One night in Beijing

Having only a few hours to spend in Beijing definitely isn't enough to do some serious exploring. Upon checking into our hotel at 2.30 in the morning, some of us decided to grab a late night supper at at 24-hour KFC nearby. It was amazing how the menu is completely different from what we have here in Singapore. They had porridge, BBQ wings, soy milk and even you tiao (deep-fried breadsticks)! Because it was so late at night and there were so few people, we had them all freshly cooked and piping hot. 

The next afternoon, after recharging our batteries, my partner-in-crime Tia and I headed to Yashow Clothing Market (New Market) for some shopping. It was a five-storey clothing and bargaining heaven. The prices touted by the shopkeepers were ridiculously marked up, and it was our job to determine an appropriate price. I love clothing bought at a steal, but I hate haggling for prices. Lucky for me, Tia was an expert. Tia and I saw a really beautiful piece of leather jacket touted at 890 yuan (SGD 180) which was obviously ridiculous because it isn't real leather. She managed to bring the price down to 150 yuan (SGD 30) which was a more reasonable price. I, on the other hand scored a trench coat and a pair of leather gloves for a total of less than SGD50. Hee! 

So, lesson learnt: SLASH THE PRICES DOWN AT LEAST 75%

Did more shopping when we met up with Farhan and Hidayat at Starbucks. Headed to another mall called the Silk Market. It had Bangkok's Platinum Mall feel, with shops after shops selling bags, shoes, clothes and other cute stuff. I eyed on a really beautiful teal boots, but Farhan managed to stop me by saying that Melbourne has original Dr Martens going for a steal. Something for me to save for.

Overall Beijing was an interesting city. Not as bitter cold as it could get during winter but gosh, the haze.... If Singaporeans are complaining about the temporary bout of haze that shrouded over the country a few months ago, they should come to Beijing. It's hazy ALL YEAR ROUND. 

Shopping centres were HUGE and aplenty, traffic during peak hours is terrible, haggling is a must. People there are generally loud and rather brash. I would love to come back again in the near future. Hopefully the next time I'll get more time in Beijing to climb the Great Wall and visit the Forbidden City. 

Lan Kwai Fong : Hipster Hangout by day, Party Central by night.

I've heard from my friends many times to check out Lan Kwai Fong if I were to head to Hong Kong. It is supposedly THE place to go to party in Hong Kong city. The first time I went was in 2010, and we spent most of our time in Mongkok, shopping.. Didn't manage to pay a visit. Plus, I wasn't much of a party animal then. This time, when Amanda and I went in April, we went to see what the fuss was all about. 

In the day the area was bustling with hipsters, tourists and occasional men and women in business attire (with the Central Business District a stone throw away) doing their shopping in cute, independent stores or having a meal in one of the cosy restaurants or getting some coffee to escape the dreary, rainy Hong Kong weather. I particularly enjoyed the architecture; it was a unique blend of colonial structures and a splash of modernity. The streets were clean and well-maintained. Lan Kwai Fong Road itself had a large space dedicated to artsy murals. 

By night, it transformed into something else altogether. Some of the roads are blocked to traffic, expanding places people could walk up and down the road freely without getting run over... There was a huge variety of music blasting from the speakers, stores selling cheap beers by bottles placed in a large cooler and happy hour all night long. The atmosphere was pretty awesome. There were so many different characters to watch, so many nationalities in one place and so many beautiful people.

I thought that the party scene was almost comparable to Koh Samui's, minus the offerings of laughing gas for 100 baht. While vibrant from the hours of 2300 - 0330 hours, once the clock struck 4, you see the usual sights of people lying around, drunk, puking and doing stupid things. At 0700 hours, it was bright out, and the streets were almost empty, but littered with empty beer cans and bottles, broken shards of glass and other miscellaneous rubbish strewn across the floor.

Come back a few hours later, the streets are clean again. It was like the party last night never happened.

Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera along with me when we went to party at night... I travelled light, and my phone sucked. So, all I had were the mental pictures I took. 

I was lucky to have Amanda as my travel-mate. She's so cool and game to do EVERYTHING I wanted. I know she had tons of fun (hahahahaha) and so did I. 

Whatever happened in Lan Kwai Fong stays in Lan Kwai Fong. 

Campfire's Burning!

Every year on the last night of Guides camp, we have a campfire where we'd invite past girls to come down and have some fun. I haven't gone back for so long, I didn't know almost 80% of the senior Guides who came back. 

When I went around learning their names, it turned out that most of them knew me by name, even when they've never seen me before. One guide said, "Oh we know you, you're famous."

I am almost afraid to ask why.

This was our very last campfire on the school ground before the building gets torn down at the end of the year. There goes the cosy, cottage-like atmosphere of the school where each girl knew everyone by their faces... or their extra curricular activities; the large field that gets waterlogged when it rains, the same field where the Guides pitch their tents every year; the large foyer (pronounced four-yay) where my classmates and I spent almost twice every month sitting on the world map (i.e. detention). 

Halfway through the campfire. This campfire pit was constructed by the Guides themselves.

Held indoors because of the rain. But hey, REAL FIRE!

Many little ducks that I once knew, fat ones, skinny ones just like you  two by two.

 After party of the campfire: ROASTING MARSHMALLOWS and CHOCOLATE BANANAS! We used the fire to heat up leftovers too. The girls are usually hungry after all the singing and prancing around, even after a heavy dinner.

 3 generations of Guides - I was in school with these girls.

 

   

Enjoying toasted marshmallows! Yum.

 For some strange reasons, the new generation of Guides aren't fans of the chocolate bananas, hence the old birds had ALL of them to ourselves. Heh.

 Looks gross, but tastes oh so good! Back in the day, we used to fight over EVERYTHING that had chocolate. Nowadays, the kids are such princesses.

 The old girls made smores too, the younger Guides are totally missing out.

This was the spirit of camping: sitting on the floor, round a buffet of food covered in aluminium foils just cooked by the campfire, chatting and laughing about everything. 

When I was in school, being in Guides was more than just an after school activity. It shaped who we were as a student, and as a person. If we misbehaved in class, the teachers won't direct complains to our class form teacher... it'll go straight to our Captain (teacher-in-charge) and we'd be reprimanded, sometimes severely, depending on the situation. 

Other students would either hate us or love us because we're always the noisiest, and we stuck out in crowds like a sore thumb. There were no segregation between juniors and seniors, unlike other Uniformed Groups, everyone got along fine and have respect for each other. There was a time to fool around, and a time to be serious and get work done. 

It's been five years since I left school, yet when fellow Guides during my time meet up for coffee or whatever, it's like nothing has ever changed. We've been through a lot together, from annual school camps, to hikes and the occasional overseas trip we take together. We pitched tents, sang songs, argued over countless of issues, got into a whole lot of trouble, climbed gates, played pranks and encountered ghosts together.

Back in the day....

          Five generations of Katong Convent Girl Guides. Youngest are from left... oldest, extreme right.

The friends I made in Guides are the friends I would probably have for life. ❤