Wedding in Guangzhou

Warning: You might have a tendency to get married at the end of this entry. Nicolekiss does not hold responsible for any undesirable outcome. You have been warned!


It was rainy season when I arrived in Guangzhou earlier this June.





I'm walking in the rain~ *sing*


And my best friend Wendy, we moved to Humen, China to work this year, took a bus ride to Guangzhou city to meet me.




It was kinda romantic to be meeting your best friend in a foreign country on a rainy day. Like one of those melancholy moments of reminisce.


I like this photo, simply because.


We chose a nice little cafe nearby to hang out and have a cuppa tea. Ahhh.. cuppa tea on a rainy afternoon. Splendid~


Me with my messy hair


Guangzhou city is the third most populous city in mainland China, after Shanghai and Beijing. It's also one of the two most expensive cities (the other one would be Shanghai) in the mainland.

It's no wonder they always bitch about each other so much. Kinda like how Malaysia and Singapore are to a certain extend. Yes Singaporeans! I'm talking to you!! We share a love hate relationship, don't we!!! I love you!!!!

Here's a random cute police car for you.




You know, China is ancient, they have a long list of history, thanks to our long list of ancestors. And it's no wonder that you will find a historical city right underneath your footstep when you're walking around the city.


This is actually a water damp from the Qing Dynasty. They found it when they were digging to build a shopping mall over it.


There are two cheap ways to travel around Guangzhou, one is with the underground train.




Be sure to pay attention to the door.


trans: Careful, don't touch me.


The other, which I found more entertaining, is the ferry.

There are rivers cut right across the southern part of Guangzhou city, so there are times, if you're not up for underground train or taxis, you can always try the ferry for a cheap buck (can't remember how cheap but I know it was CHEAP).




I was staying at the youth hostel facing this river when I was there in June, and this was how it looks like at night.


Pretty ain't it?


This is the view in the morning on the ferry.




This is me on the ferry.




Across the river, I made a bee line towards Shamian island (沙面岛), once an area given to the French and British to live in. Hence the heavily westernized buildings and sculptures.

I love this place. It's very beautiful, a nice way to enjoy your afternoon coffee. Even their Starbucks has a wonderful setting for people to come here and chill.







Makes you want to sit here all day ain't it? ^^

There are many bronze statues scattered all over the island that depicts life during the earlier period on the island.


Violin lady and children



Bookworm?



Children playing



"I'm a rock. Hah! You lose!"
"No wait! I'm a paper. no scissors, i mean paper!"


With such a romantic background, it's no surprise finding a lot of couples shooting their wedding portraits here.





Oh i love that dress!



"Oh man~ it's getting hot in this dress! Faster shoot!"



Say awe with me. Awwwwe~~~~~


SOOOOO.. I decided to hit the wedding street that day!

Take the underground, head south after Hai Zhu Guang Chang and you will come to a street that's EVERYTHING about wedding!!













From props of BEAAUUUUTTIFUL angel wings!




To red chinese queen size wedding bed? o.O




Now... prepare for the most awesome display of wedding gowns in a single entry ever!!!

First there was this,




to this,




and then this,




I mean, there are so many dress, you can get all sorts of dresses beyond your wildest imagination!

If you want something fancy,




Semi fancy,




Or something red,




Or white,


the one on the left's not bad


for morning,




for evening dinner,




For bridesmaids!




Or if you prefer synchronized color for your bridesmaids~

if you like pink,


it'll sure scare the kid.


Or if you want to stand out and be the evil bride and put all your bridesmaids in short ugly dresses, this is the selection for you!




Don't forget the groom too,




Or if you have an MBA (marriage by accident), there's matching little best man costume!




Or baby bridesmaids,




From modern style,




To very Victorian taste,




Oh yes, why not?! You can a themed wedding! Set in the Medieval times.




It's a Halloween Party People!!!




Or if you prefer the exotic flavor,




To the expensive taste,


Oh I like this piece.


To the traditional Chinese red costume!!







with shoes!




To the VERY traditional,


Yes I mean VERY.








They have it all here! It's the most impressive collection of wedding items and gowns I have ever witnessed! So much I nearly died of looking!

Not all was amazing though.

There were also gowns that were.. just.. well..

silly.



What's with the fluffy shoulder puff on the right?! and glittery yellow?! OMG!
And the high collar on the left. o.O


So silly I don't know who would actually wear it!

But oh well, if they rent/sell it, I'm sure there's a market. *shrug* A girl's rubbish is another's girl's lunch.

Some of these gowns are bad.


What is this? A color fest?



check out the bright pink shiny floral prints!


Like really really bad.





What's with the peacock feathers!!!


Some I don't even know how to classify them.




Yellow pom pom dress? wtf? and Cheeecccckk out the red on the right! *burst out laughing*
Bahahahha


Some are just on the thin line of extreme ugliness and gorgeous.




OKAY! Enough of ugly dresses!

I have compiled a list of most beautiful wedding dresses I spotted that day! Pardon if these photos don't do any justice as they were taken from the outer window. But yes, pay attention to the detail!

Beautiful Dress number 1!




Look at the sequin and the fine glittering lining on the gown, the slim cutting, not over the top but oh-so-gorgeous!


Beautiful Dress Number 2!



the thousand layers at the bottom make this dress a ballerina's dream come true. I love how the red ribbon stay in contrast with the purely white gown.


Beautiful Dress Number 3 and 4!







Simply because of the puffy bottom!


Beautiful Dress 5!




Oh so 70's with a modern touch. Love the hat!


Beautiful Dress 6!




Halter neck has never looked so good!


Beautiful Dress 7!




So simple yet so complicated!
Look at the design, the details, the exquisiteness!
Can you not adore this dress!


Beautiful Dress Number 8!




Everyone loves a long fairytale long tailed wedding gown!!
Trailing behind you as you walk down the aisle.
The body is just magnificent! The pearly beige floral design at the top to the lace-y ending of the tail!


Finally, Beautiful Dress Number 9!





Simply because I can imagine myself in that gown. Le sigh~ *let out the longest sigh*

Which dress do you prefer?
Are you gowns-overload now?

Faster go to Guangzhou to get married damn it!

Pacmee, replacement for Twitter

Short Note: I am in the midst of writing this super duper long entry. So in the mean time, here's a litte cool commercial break.


As all of you would have known, I have been using Pacmee since it first launched. It was first introduced as the alternate Twitter in the market, catered specifically for Malaysians.




Over time, I have grown very fond of Pacmee. It has improved itself many times over these months. Not only it is free to follow friends now, you can upload photos and publish text online for free or offline through phones for a small 5 sen fee to send SMS and 25 sen to send MMS.


All my messages sent from Australia


Now that Twitter has stopped its service to international sms service, why not consider switching to Pacmee.

The fun thing about Pacmee, is that you can follow friends or people whom you never get to know in real life (aka Kenny, Ringo, TImothytiah), or even a group (aka, FHM) on their current updates, lifestyles, news, etc etc.


I’m following Paul Moss OMG! Uncle Paul, you are my hero!


I follow Swee Yong, founder of Pacmee, too. He is one of the most informative Pacmee user, and I’m not saying this just to please him either. Do know you during the election, I got to know every single update (like more than 10-20 shoutouts a day!) regarding the winning and losing of parliament seats first hand from him. Like how I got to know the updates of Olympic game results for badminton first hand through him, even though I was all the way in Australia. Or the recent Petrol hike. He damn funny la.

I did discover one superbly good thing about Pacmee.

I remember travelling to Vietnam with Kenny and both of us got lost and separated while cycling in the city, and for some reasons our international phone roaming services weren’t working, we could not only call each other, we couldn’t text each other either, however we could send text back home to Malaysia, weird, I know. Thus soon we discovered a way to contact each other, and it is using Pacmee direct message service.


Direct messages that I have received from followers


By sending a direct message to a user through Pacmee, we managed to communicate over text messages on our phones. It was ingenious, and I have stuck to Pacmee ever since. (though till now I don’t know why was it we couldn’t communicate on two roaming phones, it has happened several times before, though I think they might have sorted that problems now, but then that’s just my thought).


Anyway, enough chit chatter,

Let me teach you how to use the new feature mms service on Pacmee. You can either type an MMS attached with photos on your phone, like you would like any other MMS, and send it to 22700.

Or, you can go online, if you are a cheapskate and do not wish to spend the extra mms fee on your phone, log into your Pacmee (register la if you don’t have, very easy only) and select “Post”.




Choose “MMS”. (yea u can upload video too)




Browse and choose you photo. You can upload more than one photos.

When done, select “upload”.




Type your message or description for each photo. Then click “Post”.

Now your followers will receive a shoutout update on their phone. If they want to view the full message with photo, they can download the photos from their phones through MMS (30 cents only). Or they can go online to view it, again if they want to save money.




I tried fooling my followers once, one of them nearly got himself killed on the road. LOL

First, I typed “This is me taking a shower”, attached with a photo.

So when my followers received them, they got the update with the message “This is me taking a shower” and a request to download the photo.

My friend got so excited and immediately went and downloaded the photo.

And this was what he received.




Moral of the story: Don’t be a perv, you’ll lose money for no reason.

I love weekends in Bangkok

Woke up this morning. And decided to head out to Chatukchak! Yay!!


Yup, that's my messy bed behind. And that's my hotel room. :D



Ahh.. the sun.. the sun!! O... feels nice~


It's so awesome that my favourite place on earth (favourite market place, that is) is just 24 baht away on a MRT, and I can wake up and take a train there.


More cam whore in the room


No more flying all the way from Malaysia just to visit Asia's biggest weekend market. :D


Don't you just love mornings, muaks!


After getting mattress and bins, I needed some plates and cutlery for my room. So where else to get them than from the infamous market, where you get bloody cheap things. :D

I remembered this fantastic shop that sells all their plates, gorgeous lovely high quality plates and bowls and glasses, at super cheap price. And I was amazed at myself that I was able to locate it again!!! Despite scouring through 15,000 stalls and the chance of getting lost inside in highly probable.

I even managed the locate the best pork chop shop which I missed so much the last time I was here!! :D

These little messages

Clouds which fogged my thoughts have been clearing up, replaced by a tiny ray of sunlight. It was like breaking free from enclosure I thought I would never survive.

Images of him slowly faded away from my mind, and I wondered what it was that kept them there for so long. It was a few tormenting weeks, months, but now that those days were over, it seems like it was just yesterday when I was myself again. Free spirited, full of life, a bright future I can’t wait to thrive towards and a today and tomorrow I can never stop looking forward to.

But these were clouded, for good and for bad reasons. I was glad once that it happened, glad that I felt lost and homeless, glad that I wanted to be belonged; and then I dreaded it, because it was not where I was meant to be, and I was more lost than ever.

Tiny words came into my life, via the virtual world, from that first glance, first touch, first tumble down the slope. It was those caring words, sweet, kind, albeit a bit flirtatious texts that slowly brought me out of my trance. And I slowly found who I was again, and became who I was again, plus a bit more.

Slowly I was looking forward to these messages, these daily little greetings, the little tease every now and then, the good nights and good mornings shared just between us. And slowly, I was recovering.

As far as temptation sets in, I drew myself away from falling in. I wanted to be free, like how I used to be, despite much gratitude to these little words for bringing me back, I knew, we knew, it was never possible. For there was distance, there was culture, there was separate lives, and these messages will always, or maybe just for now, maintained as it is, till I completely find myself. Till… one day.

Thank you for your morning greets, for the pet names, for making me believe again: believing in love, in life and in myself once more. You were the one, even if you didn’t realize you were, that made me love myself once more. Greet me sweeter as days go by, my sweet, my pumpkin, my peach and strawberry and vampire. Empty promises, forever ever after, we don’t need those, for this was enough.

Thank you my pet, my ladybug and my midnight werewolf.

Poo Poo Set for my room

I went shopping yesterday, to find things for this room.





Well, it looks more like a hotel room than a studio, so I shall call it a room.

Basically when you walk in, you'll find the wardrobe on your left and toilet on your right, and then you'll see the fridge and table, facing a queen size bed. Then there's a sofa and a coffee table, before the window to the balcony. And a little pantry area outside. I'm overlooking a swimming pool, not very big, it's not a very beautiful view per se, but it'll do for now.

Who knows, maybe in half a year's time I want to move to a bigger place (after my Australia+New Zealand trip in March till June 2009 that is), but then again I might even move to Europe for a while. Who knows?

Anyway, I don't want to take a photo of my place because it looks toooo empty now (though it's fully furnished).

Here are some of the things I got from Carrefour yesterday. Took me 30 mins to walk there but 50 baht to get back on a taxi. WTF.





I seriously didn't know why I got two glasses instead of one. It just looks lonely if it's only one.


There are abundance of good food here in Thailand, seriously, like a lot. You walk in a supermarket, and you'll come out full from tasting all the free samples. Let me see, I've tried sausages, cheese sausages! carrot juice, banna muffin, some patries, teppanyaki, etc.

Oh, and I saw the cutest bento set in Carrefour! Only 25 baht!




Bunny Bento!

I have just moved to Thailand!

It was the fastest movement ever.

Two hours of flight, taxi took me straight to the apartment, a few discussions here and there, boom! I just moved in to my brand new serviced apartment in Bangkok.

Equipped with swimming pool and monthly high speed internet.


I think I need to scout for pillows and comforter tomorrow. And lots of candles! I love candles! Yet to unpack and I'm already thinking about candles, something is wrong with me. -.-

Need to hop by a nearby 7-11 later on to buy some toiletries, there's none here.


I will be living here for the next six months, god knows what to expect living in the Kingdom of Thailand. Maybe I will learn to speak fluent Thai afterall? And maybe get in touch with the local paper here and start writing for them! :D (kidding)

Who knows, I might even end up learning Thai massage and starting a new blog community here. Wth. But yea, there's one thing I will know for sure. I know I will definitely know every single back lane and all the little shops of Bangkok by the end of six months.

I already know here like the back of my hand!


Maybe I'll look for Dino in a week's time.

Last I heard he was building his little chalet in Koh Samui! o.O

Fat Cat in Sevenhill

I am too to tired to blog right now.

So I shall post some random photos to entertain you instead.

This is me with a very fat tabby in Sevenhill winery, Clare Valley of South Australia.




So cute kan?

Ang gu gu gu....




I love CATS OMG.

A Game of Checkers

Short Note: Two more days to Thailand. Ahh... I have not even unpack from yesterday!


I always find fascination in playing games that involves food. I think it’s a game everyone should have a go at, it’s fun and you get to eat, what’s there more to ask for?

I was in Lillians the other day, the beautiful estate house set in Hunter Valley (Australia) when I saw a board of checkers and boredom and darkness outside struck me with an idea so brilliant, I went to the fridge to take out a fresh bar of Oreo.




You guess it. Oreo Checkers!




Surely you have tried before.
I mean, it’s such a genius game, definitely one of the best Oreo experiences you can get. It would be crazy if no one has ever tried it. No? Yes? Of course yes! Yes?

Oreo checkers is one of my favourite past times, which is odd because I’m never good at checkers, and to get me to like checkers is like getting me to like counter strike. Ugh.

Now if you have never played Oreo Checkers, I am going to show you this step by step picture idiot proof guide to Oreo Checkers.

Step 1: First, you need to split the Oreos in half in such a way so you’ll have the brown cookie on one side, and the whole white cream intact with the other cookie on the other side.




Repeat this eight times till you have eight cookies on either side of the board, I suggest eight cookies instead of 12 because if you were to split 12, it will fill up all the space on the board which would then be rather stupid.




Step 2: If you prefer to eat the cookie without the cream, then remember to take the cream as your party, and vice versa. Reason’s to be revealed later.

Step 3: When you overtake a “checker”, like so.




Leap over your enemy gracefully, careful not to break the other cookie as it is very fragile and land properly in place, if you land in between cookies, gently shuffle your cookie in between the two cookies so to make space for your own cookie to land.




Then, kindly, looking at your opponent in the eye, apologetically or of triumph (whichever you prefer), and remove the “beaten” cookie from its place,

and put it in your mouth.




Hence step 2.

Step 4: Now when you manage to reach the other end of the board,




like normal checkers, you are allowed to upgrade your checker to a “king of Oreo”, you remove the half cookie, take a fresh piece of Oreo from your Oreo bar, and place it on board.




Now you have an “Oreo King”. If you are holding the opposing cookie, aka the cookie with the white cream filling, you can stack another cookie at the bottom to make it appear taller.




Step 5: Now this is an important bit. Remember to stock up your Oreos when you are playing Oreo Checkers. The last thing you want is to find yourself out of Oreos.




Please at least prepare another fresh bar of Oreos in hand just in case, whether you ran out of fresh new piece of whole Oreos or you have finished eating the “beaten” Oreos during the game. Either way, prepare in advance.




Step 6: Now when you are faced with a stronger opponent, remember to submit your Oreo with grace, do not fight over the board just because you are about to lose your “King of Oreo”.




Winning is not everything. Not unless you are the winning party, if so then it is perfectly alright to laugh maliciously, and as loudly if possible.




At this point, I appear to be on the losing end, hence it is notable that I have the right to sulk and exclaim with absolute reasons that “Winning is not everything!”



It’s not!!!

Step 7: Lastly, and the most crucial part. Once the game is finished, calculate your winnings (or losing in my case).




Damn it, I seem to have lost pathetically. (Yea, the white ones are mine)




I hate checkers.

I am back from Manado

Diving in Bunaken, Manado is amazing!

And have a least amount of passengers on the flights, which I am totally not complaining! I have a whole row of seats to myself which I can sleep on.

Did my first ever night dive.

It's official. I will mark this my best dive in my history of 6 months of dives! (so little wtf).

Night dive is the coolest thing, bring a torch down and scare your dive buddy by flashing lights in your face. :D

Sigh~~ Why do I have to come back?

Why~~~

And the answer is....

Short Note: I should be at the checking in at LCCT now preparing to fly to Manado when this is published. Dive dive dive.. gotta make up for those missing days. My friends there have been diving for more than 5 times already!!!! Damn it! WAIT FOR ME!!!


is

is

is

is.....


Kangaroo Scrotum!!




aka ball, testicle, jiggly jiggly, etc. (any of the answers with these terms are valid)

As in your two sacks, geddit?




You guys not fun one la! Everyone knows the answer. Ceh! I will have come out with more difficult question next time. HMPH!

But yea, they shaved it, polished it, and dug out the inside and made it into a pouch.

Ouch~



The winner goes to Sonny!

It's a kangaroo's ermmm... BALLS!
I dunno how 2 be more detailed than dis...


Who won just minutes after the contest was published.

Sonny, you will receive this exclusive custom homemade organic soaps made of..... get this.... mangosteen!




This is bought from the manufacturer and you will not find it anywhere else but in the depths of the Southern Thailand. I have four of them, in four different fragrances.


Dragonfruit, Citrus, Lemongrass and Mangosteen. (actually they're all are mangosteen, but the first the mixed with other ingredients)


Siao one you guys.. 600 over comments?! You know how many times I have to click publish and my server hang because too many comments in one entry? -.-


However, I DID say that the reader with the most detailed answer will win. And even though this guy emailed me the answer (which is invalid), however, he's still the first in the emailing group to send me a super detail answer that nearly cracked me up.

Tommy from Vietnam, you are receiving a little souvenir from me too. Which is ONE of the dragonfruit soap and a Thai postcard from me. :D (yes yes, sonny u have a postcard too)


Here is Tommy's answer:

Kangaroo scrotum pouches are made from the scrotum of male kangaroo, and it's said to be very lucky; all those in possession of one is assured of a long life, happiness and healthy children.

It's a practical little thing to store jewelry, a cute bag for coins or small items. In Gold Rush time it was a popular bag to store the gold sand.

According to Aboriginal legends kangaroo pouches were known as the bringing luck items for at least 40'000 years. That's why they are often called as "lucky bag" or "lucky pouch".


Kangaroo scrotum legends

Tamuddie and the Lucky Scrotum Pouch
Tamuddie was tracking a goanna through the bush when he came across an injured kangaroo. It had been speared in the shoulder. The kangaroo was Tamuddies totem, so by the law of his tribe his duty was to help the injured animal. He carried the roo back to his campsite, removed the spear, and gave him some water to drink.
For two days Tamuddie kept watch over the kangaroo, bathing his wound and feeding him. Eventually Tamuddie had to go and find food for himself. It was several hours before he returned with a fat goanna to cook. On his return he found only the burnt remains of his friend. Tribesmen had been and feasted upon the kangaroo while he was away. He looked in the ashes at the charred remains and noticed that a piece of the kangaroo had not been burnt nor eaten and that was the scrotum. Tamuddie cut it away, made a pouch out of it, and tied it around his neck.
On the way to his tribe he was stopped by men of another tribe. They argued over the kangaroo and one of the men threw a spear at Tamuddie, but the spear fell to the ground. This frightened the tribesmen and they ran from him screaming he was a demon.
When Tamuddie returned to his people he told them of the kangaroo and of the spear. An elder approached him with a knife and took his arm. Tamuddie grit his teeth knowing the elder was about to cut him, but as the elder drew the knife across Tamuddies arm it did not cut. The elder looked strangely at Tamuddie for a few moments then said that because he had looked after the kangaroo, the pouch would bring him luck. The elder then declared to all the tribes people that Tamuddie would join with the elders. Tamuddie wore the pouch for many years and for many years it brought him luck.


Another Legend says:
Once upon a time there lived in the center of Australia an aboriginal boy. One day he came upon a small kangaroo in the bush, caught it by the tail, and made a purse out of its dear little symbol of masculinity. He gave it to his girl, and she kept seeds and berries in it.

Next he saw a large kangaroo. He caught it with a spear and made another purse from its thick symbol of masculinity. He gave it to his farther who kept stones and things of value in it.

Ever since then, male kangaroo scrotum purses have been popular amongst the aborigines. For women, the soft playable one; for men the strong, wrinkled one.
They became as important as one's own symbol of masculinity and were recognized as the bringing luck items. That's why kangaroo scrotum purse is often called as "Lucky Bag" or "Lucky Pouch".


Seriously. How can I not let him settle for a souvenir after this?


Oh.. a reader told me that a scrotum pouch measure 4 to 4 1/2 inch in length.

The first thing I did is I took a ruler beside me and measured it.




It's true. It IS rather big~

Guess what this is?

I know it's a pouch.

What is it made of?


The first person to guess it correctly with the most detailed answer will receive a mysterious gift from me that I got from one of my journeys around the world. This is a global contest.

Please comment with your email address.
(people who I have told this to are not allowed to participate, that means you too, Jon and Gerald)

I should really stop doing this

*update* I have got another ticket to Manado this friday. Guys!! Don't dive too many times first! Wait for me~~!! *wails*


I. CAN. NOT. BELIEVE. I. DID. IT. AGAIN.



**Phone call**

Friend: "Hey Nicole, where are you now?"

Me: "*Huh.... * (sleepy sound) Me? What time is it now?"

"What time is the flight? Isn't it at 10am?"

**Dig out paper, look at itinerary**

"Oh shit!"


Time of phone call: 6am
Time of departure:





-____________________-


I put the biggest aeroplane ever.

Best Yum Cha in Guang Zhou

Short Note: I am flying to Manado, Indonesia tomorrow. Woo hoo~~ Diving!

Though I think I will be staying in most of the time. It's so cheap there it's only RM30 a night, whole room to myself, I think. But will see how it goes, if I can afford to dive at all. Will be brining my laptop to study and work. T_T


Yum Cha




in China, means drink tea.


Which is also Dim Sum for us.

They don't call it Dim Sum there, that's in Hong Kong. They don't even call it 點心 (I'm referring to Mandarin pronunciation).

They just call it Yum Cha (Guangzhou is Cantonese speaking city).

Yes, I know. Reminds you of midnight supper right?

Here in China, Yum Cha is carried out in mid-afternoon from 2pm to 5pm. That's what everyone do, they drink tea.




And they eat a bit (note: a bit) of Dim Sum.




In Malaysia, we tend to go for Dim Sum really early in the morning, and we also tend to order a lot of dishes, from Siew Mai, Cha Siew Pao, Ha Gao, Sui Jiao (dumpling) to porridge.

Not in China though. They have it in the afternoon, and the main saga is...

to...

drink...

TEA.

(Do I make you sound like retard? lol)


It's a complete culture shock for me. At first I didn't know what to know say when I first arrived in Guangzhou (Guang Zhou, Guangzhou, it's all the same), I asked strangers on the street on where I could find the best "Dim Sum",

they would go: "do you mean Yum Cha?".

And then I would go: "no, no, I dun want tea, I want Dim Sum",

they would then go: "errrr..... that means Yum Cha la"

Me: "no, not tea, food. I want the food"

stranger: "well, I'm not too sure where you can get those, but here (in China) we have it during Yum Cha session'

Me: "Ohh..."



Moving on. I am going to introduce you the best Dim Sum (I mean Yum Cha, or Dim Sum, whatever) Restaurant in Guangzhou. It's called Tao Tao Ju.




Please read from right.

It's said to be really pricey (by local standard, RM4-5 per dish?), so do what I do and go there after 2:30pm and you will get everything half price. ;)

It's super cheap!

I had a wild time at the restaurant. Ordering everything I could find, not caring if I could finish, and chatting with an uncle whom I happened to share a table with (it's really crowded so if you're alone or with a friend, prepare to share table with strangers).




I won't publish all the food I've eaten here. But I will introduce some which I found pretty nice. Their egg tarts were pretty nice though.




So were the Cha Sao Su ("Char Siew Sou" in Canto, aka pork in fried dumpling).
I absolutely love anything to do with Char Siew.


These were pretty damn awesome


The rest you can find it in my food blog.

Overall I think my bill didn't even reach RM20.


And finally, the most important thing.

The TEA.




RM 4 per pack (50% so it's only RM2).

Can pour over 50 cups. Drink until you siao.

Train from Shanghai to Guangzhou

Short Note: It's so hot in Malaysia OMG OMG. *hide in air-conditioned room*

Oh Yea. I'm back from 5 weeks in Australia!!! Ugh, I hate the sun. Manado Manado~

Anyway, now that I am back and have access to all my photos. I am going to continue blogging about where I left off before my laptop crashed (a month ago).


It was time to leave Shanghai.


didn't sleep the night before


On my last day, I packed my bags, said bye to Sean (my host in Shanghai) and took a taxi around 3pm to Shanghai Train Station, where I bought my overnight train ticket to Guangzhou the day before.

Shanghai Train Station was by far the most impressive train station, in terms of vastness and quantity of passengers each day, I have never seen.


Look to the right.



Look to the left.


China is so big (land and population wise), they even have to partition separate ticket buildings (not booths, buildings!) for short and long distance train tickets, which were then categorized into Northern, Western and Southern routes (there’s no East after Shanghai, unless you consider the ferry to Japan from here a route, which then tickets would have to be purchased elsewhere).

In fact, it was so big, I got lost when I first arrived here. I grabbed the first policeman I saw and interrogated him for the route ticketing area for long distance routes; to which he, rudely and ignorantly, raised his nose (or head, I couldn’t really make out) and made a gesture that directed my sight to a huge building located on the other side of the road. It was like “wtf? How many buildings do they need for a train station, geez!”

My ticket to Guangzhou consist of two journeys because there was no vacancy for the hard sleeper on the first leg of my journey.




First three hours to Jin Hua Xi on hard seater,


Hard seater carriage



Me trying to sleep on the hard seater by leaning against the wobbling wall of the train



My water bottle


then switch carriage to hard sleeper to proceed the following 15 hours of train ride (which means I will be reaching in Guang Zhou at 11:18am the next day). My ticket cost me 363 yuan (around RM 180).

Settling myself on a second class hard sleeper (which wasn’t that hard really) after much climbing and descending of staircase, lulling my oversized diva-like luggage (according to Sean) over platforms and check in counters (if that was even considered a counter) and squirming through the narrow passage through 13 carriages!!!!! Because my journey was divided into two parts, first 4 hours in carriage no.16 in hard seater and the following 8 hours in carriage no.4 for a sleeper (damn I tell you these were LONG carriages!), I was more than ready to enter dream mode.





This is the window reflection of me in my hard sleeper cabin


Carts selling supper would come by selling congee and snacks or instant noodles, but it was too tired to eat. Besides, supper’s not good for you.

Morning came pretty fast. Female conductors will be making a havoc wakeup call which included making a lot of noise and much banging on the walls (there were no doors to each of these sleeper cabins). I leaped down from my sleeper and join the rest of the early birds on the corridor to view the morning beauty of Guang Zhou from the train.





Oh… river! I wonder if I’m in Guangzhou yet.



Crumpled bed sheets in the morning.


Soon the breakfast would come along, selling what I thought could be leftover congee from last night, which of course could not be true, could it?




Despite not being a heavy beakfast person, I didn’t want to take the risk and moved to the cafeteria carriage where they would serve proper breakfast.

Though in my opinion, nothing served on Chinese transport can ever be considered proper or decent to be eaten. My breakfast was egg on toast, and mind you, they were some pretty stale bread.


Bloody thing cost me RM6!


Served with diluted milk too. -.-


Breakfast on the train is always the best!



Morning look


But yes, overall, it was fun taking train, all the hassle really put me to thinking twice if I would ever take another train in China again. But then again I have always fancied taking land transportation,




just the fact of waking up in another destination beguiles me a lot.




Next up,




Yum Cha in Guang Zhou.

Last Day in Australia, again

I'm flying off tomorrow!

It's amazing how you post a joke fund raising entry, and suddenly everyone started getting worked up at.

like elo? that account given does not even allow you to transfer any amount to my account, for you need BSB, Account, and Swift Code. I gave a CRN instead.

Sure the fact about me missing my flight was true, sure I was broke, sure I really ran low on cash and I didn't have a credit card, my parents aren't exactly rich and most of my trips are funded by myself if you sore losers don't exactly know yet, hence the budget travels, like duh~~~, and Australia ain't exactly cheap you know.

But hey! tell the difference between an actual fund raising campaign and an entry that proclaims that I really did miss my flight and really ran out of cash?!

But also amazingly, and touchingly, I realised there are a lot a lot a lot of sweet readers out there. All of them I have personally replied them to turn down their kind offer of payment transfers to my account. Because, amazingly I have met a lot of great friends in Australia who has been more than just travel mates, just hi-bye friends, just one-time friends, they are friends you realised that in your deep need of trouble, they will jump in to help you, immediately.

And these friends are hard to find. So are these wonderful readers who have emailed me in time of need.

That goes for you too Gerald, my forever best friend.


And to be telling the very truth, I have met more than 30 people whom I have grown pretty fond of on this trip, and people from back home whom all were expecting me to be back to Malaysia so we could catch up, meet up, hang out, and especially my parents. What other better ways... seriously...

what other better ways... to declare to everyone of your status, online.. on your blog.

It's like a one time declaration to all my friends out there what's been happening to me all these while. Isn't this what a blog's about? And also this act as a medium of newscast to inform all my readers, that afterall, despite my previous entry to declare that it would be my last day, why I was not flying out of Australia on the 911 yet.

Blog is amazing, isn't it?


Thank you everyone for your concerns. :)

Get-me-back fund raising campaign

*update* I have already gotten enough funds from some of my friends here in OZ and my best friend from Malaysia to get me a ticket back to Malaysia. Thank you guys!!! *update*


I missed my flight.

Again.

I. AM. SO. DEAD.

I am half laughing and half crying right now.

You know when you feel too traumatized and you don't know how to react, the only thing you can do is force a few weak laughs at yourself.

So yea... HA HA HA~

This is the proof that I missed my flight in case anyone says I am lying, which is common because that's what haters do. They do not have a life and they live their life bashing on others, ability to re-check on one's blog every two hours just so it satisfies them to think they are making a tiny speck of difference in this world. It amazes me how people like this exist.

But yea, here is my flight details.




Check the 8:40hr. It's two hours ahead of Malaysian's time here so it's actually 12:38pm here at the moment. I was 10 mins late, and the fact that I have to be at the airport an hour prior to departure slipped my mind.

I've gotten so used to flying on virgin blue, and flying back home just felt like flying to another state, and usually this sort of flight takes half an hour prior departure to check in.

In fact, when I was at the airport, I even went to queue at the virgin blue line. SIGH.. Why am I so blur!!!

You know what's wrose? I don't have any money with me now!!!

I'm broke. Nil, none, nothing.

After five weeks in Australia, I spent every single thing I've got and managed to struggled the last of my week going though Brisbane and Gold coast, thinking to myself all will be fine when I board the plane.

But now?! NOW?!!!

Now I don't know how long am I going to be stuck here!!!!

What am I going to do?!!! T_T Someone just kill me. I don't even have enough money to travel down to harbour bridge in Sydney to commit suicide. T_T

This is what I have left.




I have 10 kiwi dollars, 10 arab Dirhams, 48 Malaysian Ringgit, 16 American Dollars, a five Australian dollar note and three Australian dollar coins.

T______________T (multiple sobs)


So this is why...... I am going to hold a Get-Nicolekiss-Back fund raising campaign.

Yep, this is a first ever get-a-homeless-broke-blogger-back-to-malaysia fund raising campaign.


I am completely broke and I cannot afford another cent apart from the AUD I have in the photo above. And the scary part, I AM NOT EVEN JOKING!!


Any supporter? Volunteer? Donors?

I need like AUD540 to fly myself back to Kuala Lumpur or Singapore.

I have an ANZ Australian bank account. T_T
I think I can start a Paypal to my ANZ account. Can I?

*update* I have already gotten enough funds from some of my friends here in OZ and my best friend from Malaysia to get me a ticket back to Malaysia. Thank you guys!!! *update*

Anyone who is kind enough to bring me back to my beloved home country, please send your charity offer to nicootan@gmail.com.


I miss Nasi Lemak!!!

Last day in Australia, oh no!

I am currently in Gold Coast Griffith University with big panda aka barney Jon - an 18 year old university undergraduate!! o.O And he's finishing next year!!!

OMG.

Anyway, I'm in the library here because it the only place where I can get free internet. Oh la la...

I can't believe it's been a month. I'm flying back to Malaysia tomorrow!! Sun and heat I miss you so much!!

Le sigh.. I don't want to leave. It's been such an amazing trip and fell in love with all the wonderful people here. Le sigh... I miss my snowboard instructor *cough*

Nicolekiss on FHM!!!!!

OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG

(i know you see this coming... but still)


OMFG!!! I AM ON FHM!!!

*SQUEAL~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

*faint*


I mean, it's every girl's dream (if you say it's not I don't believe you because you are probably lying, hmph!) to be featured on the country's best selling men's magazine.

And not just one page, not just two page, but FOUR pages of ME in it!!!

Here's a little sneak peak.


This was taken and sent through the internet from Gerald while I'm all the way in Australia. OMG, I can't wait to go back and get a copy for myself!


Thank you Joe, Jaq and Micheal!!!! You guys are lovely!!!

I especially love the little black dress pose on the last page.

Just pose, the dress and the hair, OH MY oh yes oh yes so definitely the hair!

It got volumn, brings out the color and the curls, just kill me. I want to perm my hair!

You want to see it? I cut a small piece for you to see. Tee hee...




NICE kan?! nice kan nice kan?!!

Thank you Gracie for the wonderful curl for a day!! I didn't wash my hair for three days after that. It's too nice!!

Sigh... I want a free perm. Perming ain't cheap, le sigh~



And NOT JUST THAT. NOPE it doesn't end there!!!!!

My travel article is also out!!!




I wrote about the trip to Shanghai. It's so the awesome k!!!

It's called upgrade travel and I hope to be writing for this section for FHM for as long as they allow me to. Right Joe?


see my name on the top right corner there?


This means there are 6 pages of "me" in FHM September issue. o.O


Faster grab a copy of this month's (September) issue of FHM Malaysia. :D :D :D :D

Being Alone and People I love

There are times when I just want to shut down and refuse to speak to anyone. It has nothing to do with depression nor sorrow. It has nothing to do with stress nor personal issues.

It's just that, I like being alone.

I grew up pretty much alone throughout my life, despite a family cared-for childhood, I grew up in a family with little intimacy around the house, not that we don't love each other, but expressing emotions was never apparent. Have a maid for as long as I can remember and both my parents have been working as soon as I can make my own milo ice.

I can always remember waking up to an empty house, during holidays, except for Sundays, and sat alone in the living room watching TV all by myself, till dusk came and my parents to return way after sunset. Dinner was the most anticipated moment in a day when I got to dine with my parents and brother, who left for uni as soon as I enter senior high.

At school, I was always the quiet one, the weird and the geek. And I always felt sad about being alone all the time, with no friends and no one to talk to. But I grew out of that and then I had many friends in college, in uni and increasingly more when I started travelling.

I have all sorts of friends, most of which I keep in touch over the internet. There are few friends in the world whom I seem to meet only when overseas. Shawn, for one, is a dear friend whom I first met in Bangkok, then in Langkawi, never able to meet in KL nor Kuching (his hometown), and presumably the next time we meet will be in Japan. It was never intentional, it just falls in place naturally, coincidentally. We did try to arrange to meet up once in KL, but it was always the case that I was never in the country, or he was never coming over when I was in the country.

Then there's Stuart, the British guy whom I met in Cambodia earlier this year, a travel mate whom I've grown a fond liking towards. A dear and sincere friend, someone whom I can click with and someone who share the passion in travelling and perspectives in life as I do, not a common thing, and I do find these people very rare. I do have very weird, extraordinary if not, perspectives on life. Simple. Never complicated. Yet very uncommon.

The next time we meet might either be in Bangkok, or Beijing. Let fate decides.

I enjoy having this silent conversation over the internet where it doesn't involve actual talking. It's like speaking your mind, through your hands.

Overtime, I have grown very used to being alone. Reading a book on a bus, gazing into nothingness and think about things that didn't matter. But it was alright, I enjoyed my time alone, with myself, with my book, with my thoughts. I love the time I spend with myself, with nature, with the cold air or the hot breeze, the sunny afternoon or the starry night. It has been a delight. And I must admit I still enjoy them thoroughly.

And as much as I do enjoy a good conversation, or a few, too many of a good thing becomes dull, and tires a person eventually. And that was what happened to me. Tired, of meeting new people every single day and creating new conversation, repeating the old, every single day. Do not be mistaken, I love it. I have come to love every single soul I have met throughout my trips, and they have nothing but kind, sweet and friendly to me. And without them, these trips won't be as great and as wonderful as they were. In fact, they would be pretty miserable without them.

I can still remember their names, it was just like yesterday. Gosh I can't believe I have been here for four weeks, and counting, time sure flies. Patricia, Stuart, Darrell, Jessie, Bryan, Casey, Regina, Henry, Tee Hiong, Adeline, Kif, Ru, Kevin, Juan Mann, Chun Siong, Kenny, Bill, Cousin Tween, Paul, my lovely nephews, and now William. Thanks for all the wonderful times in Australia. And I'm sure we will meet again very soon. :D

But I'm a very laid back person. I like to take things easy. I like to do nothing and zonk out, live in my dreams and do absolutely nothing. Over a glass of wine and some good music, sit by the fireplace and let my mind brings me somewhere else. A good book always helps. Else, there's always wine. :)

And sometimes, being quiet and all alone, I find myself. I find peace and I find answers to the many things in life. Think through things I don't usually think about when I'm out and about meeting new friends and having exciting conversations.

Right now, it's good being alone. And I think I would like to keep it that way, for now.

Hot water and bottle

I am at Newcastle airport now. It has been raining cats and dogs everyday for four days now. It's insane.

COLD and insane!

Flying to Brisbane tonight. Brisbane peeps!! Email me!

Finally got out of Hunter Valley, it was a dream in there. Superb and beauty beyond words. I'm missing the vineyards and the cheese and the wines and the fine dinings already. Le Sigh~


Oh, do you know what happens to plastic bottle when you pour hot water inside?




It'll shrink. A lot.

Both are 600 ml bottles. The one on the right is mine.


Alright, going to check in my bags at the terminal soon. I love free internet at Newcastle airport. Will update more tonight when I get internet access.

Ta ta~

Visiting Free Hug Campaign Pioneer, Juan Mann, in Sydney

Short Note: I am leaving for Hunter Valley now! As in NOW! And I haven't even packed yet! OMG.

I doubt anyone who reads my blog lives in Hunter Valley. But heck, you never try you never know. Anyone there drops me an email!

Free WINE here I come!!!


First, you watch this video. If you have watched it before, watch it again. It’s a video you can’t stop watching. So touching ok!




The Free Hug Campaign has over 30 millions views! Took 7 months to shoot, took 2 years to edit.

And now, Juan Mann’s is one of Earth’s most famous youtube celebrities.

With the coolest job – Hugger. (I’m not kidding, he’s getting paid to hug people o.O)



Being one of his biggest fans, even creating a contest out of free hug campaign, I decided to pay Juan Mann’s a visit. AT HIS HOUSE.

After obtaining his number and house address on the internet (Yes he published his contacts online!), I contacted Juan to arrange for a meet up. He replied the following morning! Wasting no time, I immediately invited him over for dinner with some of my friends and readers in Sydney. (All of whom I met on this trip!)

So yesterday, after meeting up with Kif after his work at liverpool street with Stuart (he’s in town! From Gold coast! You know, the guy I met in Cambodia~!) and Evelyn, a reader who’s studying in the university here. We made a beeline towards Newtown, where Juan Mann lives, on the bus of course.


Click the video to see Juan Mann’s house.


I was acting like a complete fan (lunatic if not) when I saw Juan Mann walking towards me. You know what was the first thing I did before the video was made?

I ran out to the road and throw myself at him giving him the biggest hug screaming my little head off. *shy*

Omg I should learn self containment. >_<




This is me following behind Juan to his house. A lot of winding roads.




OMG OMG his house!!




OMGOMGOMGOMG, he’s entering his house. WE’RE entering his house!!




*faint*


Kevin (Kif’s housemate) made reservation at Angus last night, kinda like my last night in Sydney dinner. Angus is said to have the best pork ribs in town.



Yea yea, I know what you Aussies are going to say, you must be saying that I should go for the Hurricane’s pork ribs instead of Angus, but everyone keeps saying that Hurricanes are over-commercialised and the ribs aren’t really that nice. And you know what? I believe what they tell me. I always do. If a local tells you that some food in some area aren’t that nice, you believe it! And if more than 5 people tell you that! You’ll avoid Hurricane like a rat to a snake!


Juan Mann on the bus to Darling Habour for dinner with us. Tee Hee, he got the camera red eye...


We had a lot of chats with Juan Mann and his recent project is to donate his kidney away to a complete stranger. Sounds weird, yes. But he is nothing of the sort. To me, I think he’s very inspirational. To be able to give better life to someone whom you don’t know so that they can survive with your kidney is something not everyone can do, and if anyone has a problem with that, they can kiss my bottom!


Therefore he’s having lamb salad that night.


Means he can’t have anything sinful like this.


Fried Onion Rings.


And guess what?! I was impressed by Angus!

They serve big. And I meant BIG.




When the waitress showed up with our menu, I thought I peed in my pants. Thank GOD. I was sharing my ribs with Kif.

How on earth were we going to finish this?!


Photogenic Evelyn

And this?!


Kif acting silly


And this!!!!




No wonder Australia is now the fattest nation in the world.

That night I realised Kif and Juan Mann are truly camwhore, such as myself. *beam*
The moment you direct a camera at them, they will put up their camera face almost instantaneously, and this is VERY rare among guys.




Made me wanna cut myself.


kidding


It was a great night.




I can’t remember everyone’s names, but there were Ben, Kevin, Evelyn, Stuart, Kif, Juan Mann, Chun Siong and two other people whom I didn’t get to talk to that night.




It was a wondrous night!

Oh, if you’re wondering. Yes, Juan Mann do survive on Free Hug Campaign alone (you know, the loyalty of it). :D



Juan Mann's address:
Unit 12 / 30 Bucknell Street
Newtown, New South Wales
Australia, 2042

Phone Number: (+61) 416 730 891

Thank you Daniel!!!

OH MY GOD!!! After three weeks!!!!

THREE WEEKS!!!!

I have finally managed to blog from my very own laptop..

The feel of the usual keypads, the bright monitor screen, the swiftness and familiarity of one's personal laptop and not some stranger's pc with whom I can never create beautiful symphonies of blog entries together.

OMG I MISS U BABY LAPPIE!!!!


I am so going to sell this dell laptop and get my a mac once I return to Malaysia. -.-


ps// Daniel is my fourth personal call operator who helped me through all drama. Tenkiu Daniel, I buy something nice for you from Australia ok? I'm serious. Send me your work address.

A day's life of a traveller

Joke of the country: What is an Australian kiss?

Same as a French kiss, only down under.


Putting one foot in front of the other, I glided along these paths in the city of Sydney, alone, simplemindedly, aimlessly. I turned and looked over the footsteps I've made. Invisible.

I gazed over the harbour, cold breeze flipped through my hair viciously, attempting to make a bird nest out of it. I smoothed my hand over to tame the wild bush floating all over my head, the wind was chilly against my face, but it felt good.

Spring was coming, I could feel it.

In ten days I would be out of here, heading back up to the countries above. Leaving the southern hemisphere behind, going back to where I was familiar with. Dread and eagerness filled me up. I didn't know whether to feel excited or sad about leaving this place, or was it excited or sad about going back?

In the next few months, I could see myself hovering between Japan and Middle East, and probably back to the southern hemisphere to check out the kiwis. Aimlessly, really. What was I looking for again? I lost track in time, in space, in destinations and places of origins. But age reminded me of all those. The dates are passing, years adding a number every year, and I could feel my body aged inside of me, slowing down, warning me to take a step behind.

But I was eager. There was no time to think, pondering was for the aimless, I have a goal, a goal I were to pursue and fulfill. I just kinda forgot what it was.

I got off the bus and headed down the alley, it was broad day light, yet the wind was ever as chilly. Something must be wrong with this weather, sun and cold should never go together. Coming from the tropics, it just didn't feel right.

I turned a corner and walked up the stairs systematically, like how I have been programmed to go and turn and head straight down this lane these past few days. I came to a door with No.1 engraved on it, extended my hand out to turn the knob and pushed it forward. Reflexively I brushed my sneakers against the carpet before walking in.

Once inside, I slipped off my shoes, took off my jacket, my scarf and hanged them on the hook, move swiftly into the room, turned on the heater and climbed into bed under my blanket to keep warm from the brilliant cold that still clasped around me. Picking up my Audrey Howard book lying next to the bed, I flipped to the page where a bookmark was inserted and started reading paragraph number three on page 69. Just when Milly Goodwin was about to suggest the idea of marriage to Hugh Thornley to her mother. An exciting episode.

Nothing beats a good afternoon read in bed on a cold winter day.