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| It's been almost a week since I've been back, but I've been so busy with Christmas preparations and all. So I've finally gotten around to sorting out my photos from my trip. I'm gonna jot down all my happy China memories here so that I can relish them forever!!
Day One -
It was a pretty crazy flight. We boarded the plane from Singapore to Shanghai at almost 1am and reached the Shanghai Pudong Airport at almost 6am. Then we had to take another domestic flight from Shanghai to Beijing. Well, all I did was sleep in the plane anyway. I hate plane rides.
By the time we reached Beijing, it was almost 12noon. Met up with our tour guide, who's a sweet girl called Xiao Yun. From the moment we stepped out of the airport, we knew we were gonna be suffering the entire day. It was freezing cold, and we were all not sufficiently dressed.
On a more positive note, we had the entire tour bus to ourselves!!
 The first thing we did was go for lunch. Out first taste of Beijing food, and frankly, it was bad. Like I mentioned in a previous post, everything in Beijing is extra salty and oily. Alcohol was present at every meal though - just to keep us warm!  After lunch, we traveled down to the Forbidden City! Not only was it hugeeeeeee, it was breathtaking! I learnt from the guide that the Forbidden City has 9999 and a half rooms! It was where the royal family ate, slept, lived, and did everything! And right then and there, I could totally imagine just some thousand years ago, the Emperor of China and his royal family walking down the exact same grounds that I was standing on. It was magnificent. However, on a different note, it's sad to think that the lives of the entire China used to revolve around this one man. And because of this one man, so much trouble was caused and so many lives lost. The power of the Emperor. And as the days went by in Beijing, we also visited various other places that belonged to the royal family - like parks and all. It's also sad to think that the royal family spent so much money on themselves, while the commoners back then were poor and suffering.  Nonetheless, the Forbidden City was beautiful and so filled with history!!    Day two - On the second day, we woke up bright and early and had breakfast at our hotel.  After which, our guide brought as down to this jade place. It is essentially one of those tourist traps where they tell you the history of something and then make you buy it at crazy prices. So while the adults were spending hundreds of dollars on jade accessories, us kiddies went over to this little hat stall and fooled around.  When the adults were done throwing their money away, we were brought to a wax museum! Now, I love wax museums. They freak me out so bad, yet it just seems all so intriguing. When I was a kid, my Mom used to traumatize me by telling me that these wax figures come to live at night. Haha. Anyways, this was a wax museum depicting the events that happened during the Ming Dynasty. What was more fun though, was that they had this phototaking session thingy, whereby they dressed you up in ancient costumes and made you pose in an actual palace setting! So the guys were dressed as Emperors, while the young girls were princesses, and the older ones were the Empress Dowager!! (Some of the pictures are blur because my Dad is a horrible photographer.)
 It was so much fun! I think I watched too much Huan Zhu Ge Ge when I was younger, 'cause dressing up in those costumes was like a dream come true!! Speaking of which, I really pity the princesses of ancient China. That headgear was damn heavy! Plus the crazy shoes they had to wear! Omg! Anyways, I would post up pictures of the wax figures and exhibitions, but just looking at their photos freaked me out. So I'm not going to. But here are pictures from outside the museum:  We had lunch after that and headed down to the Great Wall of China!!! It was magnificent! So magnificent that I'm having so much difficulty now finding words to describe it! The Great Wall of China was nothing like what I imagined it to be. Firstly, it was much longer and bigger than I expected. Secondly, it was so much more exhausting to climb. And lastly, the view was unbelievable!! The stairs up the wall was so steep, making it crazy dangerous and scary. We huffed and puffed our way up, while holding on to the railings at the side for dear life. My poor cousin Kai, who is terrified of heights, was screaming all the way up. The worst part was that some of the steps were covered in ice, which made it slippery. And if you miss a step and fall down the stairs, you would be on your way to meeting your maker. We didn't manage to complete the Great Wall, evidently. It would have taken us days. We only climbed like 1/6 of it, and already we were mad proud of ourselves!!   Despite the cold, we had ice cream when we came down! It was to reward ourselves, as well as to cool down after that crazy climb! It baffles me how the Chinese were able to build such wonderful architecture back in those days when technology was non-existent. Imagine the lives lost! The Great Wall was truly amazing! -End of part une-(...stay tuned for more!!)
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Mel's bridal shower on Saturday afternoon was too much fun! We had afternoon tea followed by crazy games while the boys were somewhere in Hougang having their own version of a Bachelor's party (i.e. archery). The girls and the boys congregated at Movida later in the night and it was insaneeee! One for one vodka = way too much alcohol! And thanks to Jeremy, cover charge was waived!
I seriously can't wait for Mel's wedding next week! A beautiful beachside wedding followed by a slumber party at Rasa Sentosa! I'm gonna be so broke after paying for the hotel room, but it'll be worth it! We're also planning on heading down to Wave House for a post-wedding after party the next day. I've never been there before, but it's gonna be awesome! Speaking of which, I need a new bikini. 
But first and foremost, I'm super psyched for our Christmas party! I still have some more Christmas shopping to do though. Oh wells! Hope you all have an awesome Christmas too!
Beijing photos will be up next! Stay tuned!
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|  I got my sight set on youAnd I'm ready to aimI have a heart that willNever be tameI knew you were something specialWhen you spoke my nameNow I can't wait to see you again
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| Movida with the cousins the Saturday before I left the country was effin' fun! Once again, vodka got the best of me and I was in my own world by the end of the night. I was so bummed that I had to missed Sheryl and Rudy's ROM party earlier that day because of a stupid exam, but at least I got to enjoy the after party later that night! Can't wait for more partying with the cousins this Saturday after Mel's hen's party and Ryan's stag's night! Till then!!  And yes, I haven't forgotten about the Beijing and Shanghai photos! So here's another picture to make sure you stay tuned and keep coming back for more! Haha! :  I saw you standin' there in the VIP on Saturday
Now that I know you got a thing for me, I should be straight
Not the kinda girl who'll just let any guy get close
All I can say is Imma tell my guy he should just effin' go | | |
| I'm home! Didn't feel that long ago huh? I got off my 5 hour flight from Shanghai to Singapore at 5:30am this morning. Went for a quick breakfast at Changi Airport (oh local delicacies - I cannot express my love for thee!) before heading home.
If I had to describe my trip to Beijing and Shanghai in one word, it would be: cold. Yes, it was freezing. I was freezing. The cold was painful and incredibly torturous. And being a sadist - I loved it. Lol. I've always maintained that I would much rather like to freeze to death than to sweat to death.
The temperature in Beijing would go as low as -6 degrees. Despite having on more than 5 pieces of clothing, 2 pants, 2 socks, boots, winter hats, and heat packs all over my body, I was still shivering my ass off. The worst part is that Beijing is constantly gloomy. The sun is seldom out, and the wind is frighteningly cold. Not only that, the climate is dry as hell. My skin is now dry and cracking. It has gotten to the point whereby I dread getting into the shower because the water just makes my skin hurt so bad. I guess the only good thing about the dryness is that no matter what happens, my makeup never runs or melts. 
Shanghai, on the other hand, was not as cold, but still cold nonetheless. Weather was rainy and humid, and likewise, the wind was terrible.
I more or less enjoyed my trip to China. The food was very hard to get used to though. All the food in Beijing is extra salty and extra oily. And because of the weather, everything turns cold the moment you set it on the table. My family didn't enjoy the food much. We have never craved for fast food and junk food so much before in our entire lives.
Another thing that was hard to get used to was the culture in China. But I guess that's what happens when you grow up in a clean and green country like Singapore. Over in China, they spit everywhere. You have to be careful where you step. The city is like a landmine. The China people can also be rather crude. They're loud and extremely aggressive. They will shove and push you, and there ain't nothing you can do about it. Culture shock, really.
I like Shanghai a lot though. It's just like Singapore, except extra big and with four seasons.
I guess what I enjoyed most about the trip was the whole educational aspect of it. We visited places like the Forbidden City, which was drowning in its own historical and ancient magic. It was fascinating. We even climbed the Great Wall of China, which left us all breathless and panting for air, but worth it all the same. The view was breathtaking, and it was so hard to imagine how the Chinese managed to build this amazing structure a thousand years ago. I've never been more interested in the history of my own heritage, and more proud to be Chinese.
The family-bonding was also amazing. All 18 of us. We see each other almost 20 hours each day. From our early 7am breakfasts to our late night pajamas parties in each other's hotel rooms.
But now it's back to Singapore and back to reality! I promise to post pictures soon, so stay tuned! But in the meantime, here's a little something to make sure you come back for more:
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