eyes are not blurry, it is indeed 30 seconds or less (it was 10 seconds for this time round). The organiser initially planned for 22 pax for this trip. When I refreshed the page to click on the RSVP, it was ALL GONE. I cannot  believe it!!! All GONE!!!!

Hence I wrote a nice reply on the board "looking forward to more slots opening up", hoping that he would consider more pax. Anyway based on his feedback after the trip, this event had FULL ATTENDANCE!!! hehehehehehe, and another one is in the works.. Can't wait for the next one to happen!

おととしは初めて日本に行きました。日程は１２日ぐらいの・で東京、箱根と横浜の旅行でした。この三つのとこるはとても綺麗で、忘れられません。でも、二つ三つびくりしたことがあります。

まず、東京はゴミ箱が少ししかありません。毎日八時に寮を出て，朝ごはんいつもおにぎりでした。だから、食べた後、包む物は捨てたい時，ゴミ箱がどこにもないのでよく困りました。しばらくして、ゴミ箱を女子用トイレでみつけました。どうしてこんなに少ししかゴミ箱がなくて、皆、自分のゴミを一日中ずっと持っているのか今でもわからないです。

二つ目、日本のコンビニは多くのサビースを提供することにびっくりしました。宅配サビース，御田、図書館の本の返すことなどいろいろ便利なサビースがありました。それにくらべると、シンガポールのコンビニつまらない店です。

三つ目、電車の中で携帯電話をかけることは禁止されています。でも、飲食は許されています。逆に、シンガポールの電車の中で携帯電話をかけることは許されていますが、飲食は禁止されています。ですから、お腹がすいた時、飲食をしてもいいことをすっかり忘れていました。

最後、一番の楽しみと恥ずかしいことは公衆浴場と温泉です。公衆浴場と温泉に入る前に全部服装を脱いで裸のままで、皆の前で洗います。この経験はシンガポールは出来ませんので、勇気を出せば、公衆浴場と温泉を楽しむことが出来ます。

I have never touch a baking pan or mix any flour ever since I left secondary school’s Home Economics. Part of my journey to push myself out of my comfort zone was to pick up a baking activity. I chanced upon Bemyguest.com.sg and found that they have quite a few excellent workshops. Therefore, I was very pleased to be invited to a workshop on baking a chiffon cake on 20 July at the Baking Studio.

The moment I entered the studio, I was greeted warmly by the instructor Corrinn. She started the baking workshop by doing a demonstration. One thing that I enjoyed about her workshop was the way she explained to the participants.  She used the scientific approach to explain some of the common mistakes that people make that caused the chiffon cake to collapse. It also made newbies much easier to get a hang of the baking process when ingredients are already measured and packed properly for you. I also appreciated that Corrinn took the time to tell us what substitute ingredients to use if we do not have ingredients A, B or C.

Folding has always been my problem when it comes to baking. I don’t really get the folding technique correct and this was very essential when it comes to baking really fluffy chiffon cakes. I like the fact that the class was kept to a small size. For public workshops, Baking Studio kept it to a maximum of 6 so that the instructor would be able to give individual attention to each participant during the process. Pointing out when we could stop whipping the egg whites by checking the stiff peak point, when to stop mixing ingredients to avoid over-mixing and ending up with a heavy cake, I was able to take note and remember what to avoid in my next baking attempt on my own.

It was fun to bake together because not only can you get to see each other’s cake, you get to share success and failures so you can learn from each other. The best part is we get to bring home our cake in a pretty cake box!

I casually chatted with Corrinn at the start and she told me The Baking Studio first started off giving corporate or teambonding activities. Ex-participants expressed their genuine interest in baking and a formal The Baking Studio was born! I would recommend this workshop to anyone who is interested in baking as the instructor was really patient and small class size, and to check out bemyguest.com.sg for other fun activities to do in Singapore.