Annual Vacation

I am going home! Its been, what? almost a year since I've been home. Liza and I got our tickets some weeks ago and we have been shopping like crazy for presents.

I bought my mom hand painted dolls wearing chinese costumes, fuwas (Beijing Olympics mascots) for my sisters, jacket for my dad and lots and lots of ties for my brothers.

Musings

I wish I am
and I wish i'm not.
What else is there to wish for?

Links

www.tudou.com
aheeyah.com
dv.ouou.com
www.tv-links.co.uk

Lian Xi

Wo jiao Apple.
Wo er shi liu sui, mei jiehun.
Wo jia you qi kou ren, you baba, mama, liang ge meimei, liang ge didi he wo.
Xianzai, wo zai Beijing gongzuo.
Wo zai Diqiucun xuexi Hanyu.

Apparently, I can't compose any sentence that doesn't start with "Wo"... yet.

Shi San Ling

Holidays are big here in Beijing. They have a five-day holiday for the Labor day alone (April 30 - May 6). I still have to work but I don't have school for the week, so I dragged the lot to Chang Ping District to see the Ming Tombs.

The first (and in my opinion the best) attraction is the Sacred Way where they have lots of stone animals and statues guarding the path. The Great Red Gate is the beginning of quite a long walk.

Posing with a bored camel.

Palace minister with goatee.

Palace official with a Mona Lisa smile.

We have to stop at almost everyone of them to take pictures. And since Mel, Reg and me brought our cameras... the Sacred Way walk took a rather long time.

Chinese Ethnic and Culture Park

We went to the Chinese Ethnic and Culture Park (Zhong Hua Min Zu Yuan). Kristine and I got to a dance presentation of the ethnic groups in the park. Too bad we both don't have our cameras with us... This picture of the North Park's entrance is courtesy of Mel.



Maps are provided at the ticket booth. I usually have a very good sense of direction but their map is really something. We had to pause and figure out where we are.





Kristine and I were really hungry. I mean really!!! It's a good thing this Korean restaurant is already open. Although the food they serve is not Korean, it served their purpose... we now have fuel to explore.





We had a really nice time (Me, Kristine, Mel and Mario) at the park. We didn't get the chance to explore the other side (South Park) because we are all tired and I have to go to work later tonight.

Great Wall in Spring

I went to the Great Wall at Badaling (again) this Spring. It was Carlyn's, Mel's and Regina's first time. It's still cold and windy even though the sun is high up. We got lost (again!) before we got to the bus stop at Deshengmen. It wasn't my fault this time (i swear)... the subway didn't stop at Jishuitan station so we ended taking a taxi back.



See the long, long, looong road ahead? Well, we really walked that far. The last time I went there I swore I wouldn't do it again. But, where else could I pay 45 RMB to walk, what? four kilometers? (Note: I am being sarcastic.)



We know we really should start walking but it's hard to turn down a photo opportunity.



We're not really posing for the camera. The Wall is propping us up. Soooo tired...


One World, One Dream at the back, Starbucks in hand...

Forbidden City

Liza, Tin and I went to the Forbidden City (called Gugong by the locals). I was not able to enjoy the visit because I really don't know the history of the area. It just looked like a lot of gates and a lot of roofs to me. It's also very cold and I forgot my gloves.

I did get some great shots though.

With Kristine at the yet another gate.

Emperor's throne.

Elaborate ceiling. Carved dragons.


Souvenir dolls.

Trip to Manila

I am so excited... I'll flying to Manila for a 3-day trip. I have missed being in the Philippines even though I've only been gone for two months.

Great Wall at Badaling

at the wall

Many tourists and locals are here today to celebrate the New Year. We even saw dancing ladies earlier today at the entrance.

on our way to Badaling

View on the way to Great Wall. We went to the Badaling section since it is accessible from our apartment. It is so windy today, it is a good thing it has stopped snowing, the snow is already very thick in this part of Beijing.

outside Starbucks

We are all surprised to see the Starbucks at the entrance, but never the ones to let an opportunity pass... we went in to get something hot to drink. We even got the guy at the counter to take a picture of us even though its very cold outside...