China Day 15 (New Year's!)

Woke up to go to Wanko and Veeko-- two stores that we always visit annually. Wanko always is a store we spend a great deal of time because of their massive sales.

I kid you not, 90% off. And this isn't dirt-quality clothes at dirt-cheap prices. This is pretty good quality clothes.

It's just that about 80% of the clothing isn't trendy. But for the 20% that are, it's a real good bargain.

It's gotten quite a lot more popular in the last two years. Previous times, there's only be a couple of customers inside, but this time, it was full. Perhaps it's because it's New Year's Eve, and thus people are off work, but it was quite a fit inside. This also meant not enough room for people to try clothes, and so it wasn't the best shopping environment.

Thus, we left with not much. Myself? I purchased a nice looking coat, clearly with Burberry influences.

Afterwards, as per tradition, we hung out at the Macca's next to it. Funny thing about McDonalds here is that they sell milk tea -- black sesame milk tea at that, which tasted like genuine tea (you could tell it was actually tea and milk, with no or little added sugar). They also provide corn as an option for their happy meal, in replacement of small fries. Food is also cheaper.

Officially the second McDonald's meal we've had thus far. 

It was in stark contrast against our dinner, which consisted of expensive abalone. I for once am not a huge fan of abalone -- it's alright, but I don't usually see its price-worth. I actually found the mushroom side more tasty than the abalone itself.

Chinese food doesn't tend to be very nicely presented (compared to other cuisines), so this is already pretty 'fancy' for their standards.

I feel like it's customary to comment on the fact that it's New Year's Eve. My plans are to attend an orchestral concert with my mother, which is here in Guangzhou on tour from London. I've never been to an orchestra (or at least, in a very long time), so I was pretty excited.

Outside the concert

I can tell you, my first orchestral concert was amazing.

Unfortunately, as expected, no photography was allowed during the performance, but here are some before. 

It was an orchestral performance specially for New Years from London, and it was spectacular.

I'm not the type for classical music, but it was still wonderful to my ears. I found my mind drifting to other things, but all in all, the music was absolutely gorgeous and I loved it. Definitely won't be the last time I attend one. (though I must admit, my lack of sleep meant there were times when I think I microslept)

I went with my mother, and she enjoyed it far more than I did. She loves orchestral and classical music. They also played a very nice Chinese classical piece, which was my favourite of all the pieces. It was beautiful.

As we left, we saw massive crowds outside. Everyone was coming out to celebrate New Year's, ready for the final countdown. Some of you may have heard that there were some trampling incidents in Shanghai, with the sad trampling of 36 people. That's how hectic it gets in China.

I'm soft serving it.

After finishing off, we went home, got ready, and then went off to a family friend's place for a final late night party and the countdown. Their apartment also had a stunning view of the Guangzhou cityscape.

ISO was extreme so I had to make it B&W

Currently as I'm writing this, it's 11:58pm, but the excitement isn't too extreme. I've never been one to blow-up celebrations for New Year's. It's always a bittersweet sort of celebration.

Yeah, a year has passed, but all in all, it doesn't mean much to me. New Year's Resolutions have never been something significant for me -- I think any time is the right time to change yourself for the better. Another year has passed and nothing's really changed, except the little number we write at the end of dates. 

My New Year's resolution? 4k. I think it's a considerable improvement from 2014's resolution of 1080pp. Hur hur.

It's a nice time to reflect though! To reflect on the year, what's happened and how you've changed. It's pretty amazing, really. A year's a long time, especially for us who are still very young. This year especially had been a very big year for me.

Cheers to the next one.

China Day 14

Off to some hot springs for a day trip! Two hours drive is quite far, and very soon I started to see the surroundings begin to change.

Motorbikes re-appeared; I'm not sure why -- perhaps the legislation only stated the ban of motorbikes in the CBD area(?). Also, a lot less people (of course), which makes sense since we were entering the rural areas of China.

These are the places where you buy fruit fresh from the farms, fireworks are legal, and things are dirt cheap (and also covered with a thin layer of dirt itself).

But honestly, most of China had a thin layer of dirt though...

However, all in all, it seemed more like a small town than a rural area. My parents later informed me that these areas were once super-rural, but with a lot of economical development, they've grown into prospering little towns with technology and appliances, all in a matter of two decades.

 

Kids going to school

And we all spoke too soon. Next we arrived at a factory that my mother's childhood friend now owned. It was in charge of producing materials that later went into the production of electrical wiring, especially for charging wires for phones. We saw the production of insulative rubber found in these wires, which was quite interesting to see.

It was only a very quick stop, and this factory really only produced one component of the wires, but it was interesting to just see it happen and witness a bit of Chinese factory production from first perspective. I can assure you, it was very, very fast and efficient, and required very few workers.

Often we use items like these electrical chargers without much thought into how they're made or the steps that were required to produce them, and it was just nice to see the backstory this time. There's something about seeing the backstory of things that really interests me; finding out how they work and how the final product eventually comes together; all these small individual components forming one product with a single purpose. It just interests me, I don't know how to say it.

Stepping on sodium nitrate.

 Anyway, finally we found ourselves standing at the entrance to the hot springs resort. Apparently it's the highest in altitude in all of the Guangdong area, which would explain why I woke up from my nap with my ears adjusting to the air pressure.

No photos were allowed inside the actual resort, for obvious reasons, so I took heaps outside. Overall, I defs enjoyed myself. I love hot springs.

"The hot spring of Pattra Resort is named 'Mountain High Hot Spring' since its hot spring pools are on the mountain. It is the highest hot spring in Guangdong province. There are 36 hot spring pools of shapes and sizes, 10 classic spa pools and 2 outdoor mountain spring swimming pools, fed by hot spring from deep underground where the water is 75 degrees Celsius, lucid, soft and alkalescent. The hot spring is rich in microelements, such as silicic acid, sodium, copper, and calcium, which can eliminate disease and give you good skin care. Surrounded by the green mountain and the limpid hot springs, you can also enjoy the natural scene, including the waterfall and the Sleeping Buddha Mountain."

Anyway, finally we found ourselves standing at the entrance to the hot springs resort. Apparently it's the highest in altitude in all of the Guangdong area, which would explain why I woke up from my nap with my ears adjusting to the air pressure.

No photos were allowed inside the actual resort, for obvious reasons, but I defs enjoyed myself.

The exotic nature of the various pools; rose ones, red wine hot springs, coffee, ginger, and so on, were interesting. My brother wanted to spend a great deal of time in the 'fish kissing pool', which, for those who don't know, is a pool filled with tiny fish that peck and nibble at the dead skin off your feet.

Yes, it tickles. A lot. I used to never be able to even withstand five seconds of it, but this time I managed. A heed of warning though, don't experience this pool if you have wounds on your foot. There are stories of infections spreading between people, but if your skin is intact, then it should be fine to act as a first line of defence (shout out to VCE biology).

We didn't have time to stay for long; about three hours in total, and thus we had to clean up and leave by 6. Off to dinner we had to go, in order to arrive back home by tonight.

Usually we spend more time at these hot springs; often staying at least one night, but this time we didn't have enough time to have that luxury, unfortunately.

It wasn't the most exotic experiences, especially because it's not the first time I've been, and I didn't have enough time to completely explore the place, but it was still enjoyable and I can still feel the fish nibbling in between my toes. Ahhh.

China Day 13

What to do? More shopping!!

Arrived at a small shopping centre hidden away from the crowds, where we left with plenty of clothes.

Personally, I finally was able to get my hand on a couple of jumpers, two jackets, a belt, and some gloves. I don't even remember the price; they varied, depending on the brands and such. 

Getting into more outlays!

We had to be very wary of fake products; a few of these stores sold very dodgy rip-offs, which were disappointing, but often you're able to tell. A lot of it comes from experience, but just by looking at how the store assistants react and the store set-up, as well as other tell-take signs, you can usually tell when something is fake or legit.

You'd think that just because it's expensive means it's quality, but that's not always true. And just because it has the logo doesn't indicate it's genuine either. It's a difficult situation, but you can bag really great bargains if you know how to distinguish. Especially since a lot of the stores sell the 'leftover' goods from last seasons, or the ones in XXL or XS (which we refer to as 'broken sizes' in direct translation).

Anyway, afterwards we went out to dinner with some more family friends, which was really enjoyable. We then found ourselves back home, relaxing and rejoicing over today's haul. I can tell you we were all very, very tired, and shopping in China is not the most enjoyable experience -- I can assure you the shopping experience is of much higher quality in Sydney, but the bargains here are through the roof. Anyone who's bothered to search and chase after sales will have an absolute field trip in Guangzhou, if they know how and where to look. And how to present themselves to store-keepers.

It really is a game. You have to show just the right amount of interest-- enough so store assistants realise you're here to buy, but not too much so they think you're an easy target. It's when you reach the perfect balance that they start to offer deals and discounts to you in order to try and 'reel you in'. That ranges from actual price discounts to things such as 'buy this and I'll throw in one of these for free', etc. This rings especially true in stores with no prices on their products, and the stores on the street. Speaking confidently helps too, not waving your money around, and avoiding signs that show you're not from around here. Dare say how much harder it would be if I couldn't speak Cantonese.

I've believed in this for a long time now, but it's true; bargaining is an art. It is a skill that requires a lot of experience, and even through 18 years of observing my parents do it in China, I'm still not an expert (neither are they). It's less relevant now, since China has been picking up its economy and moving to fixed-price shopping centres, but none-the-less, the smaller stores still follow these principles. It's an interesting skill that I'm tempted to say is a necessary component of the Chinese culture.

It's funny though, I can't imagine bargaining in English, despite it being my more familiar tongue. Bargaining and arguing in Cantonese flows so easily from my mouth, because I've only heard it in this language. Just a side note. 

Also, sorry for the lack of photos. I usually don't bother bringing my DSLR to shopping centres because it's such a hassle, and it's also a tell-tale sign that I'm a foreigner and am likely to have money on me.

Anyway, it was a long day, and tomorrow our plan is to visit some hot springs, which will be a very nice relaxing experience.

More clothes,

China Day 12

Back to Guangzhou today, and a late morning at 10:30am. Off to yum Cha it was (again!)

This was one I was looking forward to. It was a big lunch with a lot of family relatives that I haven't seen in a really long time, and I always love seeing old faces again.

The restaurant was a really nice one, actually.

Once again, despite not seeing each other for so long, it's almost too familiar to be true. Everyone is still the same, good ol' person that you know and it's such a nice feeling to catch up and chat and laugh.

Something that I'm thankful for is that both my mother's and father's sides of the family are... How do I put it? 'Chill'.

Always full of laughter, jokes, and smiles, and a comfortable environment. This is one of the reasons why I love visiting back here.

Also, one of my cousin's husband is a photography fanatic too, so that makes up for a good chat (checking out each other's gear, etc., and marvelling at mutual understanding of terms and photography problems).

The food was absolutely delish (how many times have I said that already on this trip?), and well worth the price. Unfortunately, I didn't take many photos of the food, or of the restaurant at all. The reason for this was because I was too busy chatting and catching up, and marvelling at the new addition to the family (my first niece!). 

Also seeing some new faces!

On the car ride back to my house, it hit me. The realisation that this is how my life is, and how alternative other people's families may be. This is my family and as I always said, there's something familiar about family. There's something about family ties that extend beyond friendships. A few years apart is nothing -- no distance or time apart can quell the relations we have among us all, and the sphere of that bond that emits from us, sitting around that table with the biggest Lazy Susan that I've ever seen.

I don't know how to explain it.

I only wonder how I'll keep in contact in the future.

Night brought me dinner with my father's childhood friends, who have had the pleasure of knowing each other for 42 years (wow). I guess that's the sign of true friendship. 

After a long drive out into the semi-rural areas out of Guangzhou, they treated us to a winter melon hot pot, in which the hot pot itself was a winter melon. Strange, I know, but oddly fascinating as well. Also we consumed snails -- not the French kind, but the Chinese kind.

I'm not a big fan of snails, although they taste quite similar to other meat. I suppose it's the cultural and subconscious knowledge that it's a snail that stops me from devouring them. I did eat one though, and was horrified when I bit into its egg sac and found my mouth filled with tiny semi-hard shells of its offspring. I spat them all out in shock before my mother informed me they were edible.

I also seemed to have lost my appetite in general because of overeating cheese and those small mandarin fruits prior to dinner, which I regret, because it means I wasn't able to try a lot of the food.

Afterwards, it was just a drive home, relaxing, and then sleeping for the next day.

China Day 11 (HK Day 5)

Up early for some more shopping!!

Also, for the first time, I noticed the elevator had certain numbers missing. They tend to have unlucky numbers omitted, such as 14, 24, 44 (or any number with '4' in it), as well as 53 and 58. Kind of like how some hotels in the Western world have '13' missing. 

Here's a poor quality iPhone photo to illustrate my point.

After a last-minute shopping trip at Citygate outlet stores in the morning (in which we spent the entire time in Esprit's outlet store, where I bagged three shirts that totalled ~$58 AUD. Also purchased two jumpers, but I forgot their price. I think around ¥200rmb in total? Additionally bagged a pair of tout á coup shorts from another store.)

With a long line at the check-out, we almost didn't make it back to the station in time, in order to catch our train back to Guangzhou. With only about 15 minutes to spare, we made it in time, and I slept most of the trip again.

Also HAHA this was on the train!

Arriving back in Guangzhou was like arriving for the first time again. Everything seemed immediately different. Besides the slightly chillier weather (Guangzhou is located north of HK), the traffic laws were a joke, once again. It was amazing to be in HK and see that rules /actually/ apply there, and people are courteous wherever you go. Here, it's a different story, and it's sad to admit that we have to adopt the 'mainland mindset', so to speak.

Don't get me wrong. I don't want to, and I sincerely doubt that most people here want to fight for a spot on the bus, or cross the road with their life on the line, but we have to remember that they really have no choice.

If you don't run for the bus, you won't get a spot. If you don't jaywalk, you may not get an opportunity to cross.

It's a fearful reality when you're forced to enter a game of survival of the fittest, essentially submerged into a competitive mindset in everything you do. That's how things are here, and is a part of the culture, and that's what it's all about. 

Trying to snag a taxi

But, it still feels good to be back in my second home; just a general feeling of familiarity (even though I'm really as lost as a fish in space). I have to say though, I thoroughly enjoyed the unblocked Internet. So, so, so much.

Catching up on the Facebook updates, instagramming, snapchatting, and reconnecting with friends, was something I hadn't done in a while.

But, to be honest, the immediate blocking of these sites upon re-entry into the heartland wasn't much of a shock either. I'll be back in a week, which isn't a long time, in a whole full perspective.

Anyway, it'd been a long day, and there was more to come before my departure.

China Day 10 (HK Day 4)

Today was mostly a day of shopping. Woke up early, played some Disney Tsum Tsum, and then headed out to the heart of HK.

First stop, Giordano, where I racked up two collared shirts ($190 rmb) and another pair of jeans ($195 rmb), which was nice.

The other polo is my father's.

I really like polos and collared shirts in general, and since I previously only had one in my wardrobe, I was really excited to add these two new shirts to it. The jeans were also identical to my precious pair, except in a different colour.

After Yum Cha with some family members, we left via taxi to an outlet store about half an hour drive out from the CBD, which was longer than we expected.

It. Was. Very. Pricey.

Yes, it's true, that at an outlet store, a lot of money was slashed. 60% off coats worth tens of thousands of HK dollars, but it was still a high price to pay for a coat. Although they were branded.

We didn't buy much -- nonetheless, my mother and I purchased a 50% off handbag, which was originally quite exy, but I suppose the quality was worth it (?). I'm always unsure about purchasing excessive branded items; I'm not too sure how to feel.

So we left (mostly) empty-handed and decided to head to a restaurant which is apparently infamous for its delicious roast goose.

Of course, we ordered roast goose. It was pretty good, not gonna lie, but the goose was a bit old, so the meat wasn't as great as it could have been. The thousand year old egg entree was absolutely delish though.

Unfortunately, no photos, because I didn't bring my camera with me.

Afterwards, we stopped by a Staccato store, which is one of my favourite show stores, which I visit everytime I'm in China (customer loyalty at its finest).

Their shoes are quite nice, and very comfortable. I've found their quality is on point, meaning I've worn the same pair of flats for 3 years now (and they're still going strong!). When the shoes are on sale, they're definitely worth their figure in money.

So I walked away with a new pair of business shoes, which will come in handy for interviews or the like -- previously I had been borrowing my mother's shoes for medicine interviews and the like, which were a bit big for my feet. They had a pretty big price tag (despite the 20% off), and I'm kinda embarrassed to say it, but let's hope these shoes go to good use. 

At 7:30pm my brother and I headed back to Kowloon station alone (for the first time in HK!! This is an achievement), and managed to not get lost.

Then, at 8:15, I went down and met my friend VA, whom happened to also be in HK. Thus, we had agreed to meet and go ice-skating at the rink in the Elements shopping centre.

The price wasn't something to get excited about. It was paid via octopus card (the travel card), and was a simple rate of $1/min, + $20 skate hire. Although supposedly cheaper than Australia, it's not the best deal I've seen, but considering it was in a shopping centre full of brands (Even Alexander McQueen!), it's not surprising.

I also find it remarkable that you can pay in certain shops via Octopus card! And it's so easy to top up, and it's instant as well. One more great thing is that you can refund the extra cash on your card, which makes it great for tourists, who may have some money left on it when they leave.

Lucky for us, we were skating late at night, and thus, a lot of people left, leaving a total of about 7 people in the rink, including us. That meant a lot of crazy things and fast backward skating without the fear of bumping into other people. Yesss.

However I fell over twice. Once caught on camera, too (which I will surely regret).

With a bit more time to spare after ice-skating, we went to Macca's (McDonalds, to non-Australians) and snacked on some McBites. Eyyy Macca's run!

A quick stop-over at 7-eleven also produced two packets of green tea pocky, and two drumsticks (green tea and hazelnut flavour), before we said goodbye to VA and headed back up to our apartment for the close of the day.

China Day 9 (HK Day 3)

Merry Christmas everyone!

Woke up early, feeling super groggy because of my late night. Also woke up to foggy weather and light rain, which was bad news, considering we were going to Disneyland.

But as I've always said, the show must go on!

There were quite a large number of people going to Disneyland today. Considering it's Christmas Day, it's no surprise. I heard they have special Christmas parades, so I was super excited to see.

The Disneyland train is gorgeous. The Mickey Mouse themed windows and handles are a nice installment.

Disneyland itself isn't really for my age. Not the one in HK at least (from what I remember), but I was so keen to take photos. You don't get such great theme parks in Australia

But I can assure you that I liked it quite a bit. The details that they put into their buildings and everything in general is so beautiful and stunning.

It was a shame that poor weather decided to strike, and the sheer mass amounts of people made it extremely difficult to take photos.

Thank the lords for weather sealing and stylish rain ponchos (from Ocean Park)

It was a wet day. 

I also happened to get lost for a few moments (okay, more like half an hour), in the rain, which was slightly terrifying but also okay.

Something I started to notice, amidst the hour-long queues for rides, and pricey Chow Sing Sing Disney jewelry stores, was that Disney has an empire.

I mean honestly, to have a jewelry store in Disneyland, selling things for hundreds of thousands of HK dollars? That's an entire kingdom.

Disney? It has its own kingdom. So much merchandise, so many fans (of all ages), and so much popularity that it's astounding. 

It's a franchise which has lasted far beyond its time, and continues to impress over and over. I'm not going to lie and say that I'm not one of the people who are captivated by Disney, because I am, but even I can see that in a city like HK, with such high prices for their products, they must have a very faithful and dedicated fan base in order to sell.

Myself? Well, my brother and I each purchased a Disney Tsum Tsum plushie each (Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, respectively). They were too cute to resist.

Frozen is so big that they even have to have purchase restrictions.

The rain kept going the entire day, and was a big dampener on the day. It just made it cold and difficult to get around, slippery, and just a general mood-downer. But, to see things in a wholelistic view, it is kind of hard to be sad at Disneyland.

The little details that they put into Disneyland was incredible though. Everywhere you went, there were little minute details that most people skim over and miss.

I think in general, the atmosphere of Disneyland is what it thrives on. Disneyland is an empire that happiness seems to emit from -- considering the sheer popularity of it among all age groups, it's no wonder that there's such a positive aura surrounding it.

Unfortunately, the parade had to be cancelled due to wet weather, and instead, the 'Rainy Day Express' train replaced it.

Hong Kong's Disneyland isn't that big. It's an alright theme park, don't get me wrong, but from what I've heard about the other Disneylands in the world, the HK one is lacking.

None-the-less, we managed to spend an entire day and I did take a lot of photos, as evident in this blog post.

You'd think with the poor weather, there'd be a lot less people.

But nope. People persisted. With waiting times up to an hour, sometimes just to take a photo with a costumed character, it's no wonder people can spend an entire day here -- you just spend most of it waiting in line.

I don't like lines. I really don't. So I spent most of my time wandering around the park and taking photos of various things that happened to look aesthetic. Or in general just trying to soak in the atmosphere and take-in the surroundings.

Even the little birds were trying to find shelter.

But constantly I was just amazed by the detail of everything, and the over-arching themes.

Toy Story World

The jungle area

As per tradition, we went to see the Lion King show, which involved waiting among a crowd for a good half an hour in the rain.

We also went to a 3D show, which wasn't very long, but was a really great experience. With sprays of water, smells, and very extreme 3D projections, let's just say it really felt like you were immersed into the video.

The late night Christmas fireworks were unfortunately cancelled due to the poor weather conditions, so we left early and just had dinner at McDonalds LOL (first Macca's of the trip!)

Goodbye Disneyland; till next time.

And then we ended up just walking around Elements and shopping for a bit.

No surprise that I ended up back in H&M and purchased a pair of loose black pants which were sooooo comfy (wow) and only $50 HK dollars! Bargain alert.

Also had a snoop around other stores that didn't have sales and gasped everytime I flipped a price tag. Stumbled across a watch in the seven-digit range. Ooft.

"Soon Manjekah, soon."

That's a >1 million HK dollar watch there.

Ahh, but the Christmas spirit was getting to me. I loved it. I love the atmosphere of Christmas. Not for the fact of religious belief, or for presents, or for giving, or shop sales. None of that.

I love Christmas because of the happiness it brings.

It seems like there's an unanimous agreement that smiles are compulsory. Greetings of "Merry Christmas!" and a smile, free lollies, and snow-fights and laughs of young children. Ahh. If only life could always be so content and beautiful.

Headed off home early, arriving back by 10:15, which is a new record! It's been an exhausting day of rain, cold, and a lot of walking. We all needed a break, especially since tomorrow is a full day of shopping. (Keen).

Later my brother and I stayed at home and mucked around a bit whilst my parents went out a bit more to celebrate the last hours of Christmas.

Loot from Disneyland.

But either way, Disney was a nice refresher. HK's isn't the biggest, or the brightest, especially when compared to America's, but it's decent and it's the only one I've been to, so I'm not one to judge! It's better than not having one at all! (Oh Sydney, when's it our turn?)

It's been a good Christmas Day.