If you haven’t already know, we Chinese celebrate our new year for 2 weeks long. I think people in the old days must have had too many people to visit, that is why they needed about 14 days to do so.

Whatever the reason may be, today marks the 14th day of the new year, and after today nobody will be greeting each other ” Happy New Year”, instead, it will most probably be the usual — ” go fuck yourself”.  Ok, i’m just kidding.

When i was still in China, we went to a huge park which was situated somewhere around the city centre. During Chinese New Year, they actually have this so called  – “Light Festival” , it’s almost like a lantern festival. But instead of the traditional lanterns being displayed, they came up with something a thousand miles more creative than what we would be expecting.

We were also being told that, these light festivals will be a lot more “grander” during the last day of Chinese New Year.

As i’m back in my hometown now, it’s not possible for me to fly there now just for their light festivals, which i’m pretty sure it’s gonna be terrific. So, i’m gonna show you guys just what they’ve got to offer in between the 14 days of new year.

I remembered it was raining that night, we had to go through the park carrying an umbrella! Yes, you heard me right. But, it was well worth it!!!

So here goes~~~~~

1st up,

Entrance to the light show……..

I’m just amazed by how all these lights are being put together……

And look @ the size of it !!! Amazing!!!

And while we walked passed the giant “red light monument”, we came across these….

some really beautiful looking butterflies and flowers…..

Tiger!!! Animal of the year !

And as i walked along the park, i came across all these beautiful light decor, each with different themes!!! I’ll leave it to you guys to figure it out!!

Lots of Tigers!!!

This is actually the exit arch, i found it to be too colourful to not take a picture of it …..

Closer view,

And then we came across this………

the Great Wall of China!!! Wooaahhh!! You can actually walk through it, but we didn’t, as the other side of the park seemed to have more interesting decor going on!!

See this ???

It’s China’s own verison of bullet train!!

Another beautiful light arch,

Pandas !!

Another beautiful flowery arch!!

Before we exit this beautiful park, we saw this, who would have thought the giant red monument @ the entrance will have 2 faces?? The one @ the back says different from the front!! And can you guys all guess the letter in between the 20*0 ????

something for you guys to think about !!!

Happy “Chap Goh Meh!” as what the people here say it !!

So I’m just gonna finish with this post.

Btw, i’m home sweet home now and nothing can beat the tropical weather!!! Nothing!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~

So,

about the Hakka village,

as you can see from the following photos, the ground floor of the building basically is for business purposes.

Can’t help but to notice the calligraphy hanging on the wall. It was being drawn by an artist, he got his own gallery in one of the shops, and this is his own way of interpreting how Chinese words are derived. And for this particular word, it’s — Dance. 舞.

Me managed to snap a photo in between crowds.

Love the lanterns!! They seemed extra artistic when hanged in a circular matter.

Some writings on the wall.

Snapped a couple of photos while walking through the shops,

I love this photo. Simply because of the clearly tiered circular structure of the building…and also the lanterns!

Here’s another shot of the interior of the building.

Exterior of the building. Can feel the “thickness” of the wall here.

A well, situated right in the centre of the Interior. It is believed to be their main water supply in the building during the old days.

Here’s another interesting calligraphy. Horse. This is yet again the artist own interpretation of the word, 马。

After visiting the circular building, we then walked our way to another building. Along the way, we kept seeing these vegetables. You know what are they for ??

Any clue now ???

Nope, they are not salted vege, instead, it’s for a famous Chinese dish called — 梅菜扣肉. And these veges are use to make the 梅菜。Wow! I’m amazed!

Some photos around the area.

The reason why we are @ this village is because– on the tourist information brochure, it says this is actually a world heritage site, so we were all very excited to come. The scenery didn’t disappoint, but as how my uncle had put it — It’s not ready for tourist yet.

Which is a pity i think.

Anyway, we continue to walk along the path, passing by more plantations, more rivers….

and then suddenly we saw something intriguing @ the far end of the river,

Somebody is washing clothes somewhere in the middle of the river ????

In this kinda weather ??? You must be kidding me!

I think the weather that time was about 0 degree ??

Haven’t actually see this kinda winery before!! Those that have been preserved in jars like this,

And as we walked along, i heard songs by Jolin ahead of us !! For one second i really thought it might be Jolin. But turned out……

someone was just dancing away with Jolin’s song. Boooooooo

Love how the water flow across the rivers,

The circular building infront is said to be the smaller in size around the area.

A closer view,

Trying to get a shot infront of the circular building, but i didn’t know what was the camera person focusing on instead?

And then we reached another building, but instead of the round ones…..this is more squarish.

The squarish tiered,

So which one do you like?? The rounded or the squared ?? I think i love the round ones more.

And then i came across more of these interesting calligraphies !!

Can you figure out what these letters mean ?? I can’t get the last one…does anybody know what letter is it ?

Passed by more winery……

And a small temple around the area.

The exit of the village is just a small alley next to this temple, so, after we passed by the temple, that marks the end of our tour around this Hakka village!!

It was indeed an interesting place!!!

What do you guys think ??

Time flies, and today it’s already the 3rd day of Chinese New Year. Everybody having a fun New Year so far ??

After touring in Foochow for a bit, the 1st day of Chinese New Year, we went deeper into our roots. Needless to say, Chinese consist of many ethnicities. Besides Foochow, there are many more, like Hokkien, Hakka, Cantonese, Hainan, etc. But within each ethnic group, they then again branched out into smaller groups of ethnicity. For example, Foochow. We have the MingQing & The Gutian ~ 闽清 & 古田. And eventhough i should belong to the Gutian group, but i speak MingQing foochow. Well, if it’s getting too complicated just forget it.

So what i’m trying to say is, on the 1st day of Chinese New year, we went back to yet again– my another root — MingQing, for a visit.

It has been raining non-stop over here, and i just don’t know why. I haven’t seen the Sunshine for so many days!!! And those that who know me well should know what will happen if i don’t see the Sunshine for too many days ??? I get the big D. Yes….i will feel depressed. But what can i do right ?? Weather is cold & wet. Errrkk…..i just hate it .

So even if it’s the 1st day of Chinese New Year, the Sky let no mercy. Raining all the way !!!

I was here in MingQing 10 years ago. And during that time, this place was still pretty much in an undeveloped stage. But that day when i went back, there are indeed some changes. A more developed MingQing now.

These buildings certainly weren’t there when i was here 10 years ago. A more modern interpretation of shophouses & apartments actually exist already!!

As it was raining, we were then being brought into a hotel called — MingQing QiYuan hotel, if it does ring a bell to some, yes…it’s a hotel owned by my company.

Entrance to the hotel.

Hotel Lobby.

Hotel errr….coffee house ?

View from the Lobby to the coffee house.

Me trying to figure out…..why is the design of the hotel like this ??? But it’s ok, after all it’s not my design. Muahahahaha

We then being brought up to the restaurant to have our lunch,

Yeap, a table FULL of dishes. Again.

The crabs were kind intriguing, so i took a few close ups on them…they are actually kinda tiny,

Nobody actually tasted the crab. Probably they are too tiny and seems meatless?? But anyhow, i just pitied them.

After lunch, i saw a huge mirror just across our dining hall so quick quick go camwhore…..hehehe

Just incase your wondering what boots I’m wearing, they are from Burberry.

Straight after lunch, the hotel manager who so happens to be a Malaysian, seemed to eager to bring us tour around the small MingQing town a bit. On our tour bus ofcourse.

It was indeed a very small town. Nothing much to notice on. Plus it was raining…so we didn’t get to go out actually.

So after the short stay in MingQing town, we then went straight back to Foochow. Stayed in hotel and do nothing until dinner time.  It was kinda boring. Oh well, what to do right ??

There goes our last day in Foochow.

The next day, we packed our bags and for another 4 hours, we reached Xiamen. Before going back to hotel, we stopped by some shopping areas hoping to find some nice clothing or shoes….

But…i went back emptied handed.

Things are not as nice as those in Foochow. Sadly.

Me and my sis were thrilled to see Walmart, and when we really went into Walmart, we nearly fainted. Gosh! The standard were so off !! Left me speechless. Really.

And it was yet again another boring day.

But when we reached our hotel…@ least there’s something to be thrilled about.

I present to you, The Sheraton, Xiamen.

Staircase @ the entrance lobby, reaching to the 1st floor coffee shop.

Entrance to the lobby lounge/bar,

I’m loving the bar/lounge so much!! Love the vibrant colours!!

Hotel lobby,

Nice ??? Kirei ???

Soon after we checked in, we then headed for our dinner…and we called that a night.

Boring isn’t it ??

I guess that always happens whenever you are traveling with the elderly, uncles and aunties.

We started off today pretty early…about 8:00am.

To a Hakka village called — 客家土楼。= Hakka Circular building village.

It was a 31/2hr bus ride from our hotel. The journey was pretty far and intensed. But i was glad we got there.

This is the entrance to the village.

Before we headed off visiting the village, we went to have our lunch 1st.

It was nothing of any feast, they served only ordinary dishes.

And me and my sis got so bored we started to cam-whore ourselves.

Just so that you haven’t already noticed my colour contacts???

Muahahahaaaha….oh it’s Hazelnut by the way.

Soon after we had our lunch, we start our tour.

We passed through the Kitchen and i took a picture while this old man is having his lunch…he kinda got a shock when i took my photos with flash…oops!! no shock no shock…it was only a picture.

Walking on the small lane of the village.

Most of these buildings are made out of mud. That is why it is called — 土楼。＝Mud building. Ofcourse it’s not just mud alone that they use. I heard they mixed them up with some flour and egg ??? What a funny way to  build a building.

Passed by some really nice and serene river.

Some scenes along the way,

I’ve actually been longing for scenes like this, because with the capitalization of the country, places like this will disappeared sooner o later. My lecturer in Uni once told me, when HK 1st announced to build a disneyland, he told me — “Oh, i don’t wanna go Hong Kong and see disneyland, i wanna go there to look @ their culture!” That time, i wasn’t sure what he meant, but now…..yes. Whenever i go traveling, it’s the culture of the place that i would like to see and experience. And this village, did just that .

I’m loving this vibrant green on the vege…..by the way….any idea what kind vege is this ???

Houses that people live around the area,

Lotsa houses have these veggies planted in their backyard,

Some backyard alleys…..the weather was FREAKING cold by the way.

Passing by another small river….

Loving this scenery,

And then suddenly, we arrived @ this big round building!! This is the circular mud building we are after…the highlight of this village.

If you were to ask me, this is a huge circular building. And according to them, there are still about 50 houses living in this building.

Most of them open their business on the ground floor, and live on the upper floor.

Me infront of the huge circular building…..and the weather was……to me…speechless….

Interior of the circular building….

Everything is round……the roofs, the walls,

These are the shops on the ground floor of the building…

And on a bigger scale, this is how the ground and top floor looks likes. Love the balcony though!!

Alright then, will stop here for the time being….kinda tired already!! It’s 12:30am now…and looks like there will be an early morning call tomorrow.

Will continue the post again later !!!

Sweet dreams everyone!!

Clearly i’m a Chinese and clearly my roots is no where other than from China.

My great grandparents were from Foochow province, China. So this year, i had the privilege to be back here with my family, to experience life as a true “Foochow-ian”.

We didn’t fly to Foochow directly, instead we fly to Xiamen as our 1st stop. Upon arriving @ the immigration, i thought there weren’t gonna be any drama….but instead, they took my passport and ask me to follow them to a small room….to do what ??? Take my temperature. Because these people suspect that i am sick. I do look pale from suffering from diarrhea the previous night. Mmm…looks like they do take their jobs seriously eh ??

Anyway, they let me go after finding my temperature was within the normal range. So we then met up with our tour guide, he brought us to a restaurant to have our lunch, and then straight after lunch we were then being drove to Foochow.

Didn’t have a chance to take photos in Xiamen, so it’s only up until today that i had the chance to go out and explore Foochow a bit.

So 1st we started off from our hotel,

If you can have a glimpse of the hotel i’m staying judging from the photo’s background, It’s Shangri-La, Foochow. Which from my understanding, our renowned  ”Candy King” has got part of his investment here in this hotel.

So from our hotel, we were then being drove to a street which is called — “Seven naine and 6 valley” street. A famous street that was ruined and rebuilt again.

Me taking pictures outside the famous street, the weather was freezing cold!! Oh why is it always the opposite?? When i was about to go Italy, i was told the weather there was as cold as hell, so i brought all the thickest clothing i can find….and i was told this time again that the weather in Xiamen, Foochow is about 25 degrees! And then it turns out to be 9 degrees!!!! What a huge difference !!!

So freezing all the way……..

Entrance to the famous old street.

Me all cuddled up taking pictures inside the old street.

Some pictures of the shops. Most of them are closed as today is the last day before the New Year. Everybody will be either going back to their hometown, or getting ready for their big feast for tonight.

Love these lanterns!!!

These shops are open typically for selling chinese calligraphies !!! Really?? can they make money?? I wonder.

Me outside a lantern shop. Got the scarf from my dad. Otherwise i guess i would be extra frizzed by now.

Went by this area and i thought for a second ~~ What ?? These days they still have slaves ?? Ahhh…and then i learnt that they were basically archeologist…..trying to excavate the remains. But seriously, i still don’t believe they are archeologist. I mean really ??

And then we have the ——-

KFC !!!!! Muahahahaha…..KFC encrypted in lantern !!! Wohoo!!! Interesting !!! Oh…wait a minute, i thought every KFC should have their signature logo ?? No ??

I’m loving all the lanterns here!!! So pretty !!!

A small kiosk selling more hand-written calligraphies !!!

And my sister being a bookworm said that she would love to visit a bookstore….and it just so happens that there is a bookstore inside the street. So in we went. I’m not a big fan of books….so things that caught my attention is the way they display their books….like this…

Muaahahahaha !! INTERESTING!!!! Errr….but will the people trying to read a book will think twice before lifting the books up ??

And this,

Well, @ least we know where is the foundation……haha!

And this!

Wtf ?? Are they trying to do kuih lapis here ???

And this,

All staggered together. Looking like a condo’s model.

Should i say, they are actually quiet creative ???

There were a lot of small alleys hidden in between shop-lots, and i quiet like them actually. Feels very cultural.

And then while we walked pass this arch which appeared out of no-where, my uncle said it would be nice to take a picture, so in i went….and after i took this picture he said — Oh! So artistic !! Really ???

I think it’s kinda normal to me. Ha !

Some more views of the shops,

More lanterns!!!!

Just incase your wondering what i’m carrying on my hand. That’s an umbrella. It rained half way when we were walking!!! Rain +cold wind!!! Tell me about it!!!

And just before leaving the street, we came across this signage, which got all of us cracked up in a humongous laughter!!!!

Read it !!!

What has direction got anything to do with behavior ????? Muaahahahahaha!!!

Anyway, so after that ridiculous English translation, we then headed for our lunch!!!

Each meal, the table is full of dishes!!! Dishes just came serving like after 10 dishes there were a hundred more!!! They really like to feed people don’t they ????

And then, when we were about the leave the restaurant…i saw this,

WTF ??? nobody takes Interior Design so literally these days…..i mean nobody….really.

While we were in the tour bus, going to our next destination, i came across this really interesting signage…..

It says — 土到家, in my understanding….it kinda mean — Extreme country pumpkin. 老土到家， 老土到一种程度。。。。

And i was laughing out so loud it almost offended the local tour guide!!! Hahahah !! Oopss!!

Next stop, we arrived @ this beautiful garden– 西湖公园

What really got me intrigued over here was the beautiful tulips they have !!!

Pardon me for the “darkness” of the photos, as i don’t have any photoshop on my MAC, so please bear with me. And yes! Non of these photos are being photoshoped!!

Aren’t the tulips lovely ???

They come in pink,

Yellow,

Red,

And Maroon!!

They are pretty aren’t they ???

I mean having to see such warm colours on a cold winter day, it’s really very heart-warming and energy boosting, if you know what that means.

And then we continue to scroll around the garden,

some really nice pagodas,

Bonsai garden. Even though most of their leaves are hiding from the cold winter.

@ least this huge bonsai still looks blossoming.

So after strolling around the garden & frizzed ofcourse….we then went shopping !!!! Sorry didn’t have time to take pictures of the departmental store. Because when we reached there it was 4pm, and sadly they close @ 5:00pm today!! So me and my sis had to rush!!!

Glad i get to buy one shoe and a korean brand dress!!!

After our shopping spree, we then awaits our reunion dinner.

The table is the largest dining table i’ve seen so far…..i think one can run on the table !!!

However, to protect the privacy of my family members, i can only show you….the huge water lilies on the table…..

It’s really huge ok ???

And then suddenly all the dishes came rushing in !!! I’m betting this must have got something to do with the waiter/waitresses trying to finish their jobs quickly so that they can go home early for their reunion dinner ??

1st dish,

Cold dish, as always. They’ve got like really elaborate names for their dishes….but it all turned out to be so so only.

2nd dish,

Oink skin with Chinese bread, 馒头。This dish is not bad.

3rd dish,

Braised shark-fin soup. It was so-so only. And i mean it .

4th dish,

Braised Abalone.

The taste again was so-so. Seriously is this the best they can do ??? It’s almost tasteless!!

5th dish,

Tiger prawn??

It was not nice.

6th dish,

Foochow dish!

Meatball skin wanton and meatballs !!

The soup is yummy !!!!

7th dish,

Deer meat !

Not my favourite….so i didn’t touch this dish…except for the cashew nut.

And then out of a sudden, the so called — MONEY GOD came into our room!!!

I didn’t know Money God is so thin in person ??? And pale looking ??? Anyway, he came into our room to greet us and gave us a few ang pows, which contains basically useless stuffs.

And so, where were we ?? Ahh……the

8th dish!!

STEAK!!

The meat was tender enough!!! But i didn’t finish it….as you know count it yourself….it was the 8th dish already! For goodness sake!

Going and going,

9th dish,

Fish!!!

With a taste of sand……errrkkk……

10th dish !!!!

Spinach with century egg !!!

I really dislike this dish.

11th dish!

Sticky new year cake with custard roll….

The custard was pretty good.

12th dish !!!

Mango pudding in a fish shape!!!

However, no taste of mango lor…..

13th dish!!!!!

Braised Birds nest with pear !!

However, i cannot really see the bird’s nest lor……wtf ??

And the last dish was fresh fruits !!!!!

I was kinda impressed by how many dishes they can served !!!

So after the full full dinner….let me wish all the Chinese a very happy and prosperous Year of Tiger !!! And the rest, a happy holiday !!!

Gong Xi Gong Xi !!!!

A much much delayed post.

I’ve lost count and i couldn’t be bothered to check which part i’m up to on the Italy trip.

But anyway, it doesn’t matter.

Most important is, i shall flood you guys with more pictures before i think of what to write on my next entry.

HA HA HA

So this is Florence.

Basically, walking through the city feels very “ancient” to me, it’s almost as if i could feel how this city used to be centuries ago. Like, men in gladiator suite strolling down the street on horses….women wearing like a goddess walking down the street…@ least they’ve done some pretty good reservation here.

As you can see, people pretty much still rely on their foot or the most on cycles walking through the streets in the city centre. One thing i like about the shops here, they like to exist on a smaller scale…so while walking along the street, you never know what branded you are gonna come across. They don’t have exaggerating big signage telling you oh here is Prada, or here is Miu Miu or Gucci, ( Like what we usually see in Asia). Instead, you have to almost walk infront of the shop to find out what shop it actually is. Interesting.

More views on the streets of  the City centre,

A Romeo & Juliet love balcony ??

More views of the city centre,

And then me, my sis and friends came across an Ice Cream shop, which they call it as — Gelato over in Italy….and man..isn’t it colourful ???

If you haven’t already notice, the ice cream corn actually comes in chocolate and peanut coating !!! Yums!

But then, i’m more focused on the Interior decor of the shop. Look @ the ceiling !! I thk anyone in their right mind, when encounter with a shop like this, who wouldn’t be attracted ???

And ofcourse we bought some ice creams!! But i couldn’t remember which flavour we bought…because we just had too much ice creams when we were there !!!

And then, we arrived in this square.

I seriously couldn’t be bothered by the building surrounding us, my attention is drawn to the Marry-go-round situated in the square!!!

Did i tell you guys before, i am a person who cannot…..i repeat cannot resist anything –THEME PARK-KY ??

So i quickly walk over the the Marry-Go-Round to have a closer shot!! I simply love the colours!! The COLOURS!!!

It’s so vibrant, so lively………..this has got to be one of my happiest moment while in Italy….ofcourse..besides encountering all the branded shops….

Love it ???

One thing i like about Florence is, they are not afraid to reserve the past, and leave everything as it is. People are free to scribble on the floor, exposing their artistic side. Why can’t we have something like this here??

And as i was scrolling through the streets, i saw these yummilicious ~~~

Gosh….saliva drooping ???

And then as i was walking further down the street, i came across this picturesque scene!!

You might not feel it on photos now, but…it was indeed a very amazing view!! It almost seemed as if i’m starring into a painting or some sort.

What about these ???

The scenery is so serene, so calm, with a touch of Autumn pastels.

It’s so beautiful can ?

We don’t have much time to stop and stare, as the tour guide keep on chasing us!! Oh that bloody tour guide. So we continue to walk down the street…..

This is where we came across these artistic people……

A mummy for example,

This, i don’t know what he is trying to portray….but these people…once you put money into their coin collecting boxes..they will start to move!!! Otherwise, they will just pose as a stone statue…..

And this errr……cupid ?

A bit old don’t you think ??

And this…..i really don’t know what he is….

And now, some REAL statues,

Carvings by Michael Angelo,

When i was supposed to focus on the various statues around us, i couldn’t help but notice a shop from the far end of a building……

Yes….my beloved CHANEL !!

Chanel, Chanel, Chanel ~~

Oh well, i didn’t get to buy anything from Chanel this time! But instead i bought it from Singapore!!! Hehehehe

Another statue from Michael Angelo, people are already so muscular during ancient times?? I mean they already know the way to pump up their muscles ???

Im amazed!

More statues around the fountain……

Some more views from around the city square…..

Clock tower……this reminds me of a horrific game called “Clock Tower”, a PS2 game i played a few years back…

The tour guide gave us a few minutes to walk around the area…and then i came across H&M, and that very day, the Jimmy Choo line for H&M was just launching!!

I couldn’t help but to rush to the shop!!!

And see what i’ve got ???

I got a pair of Jimmy Choo for H&M !!!! The paper bag is so huge ok!!!! Will show you guys how the shoe looks like soon!

Yeap…..after i bought the Jimmy Choos, the sky turns dark….i don’t know the connection between these two, but…so…the sky turns dark.

The tour guide, being such a typical tour guide, bought us to an alley where all the so called — good leather goods are situated….and i wasn’t really interested in buying those stuff…so me sis and friends went to walk around the area, and discover another Gothic church.

Nothing special to me…..it’s just another beautiful church.

After everyone’s done with the leather shopping, we then proceed to a hill top, where you can see the beautiful night view of Florence.

But before that, some people just likes to spoil the view.

I know they are trying to make money..but for goodness sake, things they sell……..i was just wondering…will people really buy them ??And it sort of spoils the look of the area…. Anyway, it’s their own choice.

And so here’s the beautiful night view of Florence!!!!!!!

Cantik? Beautiful ? Kirei ?? Ipoh-yoh ??

This concludes our tour in Florence!!

Up next ?

Tuscany !!!