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I was in Beijing back in November last year. It was a group wide company trip that had about 300+ staff across all 5 agencies. I got to say, this being my first time to Beijing, I didn’t know what to expect. The weather was about 11°C during the day, and as cold as 8°C during the night.

We were there for a good 6 days but unfortunately, with it being a company trip, most of the itinerary were already preplanned with a tour guide. Which meant we didn’t have much time to explore the city on our own except during the night. By then, we were all too tired to further walk with aching feet. One advice I would give to anyone going to Beijing…prepare to walk A LOT!  Of course the highlight of the trip was The Great Wall of China, one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

These are some of the places we’ve visited during the trip. It’s not in any particular order, but because I do not want this to be a super lengthy post, I would let the pictures do more of the talking.

Temple of Heaven
According to ancient Chinese legend, Earth was represented by a square and Heaven by a circle. This place has several features of the temple complex symbolize the connection of Heaven and Earth, of circles and squares. Oh and it also sits on a hill, which mean closer to the heavens.

Lama Temple
Also known as the “Palace of Peace and Harmony Lama Temple“. I particularly like the entrance to this temple as it looks like a scene in a movie during autumn.

The entrance to the temple

Hutong
This place is actually rows and rows of bars and shops surrounding a large lake. Hutong (胡同) also apparently means “narrow road” in Mandarin. The main transportation in this area is via trishaw. We came here on our first night for drinks, and on the second time (following the tour), we went through the place on a trishaw. I got to say, I’m amazed at these trishaw riders. They are all elderly people and they can maneuver through these narrow roads at high speeds without bumping into others.

On the first night, I had this to drink…bottle told us to PARTY!

Rows of shops surrounding the lake

Pek Fui and I about go for a trishaw ride

Tiananmen Square & Forbidden City
Don’t think these 2 places need any introduction, but the Forbidden City really impressed me. I’m impressed not because of the engineering feat, but because how the Chinese think in terms of security for the Emperor. Back then when you’re riding a horse or on foot, it’s nearly impossible to get through to the main palace as there are layer after layer after layer of security walls with watch towers where they can spot someone trying to get in a mile away. Good thing for the Emperor back then, aerial warfare was non existent.

Inside the Forbidden City

With Yew Fai and See Wei

The Great Wall of China
The Great Wall, one of the Seven Wonders of The World. Again, amazed and in awe that these walls were constructed without machines and only using people power. There weren’t any use of cement either as they used glutinous rice to hold the bricks together…and it’s still standing until today!

Li Shan and I @ The Great Wall of China

Wangfujing
This is basically the area where we stayed. We only had time to walk around during the night.

Here I tasted deep fried baby scorpions for the very first time. It’s not bad really. It tasted like deep fried prawns. If you think that is bad, there are other more grossed looking food. The baby scorpion were the easiest to eat.

Starfish, seahorse and baby scorpions on a stick

Donkey penis!

Fuck…don’t want to even know what this is…

Trying out deep fried baby scorpions..

The Bird’s Nest Stadium & Water Cube
There 3 buildings are all located within the same place. The Bird Nest Stadium, Water Cube (or National Aquatics Centre)and a building shaped like a dragon (Pangu Plaza). Didn’t manage to get into any of these building (no point going in either), but did manage to get some photos taken within these architecture marvels.

Group shot in front of the Bird Nest Stadium

You know I’ve heard so much about the people in Beijing (and entire PRC for that fact) being rude to tourists and not being civilized when it comes to care for public hygiene, and I got to say they are absolutely right. Once you’re there to see their mannerism, you would think people in KL are not so bad after all. Overall, the people in Beijing were not nice, the public toilets are without doors, the food is erm…horrible (or rather bland) compared to KL, and shopping there is expensive. Apart from the weather and having the company of colleagues, Beijing for me was more of an experience and an eye opener. Would I go back there again? Well, no…not unless there is a very good reason to do so.

[Click here for more pictures of Beijing]

I came across this video on Facebook since many of my friends shared it. Song by Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Btw, never knew these two could sing! Really appropriate tune to wrap up 2011.

Happy New Year everyone!

A couple of months back, our department went for a trip to Janda Baik…just a 45 minutes drive from the city. It’s actually just before the turn off to Genting Highlands if you use the Karak Highway. It’s surrounded by breathtaking scenery, fresh and cool air combine with lush greenery jungles.

It was a team building/get away/”get to know one another better” session with all our colleagues. We stayed in this place called Saufiville Resort, which is a villa consisting of 6 rooms. Nice enough to accommodate a group of 30 people. It also came with a private infinity pool which overlooked the mountain view. Well, with it being a team building trip, we also gotten outside help to organize some activities for us during the day.

A word of caution though. While the place promises great scenery and cooler than city temperatures, it has one drawback….BUGS! The place it’s filled with all sorts of insects and bugs as it is located in the middle of the jungle. So if you’re planning a stay there, please remember to bring insect repellent or bug spray.

Here are some pictures of the place

Courtyard surrounded by mountains

The infinity pool

Enjoying the view with a few cans of beer

We were split into smaller groups to perform some task during our team building activities…just don’t ask what the task were..

Awesome team members: Robb, Audrey, Jesrina, Lee Fen, Darren and Yoke Teng

Again did I mentioned about the insects…

Size of bug = size of lighter = SCARY!

And of course we all had fun and enjoyed the trip even more by playing poker, Xbox Kinect, Karaoke and drinking (what more?) during the night. Here are some group pictures..

And finally here we are having Banana Leaf rice after the trip :)

Gosh! It’s already 14 December. I have not been blogging for a few months since my last update. Well, lots had happened during these few months as you can tell. This is just a “stand-in” post making sure that this blog is not dead yet. I will update more in the upcoming post as there are many things to be updated.

Here is a list of upcoming post:

• Serenity In The City: A getaway in Saufiville, Janda Baik
• Climbing the Great Wall - Company trip to Beijing, China
• Night of the Stars: Shots taken during our wedding banquet