Hello... I am back!
Ok, I got to put a disclaimer first, coz someone requested loads of photos
I got those photos but I am too tired from packing and washing the clothes
to upload, I promise to do so by tomorrow or latest Thurs k? And my legs hurt, still.
THIS POST IS SUPER LONG... Got to split into parts, here is PART 1.
My legs hurt from walking so much,
felt like I flew to China to take part in some race man,
it was draining but fun, and eye-opening at how organised the Chinese are!
What Singaporeans can do, the PRC in China, can certainly do BETTER!
No kidding!!!
Our edge remains as effectively bilingual individuals,
that's probably the main selling point we have over our Asian counterparts, till date.
When I spotted Chinese Text and could read them,
be it in Shenzhen, Guangzhou or HK,
I would be doing a flip or somersault or fireworks would go off in my head.
Like YAY, I did not let my Chinese teacher, Ms Yip and my tutor down.
(Thanks Ma for the tuition!!! Haha...)
Shenzhen
We flew in with tiger air
(yes, I told a friend that i have not take SQ before, shocking eh? Me too. I am shocked, but soon, at the rate I am travelling, every two months this year, I am sure that will happen soon!!!)
Flight took off in the evening,
I went for a facial appointment prior my flight to preen myself
afterall, it was a work trip for my hubs and a half and half for me,
I went there with an open mind to look for opportunities hopefully
I can uncover suitable products to trade in SG...
haha, so i had to look the part of a potential Boss,
I even printed name cards for me-self.
Managed to munch a Mac Burger before flight and landed after midnight
it was a mere 3.5hours... and Shenzhen was impressive!
The airport had LED lights that were scattered on the HUGEASS ceiling of the airport
and they looked like a zillion stars... pretty!
(yes, I can feel you nagging, where are the photos?) akan datang....
Transport was organised, neat, comfortable... cab drivers were a dream
except you got to speak rather good Chinese for them to understand you,
saw some Ang Mohs haggling with a small group of PRC private cab drivers over pricing
and how cute the broken English sounded
PRC: " How muchhhiieee?"
AngMoh: "40 Dollars for 3 of us to town"
PRC: "How... How how? How muchhiiieee dollars?"
At this point, I was hysterical, yes, i got a low threshold for jokes,
I laugh very easily, laughter is literally free and a smile brightens any face!
Ang Moh: *started hollering* "I just said 40 DOLLLLLARRSSSS for THREE of us!!!"
PRC: "Whattt? 40 dollars?!!!" PRC started discussing with his buddy nearby before replying "NO, TOO CHEAP, 100 DOLLARS OK? Ok we go now!"
Ang Moh: "WHAT? 100 Dollars!!???"
PRC went at him like a charging bull and placed his face in front of the Ang Moh..
"HOW HOW? Price Ok? 100 Dollars Cheap, you can pay, very cheap to you Yankees...!!"
AngMoh: "I am not a Yankee and ..." his voice drowned out before I could hear the end of this banter. So fun! Pure entertainment for a flight that landed around 1am.
And it is nice for a change to see the stereotype befalling the White Man
that all Whites are Americans...
like how most Whites assume all Chinese
descend from Bruce Lee and can do Kungfu.
The next two days in Shenzhen was spent at a supplier's factory
we saw some cool machines that were high tech with RFID, chips etc and decently cool
spoke to the sales, engineering and marketing persons,
I really can click with them, I would love to think my Chinese sucks,
like a potato trying to be rice... aha! But they kept talking to me
and only spoke to my hubs on the technical aspects..
machiam I am literally working for my hubs.
Did you know, when they heard we were meeting them that morning,
they prepare the conference room with 4 platters of fresh fruits!
Like in SG, you sometimes don't even get water,
they serve you and heap you with fruits (so healthy!)
and different drinks for your picking. (Blown away!!!!!!)
They hosted us to great food during lunch (yes lar, photos will come!!!)
and every meal was at a restaurant
it was GLORIOUS!
Like Taste Paradise, Min Jiang, Cherry Garden and Wah Lok kind of standard
Decor was avant garde and majestically chic!
Crystal walls, gold finishings, chandeliers and opulent plush velvety chairs!!!
Another restaurant looked decadent and very expensive
The Chinese really know how to 'LIVE IT UP!'
I am so glad to be Chinese.
To them, I was seen as a triple threat as I can speak English, Mandarin and Cantonese
but save for English, the rest is like a half pail of water, bahhh....
Anyways, Shenzhen will be a city i wish to explore more
I really enjoyed Shenzhen so much,
their "SIM LIM SQUARE" is like ours except
that they have 20 such Buildings of Sim Lim Sq
It was HEAVEN ON EARTH FOR THE MEN,
I never seen more men shopping and buying their guts out
I had to explore the frenzy.. observing the frenzy was magical.
Never seen men shopped like there is no tomorrow before.
My eyes nearly popped after my fifth building,
coz each building had 10 floors to comb thru.
It was a friggin' GREAT SINGAPORE WORKOUT 101 man...
training for what's to come.
Cables, plugs, components, Xbox, laptops, mobile phones, chargers,
TV set top boxes, every single electronic and IT gadget in the WORLD
is there, everything and anything electronic you can dream of, is there too!!!
I am so happy to be Chinese. Dam proud of my roots!
The hotel was good too. Old but acceptable, I cannot recall the name,
too hard to remember... but it was at HUA QIANG TRAIN STATION
Shenzhen sealed the deal for me when the cab driver informed me
that a shopping haven, similar to Bugis Village but multiply it by tenfold
can be found at LAO JIE FANG STATION,
I made it my mission to go there,
even if it meant my legs had to break from all that walking
and I got lost... in every sense of the word.
Did not know where to start, so many alleys, turns, corners, basements...
I think, we CHINESE are very 'KUA ZHANG' folks..
if want something, we go all the way, if not, don't do.
I was every word you can associate HAPPINESS WITH.
Gleeful, Happy, Overjoyed, Excited, Overwhelmed..
you get the picture?
Basking, soaking in the sights, colors, sounds and smells...
INSPIRING! That night, i crashed into bed like a dead log.
Walked so much... Ate so little, like some weight loss regime.
But very very UBER HAPPY!!! I saw stars. :)
My hubs was a trooper, did not complain (much),
he just walked and helped me with my things
coz I shopped. Haha! Yay!
The next day, we headed to Guangzhou.
GUANGZHOU
Where cantonese originated from
and the people are way too rude and curt
and the food, according to the hubs, is unrefined (I concur)
even the Chee Chong Fun dim sum was untidy.
No idea how to eat man... was a plate of mess. Pppfffttt..
Side track... 13 years back, when i met Daniel (my hubs),
he did not have much standard when it comes to food
or how it is presented .. slowly, i trained him
to taste his food, enjoy the presentation and food art.
Today, I kinda regret it (hahahahaha!) he can be too picky
even when it comes to my cooking,
and I am one of the best chefs in the entire family (his side and my side combined)
yet, he can say, not enough salt, or too bland or why all the colors look the same..
I mean, everyday after work, I still got to come back and try to cook
and you want MasterChef standard, aiyo, facepalm can??
Maybe weekends then MasterChef appear.
We went to the
It was massive. Beyond massive. It was a nightmare to walk.
You don't know massive till you have seen China's exhibitions!
And that was on top of the crazy walking I did in Shenzhen already...
My soul man was like.. "Die, die, sure mati one. How to survive?"
Daniel was flabbergasted, jaw dropped and small eyes opened to the max
and he said, "Dear... why so many people one?"
I was like, "Come on, let's do this, you have gone thru enough NATAS Fairs with me when i worked, we can do it!"
So I had a simple plan, we comb the circumference then zigzag our way inside to the middle before moving to the next hall.
IMAGINE A SINGLE SINGAPORE EXPO HALL and multiply that by 16 Halls.
Yups... that was the scale of the Fair we originally wanted to cover.
But we gave up after 3 Halls, as their one Hall is
already double a singular Singapore Expo Hall.
My flats gave way, I had to buy new sandals.
My legs are still tired and painful from all that walking.
We shall continue tomorrow.... Nights!!!
Xoxo,
Sleepy Ruth
