China Here I Come

On a happier note (as you can see, I am procrastinating... I was supposed to come home to work and to complete whatever I set out to do so that I'm well prepared for another rounds of meetings tomorrow but hmmm... maybe after this... I need to release tension now... hehe).

I will be traveling to Beijing on Nov 17 for 8 days... Beijing... ah Beijing... I grew up watching Hong Kong dramas filmed at the Forbidden City and have read about the countless deaths at the time of contructing the Great Wall of China... and finally... here's a chance to see them up close and personal.

The feeling...? Kinda weird actually...

You see... of all places in the world... I chose to go to Hong Kong as my first overseas destination (Singapore's not counted) because of the familiarity to the Chinese comrades there who speaks Cantonese as their mother tongue and the desire to hopefully meet a Hong Kong actor/actress along the way plus to see first hand the places I "grew up" watching on TV like Kowloon, Tsim Tsa Tsui, Miu Kai, Lui Yan Kai etc etc... and to taste for myself the "Tung Yin Yong" they have over there vs. our "Cham Ping" here...

Then I went to Thailand (Bangkok and Pattaya) to experience the exotic night life that they have and to try the authentic Thai cuisine that is available practically everywhere in Malaysia like Tom Yum Kung for instance (our version actually tastes more intense than the actual version in Thailand)...

My next planned destination was actually Korea cos I have watched like nearly half a dozen of Korean dramas in the past 2 months... "Beautiful Days", "Winter Sonata", "Magical France", "Stairway to Heaven", "Kim Sam Soon", "Jewel in the Palace"... just to name a few... What I liked about Korea (from the dramas that I watched) is the romantic setting there... everything seemed so beautiful... the trees, the lake, the view, the people, the clothing... everything...

But this year, I will be following my parents on their annual overseas trip... and this time, they're visiting Beijing. Since I've not been to China before... this could be a worthwhile trip. Plus, it's actually winter time there... with temperature hovering between 1 to 10 degree... Another firsts for me...

I've heard so much about China from my parents, friends and families' trips before but now that I have a chance to visit the country... I would like to check for myself if these are indeed true... (am not biased, prejudiced or anything k... I've not been to the country before, so I wouldn't really know what to expect):

• Public toilets - I hear that public toilets in China have no doors... people squat in confined cubicles (without doors) barring their backsides to anyone who walks past the cubicle and yet not feel awkward about it...
• Squatting everywhere - apparently people in China squat everywhere... in front of a shopping mall, in the middle of a shopping mall, on the street and basically anywhere they chose to....
• Talking out loud - People from China (who lives or work in Malaysia) are mostly deaf... Why? Because they have a tendency to shout out loud no matter where they are... (even if they are standing next to you and the person they are talking to are only 2 seats away)... So I am really curious if the people there holler out loud to one another in their normal conversations..
• Food - Chinese cuisine is said to be one the finest cuisine in the world... and China being the originator of them all... would surely have the best Chinese food... really can't wait to taste the "Peking Duck"...
• Architecture - Again, the Chinese boast to have the most sophisticated designs on their roof tops, their pillars, their gardens etc etc... It would surely be an eye opener to see their historical sites...

That's about all I could think of for now. If you have anymore to add to the list, let me know. I'd be more than happy to help you find out more when I'm there...