i bought a bottle of shower foam today.
it's called "mengroan"
go figure...
Thursday, July 21, 2005
beijing exhibition centre, day 2 (lomosite, 13 sept '04)
more frustration...
one of those times when i think to myself i really should have listened to rizal.
i am as hapless as nakajima-san. he's japanese and speaks a wee bit of mandarin. i'm malaysian and speak a wee bit of mandarin.
almost all chinese exhibitors here speak no english.
live and learn...
short round today. the chinese government sent out a last minute cicrcular stating that all guests must leave the hall by 3pm. Some Chinese VIP will be visiting the fair.
only in china.
tomorrow will be a full day. walk, talk (if i can find someone who speaks english).
that leaves me with...TWO FULL DAYS of sightseeing!!!
Day 1: Great wall
Day 2: Tiananmen Square and The Forbidden City
Dinner:
beijing chinese food. our motley group of 6 (two thais, two indonesians, me, and nakajima-san) were unceremoniously ushered from the 2nd floor to the 1st floor due to the arrival of a large group of tourists.
ordering was, let's see, a pretty drawn out affair. Nakajima-san held the menu (he can read the characters), i put in my two cents when he asked for opinions, and mr. vanchai did most of the talking. too many cooks... it took us close to 40 mins to order.
i stick by malaysian chinese food. we make THE BEST!!
here's where beijing is also different from malaysia: m;sians start walking in to a restaurant between 8-9pm. Beijingers start leaving the restaurant by 8-9pm. We were one of two tables left at the restaurant by 9pm.
Bumped into the rest of the Japs at the lobby of my hotel on my way back. Poor them, they'd just got done with the VIP (who arrived at 8pm) and were just going out for dinner.
I like them better in t-shirt and jeans.
one of those times when i think to myself i really should have listened to rizal.
i am as hapless as nakajima-san. he's japanese and speaks a wee bit of mandarin. i'm malaysian and speak a wee bit of mandarin.
almost all chinese exhibitors here speak no english.
live and learn...
short round today. the chinese government sent out a last minute cicrcular stating that all guests must leave the hall by 3pm. Some Chinese VIP will be visiting the fair.
only in china.
tomorrow will be a full day. walk, talk (if i can find someone who speaks english).
that leaves me with...TWO FULL DAYS of sightseeing!!!
Day 1: Great wall
Day 2: Tiananmen Square and The Forbidden City
Dinner:
beijing chinese food. our motley group of 6 (two thais, two indonesians, me, and nakajima-san) were unceremoniously ushered from the 2nd floor to the 1st floor due to the arrival of a large group of tourists.
ordering was, let's see, a pretty drawn out affair. Nakajima-san held the menu (he can read the characters), i put in my two cents when he asked for opinions, and mr. vanchai did most of the talking. too many cooks... it took us close to 40 mins to order.
i stick by malaysian chinese food. we make THE BEST!!
here's where beijing is also different from malaysia: m;sians start walking in to a restaurant between 8-9pm. Beijingers start leaving the restaurant by 8-9pm. We were one of two tables left at the restaurant by 9pm.
Bumped into the rest of the Japs at the lobby of my hotel on my way back. Poor them, they'd just got done with the VIP (who arrived at 8pm) and were just going out for dinner.
I like them better in t-shirt and jeans.
beijing, day 2: tv (lomosite, 13 sept '04)
i have cnn!!!
finally! another english channel other than star movies.
i'm depraved and deprived.
that's what happens when you don't have a tv at home for the better part of the year. and when you do, it's not hooked up.it's just background noise, but it's reassuring...
and i have not laid hands (or eyes) on an english language daily yet...
during dinner, nakajima-san wanted to ask our waitress what she'd recommend.
"o-susume," i thought.
shit! am in china thinking in japanese.
finally! another english channel other than star movies.
i'm depraved and deprived.
that's what happens when you don't have a tv at home for the better part of the year. and when you do, it's not hooked up.it's just background noise, but it's reassuring...
and i have not laid hands (or eyes) on an english language daily yet...
during dinner, nakajima-san wanted to ask our waitress what she'd recommend.
"o-susume," i thought.
shit! am in china thinking in japanese.
beijin, day 2: chix (lomosite, 13 sept '04)
a friend back home said that there'd be lots of hot chicks in china.
they must not reside in beijing.
they must also not ride the subway.
they must not reside in beijing.
they must also not ride the subway.
beijing, day 1 (lomosite, 12 sept '04)
i was wrong.
in reality, it went like this:(while having b'fast in McD's at KLIA)
07.35, on phone:
me: hello, debao hotel? do you speak english?
debao: yes, a little.
me: my check in reference number is...can you arrange for an airport pick up?
debao: errr...can you repeat? what is your name?
me: Ng Poh Ling, can I spell that for you?
debao: yes please.
me: N ... G ... P... etc.
debao: errr...can you repeat slowly?
me: N ... G ... etc.
debao: I am sorry, we don't have your reservation.
me: what? i have a reference number!!
debao: can you spell your name again...?
needless to say, after 20 mins of fruitless ding-donging around on the phone, i gave up.
Rizal gave me a look, blurted out, "I told you!!"
He had warned me to take someone along who knew mandarin. Me being the intrepid and adventurous traveler that I am, had decided I could wing it on my own. It's a trade fair anyway, they have to know english on the fair grounds!!!
So wing it I did...albeit with my balance a bit thrown off by that phone encounter.
15.15, upon landing...
holy shit!! the smog blanketing beijing is thicker than the haze from the open burning in KL!! (The authorities in KL are in denial about the shrouds making their way across the sea from open burning in Sumatra.)
luckily the people at the travel agency noted the hotel name and address in chinese characters so i had no problems getting the cab driver to take me right to my destination.
No incidents. arrive at debao with all limbs intact and luggage accounted for. bargain for 2 more nights' extension at a discount!!
18.30pm, xhichimen:
there's a supermarket right across from the hotel, sweet. peddlars on the sidewalk.
take the subway with no incidence. if i'd know it would have been this hot (i knew it'd be hot, but didn't realize how hot), i'd have brought my tevas.
Full Link Plaza:
main target is watsons for supplies. can't find what i'm looking for, settle for second best. spot a starbucks, too hungry to traipse around for a food court or other eating establishments.wolf down a sandwich, cheese cake and top it all off with hot chocolate. it is so pathetic. i promise myself tomorrow and the following days i will taste local fare.
heading back out, i realize there's a yoshinoya right across the main road next to the overhead bridge. damn! take a peek, realize i wouldn't have known what to order: everything's in blurdy chinese!! and not enough pitcures to point at!!group of oldies practising a dance with fans, traditional instruments. cool. snap, snap!
at subway station:
man nearly gets his arm squeezed off his body trying to get on train. platform guard shrieks, curses and berates him. a woman, no less.
walking back to debao:
a woman asks a pedicab driver how much for a destination, finds the price disagreeable and walks away. The driver calls out to her and she turns back, fully aware he'll drive her at her price.
tomorrow to work! groan..
in reality, it went like this:(while having b'fast in McD's at KLIA)
07.35, on phone:
me: hello, debao hotel? do you speak english?
debao: yes, a little.
me: my check in reference number is...can you arrange for an airport pick up?
debao: errr...can you repeat? what is your name?
me: Ng Poh Ling, can I spell that for you?
debao: yes please.
me: N ... G ... P... etc.
debao: errr...can you repeat slowly?
me: N ... G ... etc.
debao: I am sorry, we don't have your reservation.
me: what? i have a reference number!!
debao: can you spell your name again...?
needless to say, after 20 mins of fruitless ding-donging around on the phone, i gave up.
Rizal gave me a look, blurted out, "I told you!!"
He had warned me to take someone along who knew mandarin. Me being the intrepid and adventurous traveler that I am, had decided I could wing it on my own. It's a trade fair anyway, they have to know english on the fair grounds!!!
So wing it I did...albeit with my balance a bit thrown off by that phone encounter.
15.15, upon landing...
holy shit!! the smog blanketing beijing is thicker than the haze from the open burning in KL!! (The authorities in KL are in denial about the shrouds making their way across the sea from open burning in Sumatra.)
luckily the people at the travel agency noted the hotel name and address in chinese characters so i had no problems getting the cab driver to take me right to my destination.
No incidents. arrive at debao with all limbs intact and luggage accounted for. bargain for 2 more nights' extension at a discount!!
18.30pm, xhichimen:
there's a supermarket right across from the hotel, sweet. peddlars on the sidewalk.
take the subway with no incidence. if i'd know it would have been this hot (i knew it'd be hot, but didn't realize how hot), i'd have brought my tevas.
Full Link Plaza:
main target is watsons for supplies. can't find what i'm looking for, settle for second best. spot a starbucks, too hungry to traipse around for a food court or other eating establishments.wolf down a sandwich, cheese cake and top it all off with hot chocolate. it is so pathetic. i promise myself tomorrow and the following days i will taste local fare.
heading back out, i realize there's a yoshinoya right across the main road next to the overhead bridge. damn! take a peek, realize i wouldn't have known what to order: everything's in blurdy chinese!! and not enough pitcures to point at!!group of oldies practising a dance with fans, traditional instruments. cool. snap, snap!
at subway station:
man nearly gets his arm squeezed off his body trying to get on train. platform guard shrieks, curses and berates him. a woman, no less.
walking back to debao:
a woman asks a pedicab driver how much for a destination, finds the price disagreeable and walks away. The driver calls out to her and she turns back, fully aware he'll drive her at her price.
tomorrow to work! groan..
pre-beijing (excerpt, lomosite, 10/09/04)
TGIF!! TGIF!! TGIFFFFFF!!!!!
Can't say it often enough.
Everytime Friday rolls around, am in either 1 of these 2 states:
a) deliriously happy that it's the weekend
b) incredibly exhausted by events unfolding over the week and dreading tomorrow if it is a working day
today, i feel b).
but then again...i'm heading to beijing on sunday for work, and i've never been there in my sad sorry life, yay!!
oh dear, work work work woooooooorrrrrrkkkk...
damn i hope those chinese don't slaughter me for my "powderful" mandarin. being a classic banana, yellow on the outside, terribly white on the inside, my apparent lakc of grasp of the mandarin language will be my downfall.
I can just imagine:
Chinese: siao che, ni chao sem me?
Me: eerrrrr...Chinese: Chi ge ne?Me: err, wo...
Chinese: Chen yang ne?
Me: errr...wo pu huay chiang hua yu.
Chinese: You no want?
Me: errr...gommen, watashi wa chuugoku go wakarimasen.
Chinese: Nihonjin desu ka?
Me: errrr...
(What a fraud! Me, that is. with that spattering of Japanese, hahah!)
And that's just browsing or shopping, not even talks or negotiations for work. Hahah, am so dead!
Well, at least I will have 1.5 days to walk around beijing. Am planning to head to Tiananmen Square and look around the Forbidden City.
Yaaaaaayyyy!! lomo ops!!!!
When am I ever gonna find time to upload the 3 albums I've collected from the photo labs?? arrrgghhh!!
Can't say it often enough.
Everytime Friday rolls around, am in either 1 of these 2 states:
a) deliriously happy that it's the weekend
b) incredibly exhausted by events unfolding over the week and dreading tomorrow if it is a working day
today, i feel b).
but then again...i'm heading to beijing on sunday for work, and i've never been there in my sad sorry life, yay!!
oh dear, work work work woooooooorrrrrrkkkk...
damn i hope those chinese don't slaughter me for my "powderful" mandarin. being a classic banana, yellow on the outside, terribly white on the inside, my apparent lakc of grasp of the mandarin language will be my downfall.
I can just imagine:
Chinese: siao che, ni chao sem me?
Me: eerrrrr...Chinese: Chi ge ne?Me: err, wo...
Chinese: Chen yang ne?
Me: errr...wo pu huay chiang hua yu.
Chinese: You no want?
Me: errr...gommen, watashi wa chuugoku go wakarimasen.
Chinese: Nihonjin desu ka?
Me: errrr...
(What a fraud! Me, that is. with that spattering of Japanese, hahah!)
And that's just browsing or shopping, not even talks or negotiations for work. Hahah, am so dead!
Well, at least I will have 1.5 days to walk around beijing. Am planning to head to Tiananmen Square and look around the Forbidden City.
Yaaaaaayyyy!! lomo ops!!!!
When am I ever gonna find time to upload the 3 albums I've collected from the photo labs?? arrrgghhh!!
beijing nostalgia
i thought i'd recap bits and pieces of my experiences prior to my beijing trip last september, during and after as well. Those who'd like to read about how a chinese whoe doesn't speak as much as several licks of mandarin survive there, not to mention make a fool of herself as she goes along, enjoy!
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
sandwiched!
alien #1: that looks like a delicious bite of a morsel.alien #2: um, it looks kinda bald and old, you think?
alien #1: well-seasoned, more like.
that's my uncle in the background. no, that's not one of 'em aliens from war of the worlds. he's in brisbane on the bridge from the sheraton mirage resort & spa to the shopping area across the road.
seeing a ghost
does not this picture remind one of those zombies hopping around in chinese movies? that's sam, waiting his turn to go on during the aikido gala dinner about a month back. if the photo were clearer, it would've been even more hilarious or quirky. however, me and my lca decided to give him a break and make it blur enough that he can deny it's even him, although the hairline gives it all away...
what a day...
i shouldn't have slept late last night. especially after salsa class.
as a result:
1. i didn't wake up sleepy. my dream, or rather, the end of it (can't remember what it was) woke me up. so i was waiting for my phone to go off.
2. i was sleepy AFTER i'd had my morning drink, so i crawled back into bed a bit. big mistake.
3. i go into work with heavy eyes and heavy head.
4. i drive around the whole day sleepy, doing a survey on the buildings in kl together with selina and mum.
5. oh before that, i almost drive into a ditch at a curve in the road on the way to work due to my sleepiness.
6. one cup of local coffee during lunch and a cup of latte later for tea still doesn't dispel my heavy eyes and heavy head.
7. feel brainless.
8. fumbled when leading workshop with sales team. oops, gave wrong info and tried to cover, but damage done.
9. workshop starte late as one of the team got back to office late, so everyone was not into it.
10. discipline falling to bits with new sales team. need to crack out the whip. need to bring out the tiger in me.
11. underpaid, somewhat overworked, needlessly stressed.
as a result:
1. i didn't wake up sleepy. my dream, or rather, the end of it (can't remember what it was) woke me up. so i was waiting for my phone to go off.
2. i was sleepy AFTER i'd had my morning drink, so i crawled back into bed a bit. big mistake.
3. i go into work with heavy eyes and heavy head.
4. i drive around the whole day sleepy, doing a survey on the buildings in kl together with selina and mum.
5. oh before that, i almost drive into a ditch at a curve in the road on the way to work due to my sleepiness.
6. one cup of local coffee during lunch and a cup of latte later for tea still doesn't dispel my heavy eyes and heavy head.
7. feel brainless.
8. fumbled when leading workshop with sales team. oops, gave wrong info and tried to cover, but damage done.
9. workshop starte late as one of the team got back to office late, so everyone was not into it.
10. discipline falling to bits with new sales team. need to crack out the whip. need to bring out the tiger in me.
11. underpaid, somewhat overworked, needlessly stressed.
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