The Venetian, Macao

The road back to civilization is a hard one. It is supposed to be an easy peasy walk across the border from Zhuhai to Macao, but it was made complicated when you are travelling in a group of 19 pax!

First, we had to settle the problem of the 16 pieces of luggage! We were swarmed by "porters" bearing big trolleys and wanting to "help" us to bring our luggage over as soon as we alighted from the bus.

Bickering ensued...I am lost in their heavily accented Chinese...and just let the guys in the group handle it. It was decided that this is how we are going to bring all the luggage over...

I am truly impressed with the ingenuity of this simple idea of stacking the luggage up on a single plank of wood with wheels! Now, you may ask why we need to do this, and the reasons are:

1. There were kids and old folks in the group, so each adult may need to lug 2 luggage.
2. The immigration booths are separated by narrow fences and it will be difficult to drag a big luggage through it, let alone 2 luggage.
3. We were swarmed by really die hard people who really wanted to make a quick buck out of us! And we will probably not be allowed to leave until we pay them something!

It was with a joyous heart when I finally cross into Macau - land of the casinos and pork chop bun and portuguese egg tarts :)

I was even more joyous when I see the rooms in The Venetian!

Just to give you an idea how many people can fit comfortably into the sitting area....eh, and my dear family is not exactly on the small side! Ha!

The gorgeous bed is queen sized with that really princessy European curtains over it...I like!

The bathroom is bigger than my bedroom at home. I think at least 6 people can sleep on the floor of the bathroom!

Now do you believe me when I say the bathroom can sleep another 6 people??

Another close look at the living area, I really like how European it looks - all the mismatched stuff somehow comes together into a cosy area. Oh yes, I am so going to enjoy The Venetian!

Ocean Spring Resort, Zhuhai, China

A 7 day tour with 18 other family members started in Zhuhai, China.

This is how my journey goes -- 10am Cathay Pacific flight from Singapore to Hong Kong > Transit in Hong Kong and didn't get to eat my favourite pork chop rice. What?? > Took a 50min ride to Zhuhai port > Transferred to a coach for the 1 hour ride to the resort -- finally reached the resort at 8pm.

It was a back breaking journey indeed! I'm never ever gonna do this again...ever...

This is the lobby of the resort, and as with most buildings in China, it was HUGE! But I don't really care, I just want to go up to the room and lay my aching back flat on the bed!

The room was pleasantly decent, but sorry no pics were taken before I was whisked off to dinner by my super hungry cousins! Dinner was unmemorable, so again not posting pics of the dinner....my eyes were slits by then.

The next morning, I finally get a good view of the resort in scorching hot weather!

I don't know why is the picture so "dusty", I think it might have something to do with the blindingly bright sun that day. This is the building that houses the spa.

Again, another HUGE man-made effort in the form of a lake.

After a hearty breakfast, we set off to do some sightseeing. The only thing worth seeing here is this structure in miniature Summer Palace (员明园) which is probably only 1% the size of the real Palace in Beijing.

This giant dragon urn was made up entirely of ceramic plates, cups, and spoons! It was really impressive, and it was one of those moments when I was proud to be Chinese again...hehehe.

After touring the mini Summer Palace, we set off for yet another unmemorable lunch, and then to the view the Statue of the Fisher Girl.

I didn't take a lot of pics in Zhuhai, maybe because I'm still "recuperating" from the long journey, but I was just longing to cross over the border to Macau the next day and do some serious shopping at The Venetian!

Lunch @ My Humble House

Do not be deceived by the humbleness of the name! Yes, it is expensive, and if not for the 1-for-1 lunch promotion, I don't think I will come here to eat.

Well, the food is quite good actually, but I think because we had the promotional tasting lunch set, it lacked some creativity! They used the same mango salsa on 3 dishes?? It tasted awesome the first time on the boiled prawns in the appetizer, then it appeared again with the fried prawn, and it started to go downhill when it appeared again with the fried chicken.

My favourite part of the whole meal is the dessert! The avocado milk soup coupled with the coffee ice-cream is just brilliant! It reminded me of the avocado shake that I always have back in Jakarta. Avocado and coffee never go wrong.

I'm into this slide show thing, so I hope you enjoy the pics presented to you in the show!

My Humble House 寒舍

8 Raffles Ave

#02-27

The Esplanade Mall

Singapore 039802

Palace Museum, Beijing

The Palace Museum is simply my favourite place in Beijing. The Summer Palace is no doubt bigger and grander, but I think the Palace itself is just so much more magnificent as this was where history was built. It is also right smack in the middle of Beijing, co-existing with modern society, but yet still retaining it's old world grandeur.

Enjoy the pics, as words just cannot describe how proud I am to be a Chinese.

Beijing Olympic Stadium

北北京京欢欢迎迎你你！

The most innovative stadium design, the best opening ceremony, and the most kawaii Olympic mascots ever in the history of the Games - at least in my opinion - is right here in Beijing.

I was really looking forward to visit the Olympic Village in Beijing, and we drove past it a couple of times before we finally landed on the Village itself.

We were dropped some distance away from the Stadium by the cab driver - I have no idea why. Anyway, it gave some photo shoot opportunities!

This was supposed to be a really high-end shopping center and apartment, but it was eerily empty when we were there in June 2009.

The Stadium against a back drop of clear blue skies. I'm glad the weather held up!

The lights are really fascinating - and so is the scores of people around!!

There they are!! 欢欢，你你，京京，北北，迎迎 - in order from left to right.

Well, there is nothing much in the Stadium except the mascots, but it was a great experience to be there!

Beside the Stadium is the Water Cube where the water sports were held, but we didn't go in as you need to buy another entrance fee to go in! And we thought that there will not be anything much inside anyway.

On top of the Great Wall, I think China can add the Olympic Stadium as another wonder of the world! :)

全聚德烤鸭店

It was our last night in Beijing - we were walking up and down this street trying to decide where to have our dinner. I was hungry, exhausted, sticky, grouchy and missing home.

Then I saw a Chinese restaurant which was quite crowded, so I told J that we should just eat here and get it over and done with, and I was prepared to pay a bomb after my experience in 大董。

The waitresses (or are they supposed to be door bitches??) were unfriendly and instructed us to take the lift to Basement 1 and wait for our table. But we can't see "B1" on the lift button?? Finally realised it's "L-1"! Duh.

I saw the words 全聚德 - but it still didn't register because I read Chinese words real sloooow.......until finally, it hit me! I'm in the legendary 全聚德 famous for their Peking Duck!!

I perked up and started to read their menu more enthusiastically and told J we MUST have the Peking Duck!!! J said "NO" because he was afraid of a 大董 de-ja-vu! But I told him this is 全聚德 and we must eat the PEKING DUCK!!! *stare fiercely at him*

And I'm glad I "persuaded" him to order the duck :)

This was supposed to be the best part of the duck - the skin from the breast - and it was served first with a flourish by the waiter.

It was good! Really crispy with a thin layer of fat, and it tasted heavenly dipped in sugar! Who would thought of that? The crunchy sugar crystals goes really well with the skin as it helps to lighten the taste of the fattiness. Will they look at me strangely if I ask for sugar when I eat Peking Duck in Singapore now?

The duck meat also tasted good with a hint of smokiness to it. And although you can still see a layer of fat under the skin, it doesn't taste that oily in your mouth. I think the sugar really helps!

I ordered this dish because it was just too "eggy" to resist :) I love salted eggs, century eggs and century quail eggs?? Now this dish I must try! And it just sounded so decadent to eat 3 different types of eggs at once! I love the salted eggs best because they were served in black vinegar with some garnishes like spring onion - simple but nice. The sour vinegar made the salty eggs even more umami! Nice combination.

This is the BEST vermicelli prawn in claypot I've ever had! Big bursty prawns, with well seasoned vermicelli - I couldn't help spooning more of it onto my plate!

Just as we were about the surrender to good food coma, the vegetable dish arrived! This is grilled mushrooms stir-fried with some green vegetables in chili oil. Sounds complicated? But you have to try this dish to believe it! The mushroom was so fragrant and chewy - it reminds me of bak kwa! And the chili oil added a nice spicy kick to it. It was so addictive that I couldn't stop myself from eating more pieces of the mushroom although I'm bursting full.

It was a satisfying meal indeed and the bill came up to about SGD70 for the two of us, which is quite ok given that it is considered a high end restaurant that has served many emperors before! Yes, they have a history of hundreds of years!

It was indeed a good end to our holiday!

Now I know...

...why Louis Vuitton stuff is expensive. Just look at the box my LV shades came in.

Another edited shot for prosperity.

I should wear this to Simmy's BLING party!!