Some snapshots of Tianjin.

We stayed at the Renaissance Hotel.

Pedestrian streets nearby The Renaissance Hotel

Shopping malls – Gucci, Loewe, Swarovski crystals, Dior… @_@

I was quite impressed by the architecture in Tianjin. The city boasts an eclectic mix of 19th century western colonial architecture and striking modern buildings.

Concert Hall

View of the Renaissance Hotel next to the concert hall

Tianjin by night

Some pictures of the wedding held in a private room at The Renaissance Hotel.

Wedding feast loaded with foods symbolizing long life and prosperity.

The bride and groom.

The bride wore the traditional white gown during the wedding ceremony but throughout the meal, she would disappear to change dresses. Overall, I think she had 5 different dresses!

Amazing city and beautiful wedding. Tianjin is definitely a place to visit!

Anyway! I haven’t come to you empty-handed. Here you go people. Some photos from my China – Malaysia vacation. My cousin tied the knot in Tianjin China and after the wedding, I spent a few days in Beijing. From there, I flew to Kuala Lumpur for a marathon shopping spree.

To my Malaysian friends, I know I didn’t tell you I was coming over but it was only a 3-day vacation to KL and kinda last minute as well. But I’m planning to travel to Malaysia again next year and this time I’ll stay much longer. I’ll let you guys know well in advance so we can plan a meetup, ok?

Photos on the way now! This post will include photos mostly from the night market and Wangfujing street.

Wangfujing night market – The most famous and popular snack street among Chinese and foreign visitors in Beijing – local Chinese snacks but also odd street foods such as deep fried insects, scorpions, sea star, seahorse, silk worm, and centipedes on a stick! I think I was more put off by the smell than by the sight of those peculiar snack foods. Let’s just say, it was not the most appealing aroma in the world but it sure was an interesting experience!

Caramelized fruits on a stick

Bugs!

Yess! Sheep penis! Yikes!

I bet you won’t feel very hungry after that, eh?

That’s all for tonight. Will have more photos on my next post. Yummylicious pictures this time I promise!

Can’t wait to share more of my trip with you guys after I get back.

See you soon .

Old houses that have been converted into bars and pubs

Huge strawberries

Bought these at Takashimaya. Hmm.. they were juicy and sweet! I’ve never seen such big strawberries in Mauritius. The ones we have here are so tiny they almost make you feel guilty you’re eating them! (O_o)

Some shots from the show Songs of the sea at Sentosa Island

As you can see, the show is all about a spectacular performance of water jets, lasers, fireworks and special computer effects.

And I’ve saved the best for last…

F.O.O.D! Random snapshots of food here and there.

Auntie Anne’s pretzel

Hainanese chicken rice, a very popular dish around Singapore and Malaysia

Sar ho fun, dumpling soup and garlic n chilli squid – can’t remember from where!

Lunch at Kenny Rogers

Geez, I’m feeling so hungry all of a sudden! I bet you are too, eh?

I’m off to have dinner now. Cheers! xoxo

Wanted to post a bit more about my trip to Singapore but I’m feeling brain dead at the moment. I don’t think I’ll be able to write a decent post so I’m uploading some random shots instead!

Clarke quay at night
Clarke quay is a historical riverside quay in Singapore, located upstream from the mouth of the Singapore River and Boat Quay. It was the centre of commercial enterprise in the late 19th century. Today, the restored warehouse features a whole range of restaurants, wine bars, nightclubs and retail shops.

Sentosa island

This one is for you Manju!

Chilling @ The coffee bean & Tea Leaf

Storytelling comes alive!

Oops I think that’s me with the Gingerbread man!

A Labrador on the beach at Sentosa

The merlion! RAWRRR!!!!!!

And some funny pictures when taking the MRT – Mass Rapid Transit

Why are durians not allowed in the MRT?? (O_o) Is it because of the pungent smell? And how come the amount for the fine is not stated?

I hope you’ve enjoyed the photos! I’m off to bed now. Wishing you people a delightful weekend!

*sigh*

The old routine really feels like the force of gravity after days of weightlessness. I need some tips to bounce back fast!

Something amusing that happened when we got there – the moment we set foot inside, a few stallholders approached us, thrusting their menus and persuaded us to order something from their stall! Haha I guess they instantly noticed we were tourists and we were not familiar at all with the place!!

We wandered around and explored the market for a while before making our way to what looked like the busiest stall. You know what they say: never eat in an empty restaurant! We ordered several dishes to try.

BBQ stingray – It was my first time eating stingray. The flesh is more or less like fish.

Chili crab – I didn’t have crab. Hahaha eating crabs is a messy undertaking if you ask me!

Satays

The satays were fantastic and I so liked the peanut sauce that came along with the dish! (^.^)

We also had a whole steamed fish, sizzling prawns and stir-fried veggies. I thought I took pictures of those dishes too but I can’t find them! >.<

Sometimes a meal is memorable for reasons other than the food alone. Eating at a hawker centre was definitely a nice experience – amazingly cheap but great food while enjoying the open air setting. Oops… just an important piece of advice, do bring a lot of tissue paper with you if planning to dine at a hawker centre because the stalls don’t provide any!

Anyone ever visited a hawker centre? Share your experiences.

I was in Singapore mostly for the Great Singapore Sale. GSS is a shopper’s dream come true – Orchard road, Marina bay, Bugis – endless shopping, dining, entertainment and a one-stop haven for shopaholics! Just hit the road and visit the giant malls lining the streets and you’re on for an exciting shopping spree!! Great deals and amazing bargains are everywhere so no need to break your piggy bank! During my holidays I embraced shopping as my drug of choice and the thrill of shopping became so addictive (@_@).

Yet another amazing experience besides the frenzy shopping spree is tasting the Singaporean local food. The mind blowing variety of food I saw while I was there left me in awe! I’m quite picky about food but then again, I couldn’t resist trying the authentic local cuisine. I shall start this series of posts with some street food and snacks I encountered during my short stay in Singapore.

Old Chang Kee is a snack chain in Singapore that specializes in curry puffs and deep fried snacks. You can smell the fried goodies from a distance and ooh do they smell wickedly delicious!

Some of the snacks at Old Chang Kee.

My plate – Spring’O, Gyoza OnStik, Chicken Wrap OnStik, Crab Claw OnStik.

Next is dessert! Do you like ice cream? Me too! How about ice cream wafers or even ice cream sandwiches? You can’t miss those traditional ice cream vendors if you’re strolling along Orchard Road!

I had raspberry ripple ice cream with wafers.

And here’s what an ice cream sandwich looks like.

The slab of ice cream is wrapped in a slice of soft colored bread.

It’s kinda weird to have ice cream with bread, right? I felt the same way too but once you have a bite, you ask for more! Hahahha yeah that’s how delish it was!

There’s still so many photos to resize and upload but I’m feeling sleepy already. More yummylicious posts this weekend! Stay tuned people.

*sigh*

It was a great experience. I’m going to miss those Venusian girls! But they said I would always be welcomed on Venus. ^^

*~*~*

So… here I am back after weeks a long absence. Sorry if I didn’t post anything for quite some time. Wasn’t my fault. Blame it on my laziness! I was away on a trip to Venus.

A snapshot of l’Ile aux benitiers from the road.

The view from there was simply breathtaking…

The next stop was Le Morne, situated at the extreme south-western tip of Mauritius. It is the most windward side of the island, hence the reason for so many kite surfing adepts.

And this is Le Morne brabant.

For the little story, this mountain became well-known in the 19th century when runaway slaves used Le Morne brabant as hideaway. After the abolishment of slavery in Mauritius, a police expedition traveled to the mountain to tell the slaves that they were free people. But the slaves misunderstood the expedition and jumped from the mountain into the ocean, committing suicide. They preferred to die rather than to be slaves to the white people.

Le Morne brabant mountain was submitted to the candidate list of the World Heritage Site in 2003 and on the 23rd of May 2008, the site was finally inscribed on the World Heritage List.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures. Have a great week-end!