The Trip So Far

Greetings from  Beijing! This is my third day here and what an adventure it's been so far (and we haven't even made our way to Tibet!).

Ching and I met early Friday morning to head to the airport for our 6 hour flight to Beijing. The plan was to arrive at 3ish, make our way to the hotel by 5ish and then maybe head on to town and try the famous Peking duck (yeah, even though they are only 12 days old and chock full of steroids). We also wanted to walk around town and try some of the local foods.

Plane ride was pretty smooth- lots of Chinese people going back home. An hour to landing at Beijing, the flight captain comes on the speaker and announces that there is a thunderstorm at Beijing and that he was unable to land there and that we had to land in Wuhan "for an hour or so". WTF?! Ching and I laughed out loud though, Wuhan happens to be the hometown of our massaeuse. LOL.

Anyway, one hour turned to six and it was amazing how much patience we had. Perhaps it was because we were together, and that we were in a holiday mood. We finally made it to Beijing, landed at 10pm and arrived at the hotel at 10.30pm or so. Was too tired to do anything so we showered and slept.

Woke up the next morning and had breakfast at the hotel. This hotel caters to local people and the food was so unappetising. We headed out to see the Great Wall (we went to huang hua chang cheng) and then to the Summer Palace (yi hua yuan). I had a horrible heat headache at the end of the day, but I think it was quite worth it. The portion of the wall that we went to was unrestored, so everything was in its original form and all crumbling, but so beautiful.

Checked out of the hotel (it was too far from anything) and checked in to a hotel nearer to town. Had dinner at a restaurant within walking distance and then went back to sleep. Now it's time to head out for breakfast (dou jiang and you tiao!) and then we'll go to the Temple of Heaven (tian tan), Tiananmen square and the Forbidden City. Then we will go to the train station tonight and then 2 days on the train. Whee! Oh man, the getting the train tickets in itself was such a nightmare. Wen had to call and call and call and call, a million times, before we could get our train tickets.

Anyways, time to leave. Will probably check back in when I'm back in Singapore. Taa!

My Holiday Mood Has Officially Started

Stayed back late for a little while to finish up some work. Settled
what needed to be done, and now I'm officially in holiday mood! I have
a couple more emails to send out from home and then I'm ready to
party!

Whee! I'm so excited! (Can you tell? A telltale sign is my excessive
use of exclamation points. Yeeaahh!!!)

Anyway, gonna start packing tomorrow. Also have a massage planned,
trip to the army market and a belated birthday lunch/dinner (can't
remember what we agreed on).

I've got a huge grin on my face and just can't stop smiling. Whee!!!

China and Tibet, here we come! *twitches in excitement*

--
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2 More Days In The Office

Gah I have a tonne of work that needs to be done but absolutely no mood to do it. Lol. The story of my life. Heehee.

Got most of my stuff ready, just need to pack it all up and hope they fit into the backpack. And also hope that I packed warmly enough for this trip.

Anyway, I think I'm gonna spend this week stretching and maybe doing a couple more rounds of steps. Don't wanna push too hard physically and risk getting sick. Gotta rest more too.

Apparently we need to drink about 4l of water every day to try to stave off altitude sickness. I wonder how we'll manage that.

Still Counting Down

We fly off this Friday! Whee! Am I packed? Of course not. Lol! But most of the stuff I need, I already have.

Need a day backpack though. Hmm.

Countdown: 4 more days!

Whee! In 4 days this time, I'll be at the airport with Ching, probably getting some breakfast and all excited about heading to Beijing. I'm not packed (no surprises there) and I only took the stuff that I need out to wash. Yikes. I hope they dry in time, but with the crazy hot weather we've been experiencing, it shouldn't be a problem.

I really need to make a list though. Of the stuff I should bring and pack. And then, I should go and pack it. Lol.

Anyway we did our usual walk yesterday and walked from MacRitchie all the way to Bukit Timah hill. The route was a gradual incline, and now my legs are aching. *stretches* But it was a good workout and we discovered a new trail that had a good mix of climbs and descends.

I've got 3 days in the office, because I decided to take Thursday off to pack my stuff. Tonne of stuff to be done before I go for my holiday.

Alright, time to get ready to get to work.

Countdown!

Less than 10 days to our trip! Whee!

And Good Triumphs Over Evil Once Again

The rotten apple has decomposed completely and has finally tendered his resignation with the company. He obviously wasn't happy once all of us wised up to his sneaky ways and guarded against him taking advantage of us and stealing our credit.

I'm tickled. Did he really think he could cruise on by without having to put in a single iota of effort? Lol. The department has claws, you know.

Anyway.

I went to see TKFKMM yesterday at Ruq's place. She has named him Kunyit (I think that's the spelling. It's Malay for tumeric) and he's been getting better under her care. Although he shouldn't be putting too much stress on his leg, he can now run around quite well.

The cat is so manja though. Had him on my lap for almost 3 hours and he was content to just lie there be scratched and massaged. He's got the most adorable face ever, and it was so hard to stop and leave him. *love*

Ah well. Ruq's gonna bring him to the vet to get the bandage changed. It's getting a little tight around the belly, which is good cos that means he's putting on some weight. And the cutest thing ever- if you scratch him under the bandage, he'll start licking you! So. Cute.

Hehehe. Ok, off to work. I scratched my eye yesterday and this morning it's all swollen. But it's ok. Won't miss the rotten apple's last day. Whee!

And The Countdown Begins

Woot! 2 more weeks (well, 15 more days) before we head off to Beijing and then Tibet. How exciting! I think our physical fitness has improved loads since our last trip to Mt Kinabalu, but of course, we need to keep on training to make sure we're fit as fiddles (cannot remember if this is the right term LOL) for the trip.

I really need to take stock of what I have and do not have, and make sure I get everything in order. Minus 15 degrees celcius is no joke!

Anyway, I'm really thankful for the friends I have. Most of the cold stuff I have are borrowed- sleeping bag, windproof jacket with fleece lining, erm.. hmm is that all I have? Does not seem enough. LOL.

Ok moving on. 2 more days to the weekend! Yay!

Early Bird, But It's So Dark

Eeps. I think I'm gonna leave my exercise routines to times that I'm
actually familiar with. Early morning walks in the weekend with the
girls, and night time jogs and climbs up the stairs.

Woke up at 6am this morning with every intention to climb the stairs,
but it was so dark. The lights were turned off and while the sun was
slowly making its way up our horizon,I was feeling too chicken to run
along the stairwell all alone.

Excuses? Yeah maybe (hehe). But I think I'll stick with what I'm
comfortable with for now.

--
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18 More Days!

Woohoo! 18 more days before our China/Tibet trip and things are getting more exciting. I've got most of the stuff that I think I'll need- just need to figure our where I'm gonna get my gloves from.

Our training has become more pleasant. I think our stamina has improved heaps since we started our walks, and we can easily walk for hours on end without much effort. We should do the Bukit Timah hill more though.

I have a good feeling about this trip. As much as all our holidays are enjoyable and fun, I think this trip will be epic. Lol.

Of course, with the countdown to our trip, I'm more distracted at work. Heehee. I need to buck up on my personal discipline and start hitting the stairs!

18 more days!

Updates, Or The Lack Thereof

Haven't been blogging very regularly cos there hasn't been much to write about. And in a way, I guess it's a good thing. Life is simple, peaceful and calm.

Weekdays are spent in the office. There's no more office drama, and my days pass by rather pleasantly. I have an awesome boss, great colleagues, a job that I enjoy, and a comfortable working environment. And the one person that I really couldn't stand? He just quit. Whee!

Evenings are spent catching up with friends over dinner. Either that, or I head back home and just spend the evening chatting on msn and surfing the net. On days that I feel hardworking, I'll go downstairs for a jog and climb up the stairs to train for my upcoming China/Tibet trip. More often than not, laziness wins though. Lol.

We've bucked up our training on Saturdays and Sundays, and head to walk along various trails in Singapore. Bukit Timah hill, MacRitchie reservoir, Dairy Farm quarry- slowly but surely we try to cover these places. After a couple of hours of walking, we head for a meal and then back home. By the time we're back, we've still got half a day! Hehehe.

I chat with the grasshopper when I'm at work for a bit, and then we have longer sessions in the evenings just before I go to bed. Marathon skype sessions are usually delegated to the weekends. And of course, we speak on the phone every day too (even though it's a brief call).

I'm happy. Things are going well and I like how there's no drama at this point in my life.

I have several goals that I'm working towards, but I think I'll start on them when I come back from China/Tibet. Hehehe.

Friends

Gotta say I feel really blessed to have the bunch of people in my life. People who are on the same wavelength, who have the same beliefs and seek to grow in the same direction. People I feel absolutely comfortable with, not having to worry about them getting upset or offended over small and seemingly minute matters. People whom I can learn from and who give me advice, without making me feel small or unimportant.

I love that we travel together so much, to the oddest of places, enjoying ourselves and having memorable and awesome experiences. I love that we're not fussy travellers, that we gel so well and compliment each other.

I feel blessed and so thankful.