Girlguide

Introducing the map reading babe aka the occasionally reliable guide and great companion.

Without her I’d be practically lost in China and not to mentioned bored to death especially during those monotonous rides to the city centre.

The map also detail the bus and MRT routes.

Village

The place where I stayed, I wouldn’t deemed it as a village as in the ‘kampung’ sense where they are coconut trees and houses made of wood; no.

The cute and pretty house cat.. miao miao miao~~

One can see medium scale industry such as timber, wood products – doors, tables and bed frames; handbags, unfinished leather goods, etc. E-bike (bicycle running on rechargeable battery) is a popular transport.

There is also a big clinic nearby the market. There are plenty of eating shops available and even a small hypermarket.

Public transports comprise of motorbikes and buses (~RMB 3 / RM 1.5) that would adequately connect you to other places such as the Guangzhou city centre where it is efficiently connected through MRT (RMB 5-10 / RM 2 – 5) and feeder buses. Unfortunately the train runs underground so there’s nothing much to see. That’s why hours of traveling underground could be boring.

There, people with the same surname stays in a particular village. Ours is the “Yang” village. So everyone in the village is Mr./Mrs/Ms. Yang. Lol.. But afraid not, they are influx of ‘outside’ people coming into the village, mainly for work, and vice versa. So if you’re a youngster in the village you can still find a partner with a different surname..heh.

Weather

It was suppose to be the end of spring, going into the hot season but as the today’s climate would have it, weather around the world has gone a little off timing. The first two days were chilling despite the temperature being 20-22 deg C. The last three days were okay. When it’s cold, bathing is not  enjoyable but made bearable by the ‘furnace’ (water heater). It runs on gas as oppose to electricity. Mind you, it’s as good as the electric water heater, complete with volume and temperature control.

Food

Compared to Malaysia, some food taste nicer, some not as good. Generally, the flavour is similar. Food in the village can be delicious and cheap. For example, 4 ample bowls of noodles cost about RMB 20 – that’s RM10 with change! Unsuccessful to find pork burger in KFC or McD (we thought they have it, no? hmmm…)

The reunion dinners cum karaoke + mahjong sessions

Language & People

The people in Guangzhou speaks Cantonese by large, also Mandarin and swearing is pretty common too. Sometimes they use it as conjunctions in their sentences. Even old lady curses. Now I know where the bad words originated from.

You don’t want to mess with the old lady on the right cause she can be very fierce but she’s a great host and even gave up her wooden mosquito netted bed for us.

She’s generally a humorous person, who’s tongue in cheek kind of joker. At her age, she’s still very sharp and hears well too but aches at her joints due to old age and many years of hard work in the paddy field. Indeed it is true, when they say Chinese people are not that civic minded (yet). We experienced the ‘culture’ in more than one occasion in various places. For instance, they don’t expect you to use their toilet if you’re not a customer and they have no qualms about scolding you if you did so. They might even tell you with a straight face about not having a toilet in a properly built hypermarket. They will stand by the doors of the train like they’re about to run for the Olympics gold medal and when the train arrives, rush in and lay whatever they have in hand to occupy seats for their partners. The same scenario would happen in a bus. Speaking of which, don’t expect them to queue to board a bus. While fighting your way into the bus, you should also protect yourself from being elbowed, especially on the face. Generally, they are not friendly to strangers. Do not expect courteous smiles or welcomes and thank yous from their services, even from airport staff. Some work like they’ve been under pressure or gotten out from the wrong side of the bed (perhaps they did…hmmm…)

Activities / Places

Went to the nearby market every other day for breakfast, buy snacks, clothes or just to look around.

Such seems to be the life of the people in the village – to visit the market and buy groceries, everyday.

Went to the overpriced (RMB 200/RM90/USD30) but nevertheless worthy zoo.

Like other zoos (except our own deplorable zoo negara), Chime Long Zoo is well kept, clean, spacious and the animals look well fed.

A banana for her effort instead of cuddly toy…whuahahahaha~

The biggest attraction for us was of course the very cuddly cutie panda.

After that we went to the croc farm although not much time to explore as it was getting late.

Chime Long has a theme park nearby the zoo too. There are various packages to choose from but I would say they are rather expensive. If it’s fun it might be worth it.

Went to a shopping place ala ‘petaling street’. Depending on your style and preference, you might get a good bargain on anything ranging from accessories to boots.

Also went to some parks (FOC).

I was driving home and as usual tuned to evening drive with Terry on Red FM enjoying the songs while waiting for the 60k music takeaway cue to sms. And as usual, there were other on-going contests and invites that you can part take – so one was this shrimp off challenge. I smsed in and bleeps later, Terry called saying I’m one of the contestants. Few songs afterwards, my conversation with Terry was played over the radio. I must say, hearing your own voice is weird… lol… I sounded like a kid.

but i digress….

So, the day had come. Most of the contestants wanted to be in JD’s team thinking that being big means big eater too. Since I never underestimated being small, I sided Terry, along with few other underdogs.

Meg who initially was just accompanying me found herself dragged into Terry’s team too. Haha… And the challenge begins – first among contestants in groups of two.

JD’s Team

VS

Terry’s Team

After the rules explained, shouting and booing exchanged, the chow down started…

Each with a bucket of shrimp and the one who got the most weight difference in 60sec will be the winner.

Surprisingly, the girls did quite well too and on Terry’s side, I was the one with most weight difference. Since it was only a point difference between me and the other guy on JD’s side, we battled it out in another round – this time in 30sec. The one who wins will get a RM100 Bubba Gump voucher. That’s enough a motivation for me but unfortunately, I lost! nooooo! All the while, the advice shouted at my ears like I was deaf was “squeeze the butt!!!”. OMG…. sorry guys, I should have squeezed harder. lol

Next was Terry and JD’s turn to settle their score.

Terry!! Your turn to squeeze the butt!

Disgusting JD

Finally, who’s the shrimp king?

The retarded JD! He must have cheated. Nevertheless, thank you and Dilly for making me laugh every morning.. Hehe.

For the fun and good sport, we were all given goodie bag.

The best of the lot – the late night love songs compilation! Haven’t got the chance to play it though cause my PC has finally KO-ed after the occasional hiccups that worsened everytime I switched it on. The shirt is cute, but way too sexy for me. urgh! Last but not least, Bubba Gump voucher worth RM30! Yeehaa.. anyone wants to join me for seafood now?

First off…CHI had small little parties for the Les Mills’ second quarter releases.

CHI is more than just a place to keep fit. From the staff to instructors to the friends that I’ve met, they have all added a personal touch in my life.

Then…for all the sugar rush that kept my glucose level high in the mornings and evenings.

The the warm dinner on a cold night at ‘The Apartment‘

The very appetizing clam and mussel dish is a must-try.

IYD appreciation cum Jasmina farewell poolside partey~~

FRHAM even gave gifts to those who volunteered. Free food + gift..man..couldn’t ask for more. What I should have packed more is my favourite spaghetti! Should have packed 5 packs. haha… now now.. I shouldn’t be greedy hor… I miss the lamb too.

Lastly, the books…

Nurse bought me a book entitled Taming The Tiger. Didn’t she know I’m already a tame tiger? haha. Anyway she said it was an impulsive purchase because when she sees the word ‘tiger’ she thought of me. aawwww… The book was signed by the author too, who was there to launch it. Not exactly J.K. Rowling, but thank you so much!

Now here’s a spooky story. Michael Jackson came to visit on his first dead anniversary, in a form of a book! Lol.. Here’s what happened – I was, few weeks ago, went to Red.fm webpage to check out Ally’s review on Ecoba. While at it, I saw some contest links and decided to just check what was on. And since June was the month of MJ’s untimely death, Red.fm was giving away his autobiography, which, according to the cover page, his one and only. Two weeks later, someone called to say that I’ve got it! All it took was a simple question and a sentence that I completed in less than a minute. I don’t even quite remember what I’ve wrote in the ‘complete the sentence’ part anymore. I collected the book on the 25th, the date that MJ died last year.

Thank you all

Looking forward to badminton competition in July…

Do I still have what it takes to win?

]]> http://alexlee.youthchapter.com/2010/06/29/generous-june/feed/ 0 http://alexlee.youthchapter.com/2010/06/20/june-the-month-of-food/ http://alexlee.youthchapter.com/2010/06/20/june-the-month-of-food/#comments Sun, 20 Jun 2010 11:06:09 +0000 teik http://alexlee.youthchapter.com/?p=329 Johnny’s

Finally I get to try Johnny’s. Next time must remember to boil the eggs before the soup finishes. We forgotten the eggs and had to add soup to do just that! Eggs in steamy bath! Johnny’s is okay…I like the sauce very much though.

T-Bowl

Do I want to eat in the toilet? YES! People are willing to queue to eat here man..but it’s not surprising cause the food is delicious and the price is just right. Look at the food! Yummy!

Ecoba

I’ve wanted to try this place quite a while now. Ecoba is a cool and happening place, even more so during the world cup period. If you’re planning to go, better book first cause it’s always full regardless it is a weekday or weekend. Otherwise if you’re lucky, you’ll still get a seat outside, which is still cool except it could be a little warm. I just couldn’t resist seating on the beany bag and feast like a king. Whuahahaha.

The food is okay.. not bad at all. Price wise, it’s acceptable for a place like this. Take your time to chill and chat with your friends while eating – that’s the way to enjoy Ecoba~

K.T.Z

I’d say, the food here is most delicious compared to those above and the price is also very affordable. You’ll just want to order all of them! Two thumbs up!

The best of all…the SWEET and SIAO SIAO moments…

Guess who’s this cocoon?

Whuahaha…I like this picture so much!

Thanks all! June is great… but it has not ended yet….. kekeke… More to come….Till then, cheers~

]]> http://alexlee.youthchapter.com/2010/06/20/june-the-month-of-food/feed/ 2 http://alexlee.youthchapter.com/2010/04/11/liquid-gold/ http://alexlee.youthchapter.com/2010/04/11/liquid-gold/#comments Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:33:55 +0000 teik http://alexlee.youthchapter.com/?p=289

Satisfaction guaranteed.

Hmmm..need more fats to burn.